The electro-acoustic composition “Symphony of the Siege” by Haris Sahačić is an attempt to spatialize and recreate some of the key experiences described as sound memories through the fifteen testimonies. Psychological research and practice have shown that imprints from the past can also be transformed by having physical experiences that directly contradict the helplessness, rage and collapse that encapsulate trauma.
“Symphony of the Siege” is a recreation of sonic experiences with new sequences and spatial order, based on the narrational testimony. The aim of the work within the project research is two-fold. The first aim is to re-introduce the war sounds to the witnesses in a safe and reconceptualized space and sequence and in this way as stated above the protagonist/witness is able to replay and change scenes from their past and thus ‘normalize’ the war sounds through listening to the composition. The second is to introduce those sounds to the visitors of the exhibition who have not experienced the siege of Sarajevo, again in a safe and controlled environment with a carefully composed flow, as a means of better understanding the survivors and their testimonies.
Mirsada Zećo’s sound performance or sound bath “Peace” is the third part of the exhibition and is based on music and therapeutic theories. The performance has been pre-recorded and is also structurally based on the narrowing of the sound scales as the performance progresses, ultimately ending in silence. The performance is played in the same space and right after Sahačić’s “Symphony of the Siege.” Thus, the role of this sound bath is to regulate the sonic distress that the visitor might experience after listening to the electro-acoustic piece.
