Howl Chorus (for an undetermined number of untrained voices)
Incentivised by Nuno da Luz

After a massive decline and several local extinctions, mostly due to direct persecution, wolves are now re-emerging in many areas of their historical natural range, such as the Alps. One of the main monitoring techniques is the howling survey, which is based on the wolves’ tendency to use vocalisations to mark their territory, in response to howls of unknown individuals. For bio-acousticians, wolf howling sessions are useful for the localisation of packs, or aural estimation of pack size. But we should not forget that no matter how wolves may howl back at wolf impersonators, this is a language that humans cannot master or even understand. We can only do our best at copying it by ear, and await a response. Wolf pups tend to be the ones that, incentivised by non-wolf howlers, howl back; in turn, incentivising adults to join, fully aware of the interspecific masquerade in which they partake. Here, in the Vallée de la Roya, in the Parc national du Mercantour, we will engage in a form of regrouping that, like wolf packs, uses the voice to assert a temporary community. 

Howl Chorus is a performance for any number of untrained voices. At the start all the performers are close together; they come in simultaneously on a same word. In the course of the performance, each performer is asked to sing a certain number of times, each time until they run out of breath. After each word, take in breath and sing again. 

The words sung were:

When
the wolves
have 
all 
gone,
the snow
melts.

Quand
les loups
sont
tous
partis,
la neige
fond.