Soundscapes Rostock

Wer das Eigene nicht kennt, kann das Andere nicht erkennen, geschweige denn schätzen lernen.
He who does not know his own, can not perceive the other, much less learn to appreciate it.
(2. Berliner Appell, Thesen zum Interkulturellen Dialog)

Welcome to the website of Soundscapes of Rostock, an ethnomusicological exploration of sounds which in some way define the city and its suburbs. Based on soundscape theories developed by Raymond Murray Schafer, and based at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater (HMT) Rostock, the project is led by ethnomusicologists Barbara Alge and Frances Wilkins in collaboration with students and staff at the HMT and the University of Technology, Business and Design Wismar. The aim of the project has been to capture and record sounds, musical and environmental, which in some way identify the different areas of the city - anything from political rallies and street musicians in the city centre to electric doors, Christmas market and industrial sounds. This was carried out over five months between October 2010 and February 2011 and has resulted in a substantial and important collection of audio and video recordings, photographs, fieldnotes, and transcriptions.

Please enjoy looking around this website! Here you can find detailed information on the project and the project team, bibliographies for using soundscapes in higher and lower education, database of the material collected, and perhaps most importantly a sound map of Rostock incorporating audio, video, photography, and texts.

Many thanks to the Alfred Toepfer Foundation which made the project possible in the context of an Eurolecture.