is a headphone installation at the National Museum of Natural History in Luxembourg and is based on the doctoral thesis by Sam Erpelding. This exhibition is being held in conjunction with the exhibition ‘Sous les pavées, la nature’, which runs from 24 April to 19 October 2025.
In two glashouses the soundscapes from the Donau-Auen and Kalkalpen National Parks in Austria are presented. These compositions are extracts from the compositions ‘Zur toten Pappel’ and ‘Zur alten Buche’. These sound recordings were made from May 2022 to January 2023 using various microphone techniques. This makes it possible to immersively reproduce the acoustic environment of these protected habitats, as well as to perceive sounds from the ground, water, trees and bats throughout the four seasons.
Zur alten Buche // To the old Beech tree
Mountain Soundscapes from the Limestone Alps
The majority of Europe’s primeval forests have been cut down over the last few centuries, leaving only a few remnants of near-natural primeval beech forests. The Limestone Alps represent the last great forest wilderness in Austria and harbour remnants of primeval beech forests in Europe.
During 8 minutes you can hear the soundscapes of a forest near the town (Molln) and a protected area (Zöbelboden) for one minute each season. The human presence in the protected area is significantly lower, but air traffic can also be detected underground. Each season at both locations has clear characteristics of biodiversity and weather properties, and thus tells its own story.
Zur toten Pappel // To the dead Poplar
River Soundscape from the Danube Floodplains
In order to adapt to the conditions of navigation and to protect agricultural land from flooding, man altered many of Europe’s rivers through extensive canalisation, flood protection dams and hydraulic engineering. The consequences were drastic interventions in the ecological balance. The area of the Danube east of Vienna is one of the last remaining free-flowing sections of the river and still harbours one of the last great floodplain landscapes in Europe.
During 8 minutes, you can hear the soundscapes of a floodplain forest in the national park for two minutes each season. The human presence in the protected area is almost omnipresent due to its location between Vienna and Bratislava and consists mainly of shipping and air traffic. These protected alluvial forests harbour a high level of biodiversity, which shows clear characteristics throughout the seasons.
