To Ozzy, Zac, and Kaia

In early May 2019, composers working in the city of Sheffield (England, UK) recorded sounds in and around its Kelham Island Museum, using these to create musical works that resonate with the space and place of Kelham Island. In much the same way as one might imagine the transformation of the spaces of heavy industry, such as Brooklyn Works becoming residential accommodation, the ten sound artists transformed the sounds of Kelham Island, giving them a new home.

This piece imagines the huge machines as if from a child-like fantasy. It follows the journey of fiction character — Baltazar — as he travels into, and through, the greatest machine of all. Join Baltazar as he journeys through The Great Machine in search of its beating, mechanical heart. As the machine judders and splutters into life, will he avoid the pistons and valves, cogs and bursts of steam? Warning: contains scenes of mild peril.

[vii-22]

Baltazar’s Adventure through The Great Machine was realized in 2019 at the University of Sheffield Sound Studios (USSS) (England, UK), and premiered on July 17, 2019, during the concert From Brooklyn Works to Brooklynism: An Evening of Sonic Art and Poetry at the Kelham Island Museum in Sheffield (England, UK). The piece was commissioned by the Kelham Island Museum — Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust, and Arts Enterprise — The University of Sheffield. Thanks to Amanda Crawley-Jackson. Baltazar’s Adventure through The Great Machine was a finalist in the Musica Nova 2021 International Competition of Electroacoustic Music (Prague, Czech Republic), and at the Prix Russolo (Annecy, France, 2021).

Premiere

• July 17, 2019, From Brooklyn Works to Brooklynism: An Evening of Sonic Art and Poetry, Kelham Island Museum, Sheffield (England, UK)

Awards

• Finalist, Category A (fixed medium), Musica Nova 2019, Prague (Czech Republic)
• Finalist, Prix Russolo 2021, Annecy (Haute-Savoie, France)
• Finalist, Prix CIME 2023