46 | NOVEMBER 25 • 2021 

ARTS&LIFE
EXHIBIT

The Music of Sound
B

ernie Krause developed 
an interest in music 
while growing up in 
northwest Detroit, and he pur-
sued that interest through a stel-
lar career as instrumentalist and 
sound designer.
In the 1960s, Krause per-
formed with many celebrated 
artists, including Van Morrison, 
The Doors and The Weavers. 
With music partner Paul Beaver, 
he introduced the Moog synthe-
sizer to the pop scene and mov-
ies, enhancing more than 250 
albums and 135 feature films, 
including Apocalypse Now and 
Performance.
Away from stage and studio, 
Krause ventured outdoors and 
tuned into the sounds of nature. 
That sensibility led to the pio-
neering of an offshoot sound 
career that has brought him 

international attention through 
recordings and artistic instal-
lations of what he has encoun-
tered. 
To showcase a range of his 
recordings at distant locales — 
which have encompassed travel 
to the research sites of Jane 
Goodall in Tanzania and Dian 
Fossey in Rwanda — Krause’s 
efforts are being represented 
in an immersive exhibit, “The 
Great Animal Orchestra.
”
On display Nov. 20-May 22 
at the Peabody Essex Museum 
in Salem, Mass., the exhibit 
presents specific soundscapes 
and associated spectrograms 
(graphic visualizations of what 
is heard). Each of seven stations 
communicates an environment 
he has recorded, now paired 
with spectrograms developed by 
United Visual Artists in London. 

THE SOUNDS OF NATURE
“For a long time, I’
d wanted to 
create a statement celebrating 
my life’s work in the field of 
soundscape ecology (the study 
of sounds produced by all organ-
isms in a given habitat, marine 
and/or terrestial),
” said Krause, 
a graduate of Detroit’s Mumford 
High School and a history 
graduate of the University of 
Michigan.
“When expressed through the 
lens of science — like a scientific 
paper published in an obscure 
journal — perhaps a dozen or so 
colleagues will read it. If, howev-
er, I transform some of this data 
into works of fine art, it expo-
nentially reaches larger numbers 
of people.
” 

Describing a favorite segment 
Describing a favorite segment 

in the exhibit, Krause turns to 
in the exhibit, Krause turns to 
the Yukon Delta, a location in 
the Yukon Delta, a location in 

“THE GREAT 
ANIMAL 
ORCHESTRA,” ON 
EXHIBIT NOW, 
SHOWCASES THE 
SYMPHONY OF 
NATURE.

SUZANNE CHESSLER
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

PHOTOGRAPHY BY
LUC BOEGLY, BERNIE KRAUSE 
AND UNITED VISUAL ARTISTS

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