Sound In Space - The B-Sides - Cosmos, A Choral Suite

It’s time for another Episode Extra! (which is where you special blog readers get to check out really cool stuff to go along with my YouTube videos, like special features on a DVD, only way more special-er)

In this latest episode of It’s Okay To Be Smart, we got to explore some musical and sonic art projects that were not only inspired by space, but created from space. Actual astronomical data, from planetary orbits to solar wind, converted into music! Unfortunately, I couldn’t feature all of the great space sound projects out there, so I’m going to put up the extras this week. Lucky you!

We’ll start with perhaps my favorite piece choral music ever: Kenley Kristofferson’s three movement tribute to Carl Sagan and his poetic opus: Cosmos. I get honest-to-goodness chills (all the way from my nebula to my black hole, I tell ya) when I hear them sing this line:

Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.

Perhaps it’s not sound created from space, per se, but it’s inspired by the wonder of cosmic discovery. That is truly something to marvel, with our ears and our eyes.

More Space Sounds B-sides coming your way this week! Share this beautiful mix of science and art with a friend, and be sure to stay curious.

Cosmos: A Three-Movement Choral Suite

A Sagan-esque chorus set to images of space exploration

Last month we were lucky enough to experience the audio version of Kenley Kristofferson’s suite of choral music by which to travel the cosmos. Sagan’s words, set to harmonizing voices, are now accompanied by a video montage of space exploration.

The three movements capture the wonder, scale and emotion of our half-century in space quite nicely. With only a week to go until our latest interplanetary mission, it’s a fine reminder of why humans have always ventured to the stars, in mind and body. We truly are a way for the cosmos to know itself.

Start your week off the right way. Enjoy “Cosmos”, as a choral suite!

Source: youtube.com

Carl Sagan: Chorale

What’s not to love about a choral suite inspired by and set to the words of the great Carl Sagan? Kenley Kristofferson penned this beautiful work using the late Sagan’s inspiring writings as his lyric. You can see more details about the three movements here, but here’s Kristofferson’s take on Sagan’s influence:

“Carl Sagan has taught me how beautiful science and the universe can be, and that understanding something enriches the experience, but doesn’t take away from the mystery that draws us to the big questions of life. He taught me that the sciences are beautiful; the natural world is elegant; and for such small creatures as we, the vastness is bearable only through love.”

I couldn’t agree more :) This is music to travel through the cosmos by, if, perhaps, only in our minds.

Source: SoundCloud / Kenley Kristofferson