Come and immerse yourself in ‘Sonic Woodland’, an enchanting soundscape by Hidden Orchestra (composer/producer Joe Acheson) and Tim Southorn (spatial audio engineer) with cello performed by Rebecca Knight.
Composer Joe Acheson (aka Hidden Orchestra) and spatial audio engineer Tim Southorn are bringing their music and sound installation 'Sonic Woodland' down from the high trees and into the walled garden of The Museum in the Park in Stroud as part of this year's Stroud Arts Festival.
Originally commissioned by Kew Gardens for their botanical forest at Wakehurst in Sussex, this installation has since been appearing in different woodland settings including over a creek in an ancient glen on the grounds of Kelburn Castle on the West Coast of Scotland, and most recently six months in the woods above Hawkwood CFT as part of last year's Hidden Notes Festival.
Though set here in the Walled Garden, this living composition reflects the unseen natural systems of a woodland glade - particularly the underground fungal networks that link trees and plants in slow, symbiotic conversation.
Underground, fungi form vast mycorrhizal webs that connect trees and plants, allowing them to share nutrients, water, and even information. These slow, silent exchanges are mirrored in the music: a generative cello canon, shaped by carefully programmed randomness, unfolds in real time. Together, these layers of melodies form shifting harmonies that echo the subterranean flow of life through the mycorrhizal networks that connect plants beneath the soil.
Scattered throughout the soundscape are brief, unexpected bursts of sound - log drums, percussive knocks, piano tones, woodpeckers tapping morse code, arpeggiated synths. These represent the release of Volatile Organic Compounds, not just by trees but by all kinds of plants. In settings like this one, even grasses and herbs can use these airborne signals to share warnings, call for microbial allies, or influence neighbouring growth.
This piece never repeats. Like the garden itself, it is always responding, recombining, and alive - an invitation to listen more deeply to the hidden intelligence of plants.
With many thanks to Stroud Arts Festival for bringing this unique installation to The Museum in the Park’s Walled Garden.
Please note: Bands will be playing in the park bandstand on Sunday afternoons, and all day on Sunday 1st June. Please avoid visiting at these times if you are looking for a meditative and calming experience.
