Singing bridge

Singing bridge is an orchestra-only version of my composition Centre bridge (dark river), prepared in 2002.

Of all of the bridges that cross the Delaware river, my favorite is Centre Bridge, in Stockton NJ and Solebury Township PA. Its surface is a metal grating, and as cars move across it, they generate singing tones that rise and fall. This phenomenon has fascinated me for years, and I have written several pieces inspired by it.

For me, the experience of this bridge is about transformation. It changes the sound of traffic into a kind of music: into something beautiful and almost sentient. After you leave the bridge, you find that your hearing is changed: you discover a little of the singing of the bridge hidden within the ordinary sounds of cars passing on the street.

Singing bridge began with recordings I made of the cars on Centre Bridge. Initially, I simply created a kind of a sonic trace of these recordings, using what I heard to shape the pitches and timing of the music. As the piece progressed, of course, it began to take on a character of its own. But I always found myself returning to the sonic image of the bridge, and allowing it to guide me, and transform my musical imagination.