Singing Hollow

Sebastian Adams (2025)

A performance installation written for Olesia Borsuk, Robert Coleman, Joanna Mattrey, Nick Roth, Jin Theriault and the bell-ringers of St Audoen’s Church, Dublin

Commissioned by the OPW/The Liberties Festival

Introduction

The Singing Hollow sculpture in St Audoen's Park invites visitors to put their heads into a hole inside a rock. It creates an acoustic transformation reminiscent of the feeling of sanctuary from the outside world that comes when you walk into a church. This inspired this live sound installation: organ plays inside the church, musicians play in the grounds, and church bells bridge both worlds, all playing parts that are both independent and interdependent.

In the original performance, the piece is designed for four outdoor instruments, six church bells (each one rung by an individual) and an organ. It was specifically written for St Audoen’s Church of Ireland, which is an incredibly old church.

[named for] St Ouen (or Audoen) of Rouen (Normandy), a saint who lived in the seventh century and was dedicated to him by the Anglo-Normans, who arrived in Dublin after 1172. It was erected in 1190, possibly on the site of an older church dedicated to St. Columcille.¹.

Three of the bells in this church are over 600 years old.

The piece could easily be adapted for performance in other circumstances: a different church, a different number of bells, a different number of outdoor instrumentalists. The main thing which would need to be redone from scratch is the division of the church grounds into areas and sectors outlined in Spatial Layer - structural.

The organ and outdoor instrumental parts are derived from the bells in various ways explained later in this score.

Instructions for Performers

This score is designed to be read and internalised, and should not need to be referred to during the performance. The outdoor musicians will be guided via walkie talkie during the performance, and the organ and bells will be guided by web pages.

Please click the relevant link below for your specific instructions:

If anything in the score is unclear, please contact me at sebastian@kirkosensemble.com.

Technical Requirements

Outdoor Instruments:

  • Must all be portable.
  • No chairs or music stands required.
  • No cables may be used.

Organist:

  • Will require a computer with a microphone attached.
  • The computer screen must sit on the organ console’s music stand.
  • The microphone must be able to pick up the bells in order to analyse it.
  • The computer must be capable of running a modern web browser.
  • Careful testing of the provided web server application will be required on the specific computer used for the performance.
  • The application is available to download here:
  • To install the application [detailed instructions to follow]

Bell-Ringers:

  • Must have access to a computer, whose screen must be visible to all the bell ringers; or which must be equipped with multiple screens.
  • The computer should either have internet access to access the web page specified in the Bell Control tab, or a local copy of the web page (link to downloadable file will be provided here).
  • The software is run locally, not synced over a server, so multiple computers must not be used simultaneously in order to solve sightline issues.

In the initial performance, all tech elements can be provided and set up by the composer.

In Case of Rain

The backup plan will be to perform the same kinds of spatial transformation inside the church:

  • Because the organ and “outdoor instruments” will both be in the same spaces, the “outdoor instruments” should play extremely quietly.
  • Only audience members who are right beside them should be able to hear them.

an audience page is available here.