Catherine C Hennix (1948) was among the pioneers in Sweden

experimenting with main-frame computer generated composite

sound wave forms in the late !"s (Still Life, Q#$ %&l'ingen (ecords)
19*" (vin&l)) +""4 (cd)), -n the *"s she led the .ust intonation
live-electronic ensem/les Hilbert Hotel and The Deontic Miracle, the
recordings of the latter are presentl& /eing released /& -mportant
(ecords, -n 19*8 Henr& %l&nt formulated what) su/se0uentl&) /ecame
'nown as the concept of an Illuminatory Sound Environment (-S1) on
the /asis of Hennix performance of The Electric Harpsichord at
the 2oderna 2useet in Stoc'holm)19*! (released /& 3ie Schachtel)
2ilano) +"1"), -S1 was first reali4ed in 19*9 at the 5itchen) 6ew 7or')
as a .oint manifestation /& %l&nt and Hennix, %or the next +" &ears
Hennix devoted much of her time to mathematical research at the
insistence of her late 6ada 8uru) Sri %a0uir 9andit 9ran 6ath) serving
as a professor of mathematics and computer science and assistant to
and coauthor with :,S, 7essenin-;olpin for which she was given the
Centenar& 9ri4e-fellow :ward (+""") /& the Cla& 2athematics
-nstitute) Cam/ridge) <S:, -n +""= she returned to computer
generated composite sound wave forms now called Soliton(e)s of
which Soliton(e) Star was the first result, Su/se0uentl& she formed
the .ust intonation ensem/le The Choras(s)an Time-Court Mirage
which performs Blues Dhikir al- Salam (ive at the !rimmuseum)
vol, 1) >erlin) +"11) -mportant (ecords +"1+), -n +"1+ Henr& %l&nt
as'ed Hennix for a new) expanded reali4ation of -S1 for an
installation at ?52 in 5arlsruhe) 8erman&) to /e featured in his
retrospective@ prospective show Henr& %l&nt :ctivities 19A9 B at ?52,
-n response Hennix reali4ed a 4-channel composition) Ra
!nfinit"#Ra $osmosis) her first 4-channel computer assisted
composition since 19!9, : /eta-version has /een made availa/le for
the ?52 Su/raum installation, Che world premiere) version 1,") will
ta'e place at the 9ro.ect (oom) >roo'l&n) 67) in Dune +"1=, Chis is
Hennix E most complex composition since returning to the avant-garde
music scene - so far,
$atherine $ Henni%
Ra !nfinit"#Ra $osmosis (&'() - *+&,)
-."o/u no 0moto in .emoriam1
2 Reali3ation in T4o-5art Harmon" in 6H Sections
78.-Beta-9ersion for the !lluminator" Sound En:ironment
!nstallation
*& !!! &, - &* 9 &,
Catherine C Hennix$ well-tuned 7amaha 'e&/oards)
tetra-chord custom sine wave generators F computer
Stefan Cied.e$ program design F sound mastering
Che title) "ag In#inity$"ag Cosmosis) is a rag in name only) referring)
if onl& indirectl&) to the Sans'rit root meaning (from Gran%aG) of
GragaG (meaning color) passion) as an agenc& for Gcoloring the mindG
(of a listener exposed to an all-enveloping sound), Che title is a
derivative from m& (ver&) Ga/stractG composition
H2S:H:SC(:6:2: (Che Chousand 6ames of H2) (cf, .onistic
;ni:erses B< +<& - in Catherine Christer Hennix$ Che 1lectric
Harpsichord) 3ie Schachtel) 2ilano) +"1") of which "ag In#inity$"ag
Cosmosis is one of its emanations (among other such derivatives -
mention "ag Tinnitus (+""!)) "aag Ignoranti (Dohn Cage$ Song/oo'
6o, A!) (+"11) and "ag Sama& (+"1=),
Che sound of H2 is related to the Creation Myth o# the "g 'eda and
in modern cosmolog& to the Hu//le fre0uenc& (the lowest possi/le
fre0uenc& the universe can sustain at an& future time) and the
event of the acoustic (ea) at which moment) /illions of &ears ago)
the o/serva/le universe /ecame transparent to light, Current
models of the universe are GspectralG in the sense that all
components are descri/ed /& oscillators with specific fre0uencies
not necessaril& occurring in an acoustic medium which) in effect)
i(so #acto) are defining the latter as specimens of anahata nada or
the non-acoustic or unstruc) sounds, -t is not without astonishment
one reads this ancient creation m&th toda& noting) in particular) its
refusal to proclaim unrestrained speculations to which most creation
m&ths have fallen victim$
Chere was neither non-existence nor existence then$ there was
neither the realm of space nor the s'&
which is /e&ond,
Ihat stirredJ IhereJ
Ias there water) /ottomlessl& deepJ
Iho reall& 'nowsJ Iho will have proclaimed itJ
Ihence was it producedJ Ihence is this creationJ
Che gods came afterwards) with the creation of this universe,
Iho then 'nows whence it has arisenJ
Ihence this creation has arisen -
perhaps it formed itself) or perhaps it did not -
the one who loo's down on it) in the highest heaven)
onl& he 'nows -
or perhaps he does not 'now,
Che eight eternal 0uestions of the Creation Myth are still not
answered /ut ours is the 8olden :ge of cosmolog& which ma'es
them more relevant than ever, Ihile sound cannot /& itself
model all possi/le cosmic fre0uencies) a rag represents a (small)
universe or aspect thereof all by its o*n /ased on a set of
ordered fre0uencies serving as pitches and /eats (pulses) the
perception of which gives rise to Ginner universesG no less
unexplored than the ph&sical universe, "ag In#inity$"ag Cosmosis
presents fragments of Graga-li'eG fre0uenc& constellations
following distinct c&cles and permuting their order creating a
simultaneit& of Gmulti-universesG, Ihen two such GuniversesG
come in proximit& of each other and /egin unfolding
simultaneousl& along distinct c&cles there is a 'aleidoscopic
exfoliation of fre0uencies as one universe is /ecoming two /ut
not separated - the effect of cosmosis is entrained /inding two or
more fre0uenc& universes into proximit& where their modal
properties interact and /lend creating in the process entirel& new
microtonal constellations in an omnidirectional simultaneous
cosmic order with phenomenologicall& GtransfiniteG 9oincare
c&cles (c&clic returns to initial conditions), 9ro.ecta of
(tensor-products of) the Hilbert S(ace Shruti +o, (Che
Kuantum-Harmonic 1ther - Sounds from :nother Iorld) represent
the formal ontolog& of these universes of oscillations (GshrutiG
means$ that which can /e heard (as a means of expression) - the
concept applies to both) texts (li'e the "g 'eda) and actual
sounds (li'e a rag), (>& GcosmosisG - mean a (reciprocal) process
or event where two distinct /ut related universes are lea'ing or
/leeding into one another along a continuous (non-chaotic)
d&namic tra.ector&),
>esides the direct live or GonlineG experience of this sound there
is also a significant Ga#ter-soundG or GofflineG-experience which is
primed /& self-GtuningG of a tem(late #or otoacoustic emissions
formed /& the hair cells of the inner ear /& prolonged exposure to
"ag In#inity$"ag Cosmosis, Chis experience is accessi/le to a
listener who withdraws to a 0uiet space and concentrates on the
spar'ling fre0uencies filling the inner ear man&) if not all) of
which are Gre-/roadcastedG from the Gonline- experienceG, - note)
not without satisfaction) that this re-/roadcast is an exemplar&
instance of a terrestrial experience of the unstruc' sound) a
sound which does not travel through air - anahata nada, Chis is)
/& definition) one of the thousand sounds of H2L
1pisodes of this experience - call G"ag TinnitusG which are not a
ph&siological anomal& /ut a trap-door to what in -ndian music
theor& is referred to as the Gsubtle soundG) commonl& 'nown as
the Ginner soundG, Che listener regularl& alternating /etween
ahata nada (acoustic sounds) and anahata nada experiences will)
according to -ndian music theor&) /e /est adapted to the ultimate
goals of exposure to ps&chotropic sounds) a shruti-dialectics of
sorts,