Chicago-based sound artist Nicholas Rougeux’s ‘visual music’ uses an algorithm which converts sheet music into a graphic catalogue of musical notes. Symphonies become intricate artworks which painstakingly reproduce every note. The results are as aesthetically appealing as they are clinically accurate.
Nicholas’ experiments offer a visual translation of the normally exclusively auditory sensation of the 20,000 notes that make up a symphony.
Each piece takes the shape of a circle. The song starts and ends at the top of the circle, running clockwise. Each dot that collectively makes the circle represents a single note. The larger the marking, the longer that note is played. Similarly colours are added to distinguish between the different instruments — with simple black rings for single instrument pieces.
In the past, Rougeux has created artworks using musical of greats such as Vivaldi, Beethoven, and Bach. Taking inspiration from the original programme from a performance at London’s Cadogan Hall in February 2018, including the first and last pieces of Mozart’s canon, Rougeux has here visualised the complete ‘Dyson Symphony’.
Title: Acoustical anatomy
Composer: David Roche, 2018
Number of markings: 27,268
Title: Symphony №1 in E♭ major, K. 16
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1764
Number of markings: 12,984
Title: Component Heart
Composer: David Roche, 2018
Number of markings: 634
Title: Industry
Composer: David Roche, 2018
Number of markings: 1807
Title: Holding us together, pulling us apart
Composer: David Roche, 2018
Number of markings: 308
Title: Symphony №41 in C major, K. 551
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1788
Number of markings: 60,148
Title: Alpha
Composer: David Roche, 2018
Number of markings: 501
Title: Omega
Composer: David Roche, 2018
Number of markings: 195
This article was originally published in Dyson’s on:Symphony magazine in April 2018. To see more of Nicholas Rougeux’s artwork visit his website here.