global listening
A Soundtrack that hears as much as it tells
A PBS four-hour documentary premiering this summer, The New Heroes,
tracks "social entrepreneurs"––people who make their living solving
problems around the world. Its soundtrack, by musician Christopher
Hedge, helps tell their stories––and the stories of the people they
help––by sampling sounds from each segment, and then using those
samples to create music to accompany that segment. It's all very meta.
And effective. For example, a story about a girl who can't stop crying
because her parents have sold her into slavery not only includes the
sound of her mournful voice––but the violinist on the piece watched
footage of her as he played.
For 20 years Hedge has specialized in creating music that’s a montage of
cultural references––and has a studio so notably complex it was featured
on the Discovery channel. He was involved in every step of the production
of the film: The producers gave him an outline and Hedges asked the
director of each segment to collect "audio snapshots," sounds that
distilled the stories they told.
Hedges intended for his soundtrack CD––which hits stores June 4––to
stand on its own, and it does. It manages to provide the essence of
human lives without words. All proceeds will go to various global charities.
The documentary airs June 28 and July 5. For more info, go to:
pbs.org/opb/thenewheroes/.