Pauline Oliveros - Press Play to Enter the Dungeon

I have heard countless orchestral compositions as parts of TV shows, movies, or video games and after the first time listening to American composer Pauline Oliveros’ “Lear” I found it unavoidable to think of the piece as background music while roaming the vast world of a video game or exploring an uncharted dungeon. The awe-inspiring, constant resonance of electronically reimagined or translated sounds from instruments like the accordion create not only a feeling of lingering danger but also due to the piece’s seemingly never-ending chords a sense of unlimited exploration. 

I deeply enjoyed listening to Lear especially while thinking of exploring a dungeon, crossing paths with and having to defend myself from some monsters of epic size, discovering long-lost artifacts, forgotten and abandoned buildings, and trying to find a way across abyssal cliffs all the while trying to find a way out of the lair by following the sirens of a human choir in the far distance. As you can probably see by now the music is highly inspirational and I truly believe that the experience one might have with it and the imaginations it might evoke are highly contingent depending on both the current state of emotion while listening and the listener him-/herself. As some said in their listening responses to this piece, I can definitely hear an exploration through space just as much. That is what I think makes this piece even more special: even though the scenarios may diverge, the relating emotions are still rather similar. After all, Lear is one of my favourite compositions featured in this seminar.