Humanities professor David Ibbett recently released a new song as part of his continuing Voice of the Universe project.
A resident composer at the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, Ibbett teamed up with soprano Agnes Coakley Cox who is featured in Luminosity. Voice of the Universe is a project connecting the science of the deep universe with art and music. Ibbett collaborates with vocalists, scientists and filmmakers to produce immersive compositions which are released through the Multiverse Concert Series Youtube channel.
In addition, the new song coincides with the launch of Ibbett's two related competitions.
Track 1: Luminosity, invites listeners to the world of the Harvard Computers: a pioneering group of women in the C19th who made groundbreaking discoveries in astrophysics in a time where women were prevented from holding academic positions. Singing from Harvard’s Great Refractor telescope - in its time the largest telescope in the USA - soprano Agnes Coakley Cox sings of special moments in history that have expanded our perspective on the cosmos. Around her, stars and galaxies from the groundbreaking SMACS 0723 image swirl overhead, with their data sonified into musical melodies. This was the first science image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, overlaid with X-Ray data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory - showing an incredible gravitational lens formed by the SMACS cluster. This allows us to see further back in time than ever before, to the era of the cosmic dark ages and first galaxies, and ultimately - the birth of the first stars in the universe.
1. Comment Competition
Tell us "How did the video and science behind it affect your perspective on the cosmos? " The top 5 comments on our Youtube video will receive a Black Hole Symphony ecocotton T-Shirt. Enter the Comment Competition.
2. Submit an Image Competition
We're holding a competition to pick a future image to sonify into music! Submit your astronomical image via the link, together with a description of why it would make a good subject for art, music and storytelling. The winner will be picked on January 1st 2025 and released later that year. Enter the Submit an Image Competition.