The Summer of 2010 was the starting point for this sonic journey. A collaboration between two sound students (Virgilio Oliveira and Joana Estevao) to sonically document the journey of the river Douro in the Portuguese territory. The initial idea came about through the inspirational work of R. Murray Schafer and Annea Lockwood (more information at Links of Interest), and from the personal necessity of creating a project where these ideas could be tested in practice.
The first documental trip was undertook in the month of August, 2010.
Through the river's journey, starting in Salto de Castro, near the village of Paradela in Miranda do Douro, where the Douro first meets the Portuguese territory, until its estuary in the city of Porto, we chose to capture the ambiences that would better represent such journey. The recordings were made during a period of 3 weeks using a Marantz PMD-660K recorder, and two Sennhiser K6 kits.
This journey was a personal learning experience.
2012_Winter recordings.
February, 2012.
Joining me was musician and sound student Marco Alexandre Oliveira which photographically documented the areas we traveled through. In this second expedition to the Douro, I set out to explore the differences between the Summer and Winter soundscapes. Both trips can be seen in the sound map in different colour markers; Summer(2010) in black and Winter (2012) in red.
2013_Picos de Urbion.
May, 2013.
A journey to Picos de Urbion, in Soria, Spain.
Recording the source of the Duero.
At an altitude of 2200m (+/-) the Duero starts out as a shy stream of water; melting snow adds to its body, as it descends rapidly through the mountain. At the highest points the landscape is rough, but beautiful. A white blanket of snow gradually melts as the warm months of Summer approach.
The perfect setting for the beginning of the Duero's earthly journey.
2012_Winter recordings.
February, 2012.
Joining me was musician and sound student Marco Alexandre Oliveira which photographically documented the areas we traveled through. In this second expedition to the Douro, I set out to explore the differences between the Summer and Winter soundscapes. Both trips can be seen in the sound map in different colour markers; Summer(2010) in black and Winter (2012) in red.
2013_Picos de Urbion.
May, 2013.
A journey to Picos de Urbion, in Soria, Spain.
Recording the source of the Duero.
At an altitude of 2200m (+/-) the Duero starts out as a shy stream of water; melting snow adds to its body, as it descends rapidly through the mountain. At the highest points the landscape is rough, but beautiful. A white blanket of snow gradually melts as the warm months of Summer approach.
The perfect setting for the beginning of the Duero's earthly journey.
Virgilio Oliveira
