On the tide

I haven’t sung professionally in over 21 years and had long stopped writing and recording music. I am trying to return to it but these things are easier said than done. 

I was immediately drawn to this 1987 recording of a woman singing with harmonium recorded by David Mowat in the town of Mahalingapur, in the Indian state of Karnataka. It was perfect as it was – and in choosing it I knew I would be setting myself up to fail. Something about it spoke to me, though, and I felt hopeful that perhaps this unknown, beautiful woman might accompany me back to singing. Her voice was so strong, so effortless, that I couldn’t hope to match it; I couldn’t hold the notes or even understand what she was saying. I listened closely. I pulled out my old vocal warmup tape, began rehearsing and sang alongside the recording every day.

Between first hearing her voice and producing my version, I stepped far outside my comfort zone. In one of those crazy “and why not?!” moments an old friend I decided to start a band and record an album. Against all expectation, I sang again – so far just a single complete vocal, written quickly in response to an improvisation – but I had broken the spell that bound me.

This piece is as much about listening as it is about singing, about proximity without possession and about connection across time, distance and uncertainty. I did not sing on this recording – only she did. The work remains with her voice and with what it set in motion.

Woman singing with harmonium reimagined by Margaret Fiedler McGinnis.

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Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining 100 sounds covering 100 years from the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford. Explore the full project at citiesandmemory.com/century-sounds