Time to get busy recording the sounds of the outdoor market. Thanksgiving is the last big weekend, and then the vendors all go back to their farms. There are a few vendors in the winter, but they are few and far between. They are usually selling firewood, Christmas trees, and maple syrup. I came down here once and there was a man selling frozen pig parts from the back of his truck. Heads and all.

The market is always a sonically-lively place, but the activity is soon going to retreat indoors. The pubs and bars stay open all year round. The patios stay open as long as they can, buffered from the cold by plastic curtains and space heaters. Once the snow comes, life moves inside.

I am concentrating today on "vegetable island", that part of the composition featuring the voices of the vegetable vendors. The stalls of produce are beautiful to look at, and the conversation is equally interesting. Most of the voices are French - many of the vendors come over from Quebec. This intermingling of French and English voice is quintessentially Ottawan - both can be heard equally.

The timbres, rhythm and pitch of the French and English voices also contrast well. I will work with this in the context of my piece. The French voices (when speaking French) seem smoother and gentler to my ears than the English. On the other hand, it changes when a Francophone speaks English - for example, the addition of an "h" in front of a word that starts with a vowel (eg. "eggs" become "heggs").

But an Anglo trying to speak French has other idiosyncracies. One of the hard things for an Anglophone trying to speak French is to speak as smoothly - there are a lot more soft vocal patterns in French language. I know one of the hardest things for me is softening the edges of consonants. The contrast of voices is something I want to emphasize in my finished market composition.

What I love about the vegetable vending section of the market is that it's probably not a lot different now than it was in its early years (the market was established way back in the early 19th century). The people who sell produce are farmers, just as they have been in years gone by. Other parts of the greater market area are urbanized, but this part of the market remains close to its original roots.

It would a fascinating project to recreate the sound of the market in the 1850's. Another time, another project ...

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