Unruly Media, a video tracking service, first charted "A Glorious Dawn" on September 21, 2009. A month later, the video had received more than a million views and was ranked in the music category on YouTube as one of the top-rated videos of all time.[citation needed] On November 9, 2009, Third Man Records released a 7-inch single of "A Glorious Dawn" for the 75th anniversary of the birth of Carl Sagan.[1] According to Discogs.com, there were a total of 5 different vinyl records produced, including a limited edition 8-inch single given out only at South by Southwest 2010.[2][3]
Boswell had been experimenting with sampling and remixing for some time before creating his first YouTube videos. Boswell had worked with Auto-Tune in the past and thought people might be interested in hearing American astronomer Carl Sagan sing. He first saw Cosmos in 2004 and soon after bought the set of DVDs. Boswell looked through these episodes for "profound quotes" that lacked music in the background. Once he found these quotes, Boswell Auto-Tuned Sagan's voice and picked from the best ones. After completing what became "A Glorious Dawn", Boswell posted the video on YouTube in September 2009 and to his surprise, the video went viral within a week.[8][4][9] To date, the video has received nearly ten million views and is ranked as one of the top rated videos of all time in the music category.[10]
He released an album in 2010, titled Escaping the Tangle, which included some of these productions.[11] His music project Symphony of Science "aims to spread scientific knowledge and philosophy through musical remixes"[12] and to "deliver scientific knowledge and philosophy in musical form".[13] In addition to Symphony of Science, Boswell is also working on a project called Remixes for the Soul, as well as scientific-based films, most notably Timelapse of the Future, under the moniker Melodysheep.[14]See also: the 2020 film, The Secret History of the Moon
Boswell's first video in the Symphony of Science series is 3 minutes, 34 seconds long and features Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking. Samples include clips from Cosmos (1980) and Stephen Hawking's Universe (1997).[13] On September 21, 2009, Unruly Media, a viral video tracking service, began to chart the popularity of the video.[15] At the end of the first week of October, the video had received 800,000 views[4] and, by the end of the month, more than a million. By the end of 2010, the video had surpassed 5 million views.
The title takes its name from the chorus spoken by Carl Sagan, remixed from an episode of Cosmos.[citation needed]
Third Man Records released a 7-inch recording of "A Glorious Dawn" on November 9, 2009, in honor of the 75th anniversary of the birth of Carl Sagan.[16] The one-sided single was created by United Record Pressing in a unique "Cosmos Colored Vinyl", limited pressing of 150 copies; it was then re-pressed on regular vinyl in a larger run. The flipside is etched with a copy of the diagram found on the Voyager Golden Record.[16]
"A Glorious Dawn" is the first ever record to be played in space.[17]
The second video in the series is 4 minutes, 12 seconds in length and features Carl Sagan, Richard Feynman, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Bill Nye. It was released on October 19, 2009. Audio and video samples are taken from The History Channel's Universe series, Carl Sagan's Cosmos, interviews with Richard Feynman in 1983, Neil deGrasse Tyson's cosmic sermon, and Bill Nye's The Eyes of Nye series. Additional visuals come from NOVA's The Elegant Universe, Stephen Hawking's Universe, and Cosmos, among others. On January 23, 2010, the video was shown at the South Nassau Unitarian Universalist Church in Long Island NY, as part of a youth-directed service. The video has been used in other churches and classrooms.
The title comes from the chorus spoken by Neil deGrasse Tyson and remixed by Boswell:
The third video in the series is 4 minutes, 21 seconds in length and was released on November 23, 2009. "Our Place in the Cosmos" features Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, Michio Kaku, and Robert Jastrow. Samples were taken from Cosmos, Genius of Charles Darwin, a TED talk, Stephen Hawking's Universe, interviews and visuals from Baraka and Koyaanisqatsi, History Channel's Universe series, and Cosmic Voyage.
The title comes from words spoken by Carl Sagan and remixed by Boswell:
The fourth video in the series is 4 minutes in length and was released on January 6, 2010. "The Unbroken Thread" is themed around biology and evolution rather than the cosmos, and features Carl Sagan, David Attenborough, and Jane Goodall.
The fifth installment uses clips from various prominent scientists and speakers - including Jacob Bronowski, Sagan, Feynman, Dawkins, Brian Greene, Stephen Hawking, PZ Myers, Lawrence Krauss, Michael Shermer, and deGrasse Tyson - to explain and promote science, its process, and its benefits. The video was released on February 25, 2010. It uses clips from many sources, including Cosmos and The Genius of Charles Darwin. The chorus in this piece is sung by Dawkins and Sagan.
"The Big Beginning" is the eighth installment in the Symphony of Science music video series, released on January 20, 2011. It deals with the origins of our universe, covering the Big Bang theory, expansion and cooling of the universe, formation of galaxies, the interplay between matter and anti-matter, and cosmic radiation. The music video features Stephen Hawking, Richard Dawkins, Carl Sagan, Tara Shears, and Neil deGrasse Tyson. Videos sampled for this installment include Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking; God, the Universe, and Everything Else; The Universe on The History Channel; NOVA scienceNOW; interviews with Richard Dawkins and Tara Shears; and Carl Sagan's Cosmos. There is no clear chorus, but two quotes from Hawking and Dawkins come back several times.
"Onward to the Edge," "a musical investigation into the importance and inspirational qualities of space exploration (human and robotic), as well as a look at some of the amazing worlds in our solar system," is the twelfth installment of the Symphony of Science series, released on November 9, 2011. It features Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian Cox, and Carolyn Porco. Programs sampled for this installment include Wonders of the Solar System, My Favorite Universe, A Traveler's Guide to the Planets, and Carolyn Porco's TED Talk. The refrain is sung by Tyson.
The Greatest Show on Earth
"The Greatest Show on Earth," the thirteenth installment of the Symphony of Science series, released on January 17, 2012, is a "musical celebration of the wonders of biology, including evolution, natural selection, DNA, and more." It features David Attenborough, Bill Nye, and Richard Dawkins. Programs sampled include Life, Planet Earth, David Attenborough's First Life, Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life, Bill Nye the Science Guy's episode on evolution, and Dawkins' "There is grandeur in this view of life" speech. The refrain is sung by Dawkins:
The World of the Dinosaurs
"The World of the Dinosaurs," released on March 20, 2012, is the fourteenth installment of the Symphony of Science series. It is a "musical celebration of dinosaurs" and investigates their habits, extinction, and how we learn about them. It features Alice Roberts, Bill Nye, Nigel Marven, Dallas Campbell and more. The refrain is sung by Roberts and Campbell:
We are Star Dust
"We are Star Dust," released on May 9, 2012, is the fifteenth installment of the series. It features Neil deGrasse Tyson, Richard Feynman, and Lawrence Krauss. The song explains the origins of the elements that make up our bodies, in stars and supernovae. The refrain is sung by Tyson.
Our Biggest Challenge (Climate Change Music Video)
The sixteenth installment, released September 12, 2012, is titled "Our Biggest Challenge (Climate Change Music Video)". It features Bill Nye, David Attenborough, Richard Alley and Isaac Asimov. The song speaks the stark realities of climate change, however the message is that if we can come together, we can overcome this challenge. The refrain is sung mostly by Richard Alley while the last three lines are sung by Isaac Asimov:
The Secret of the Stars
On February 26, 2013, Boswell released the seventeenth installment, "The Secret of the Stars," which explores the beauty of Einstein's concept of relativity, its applications to time, speed, energy and mass, and its effects on the movement and light of stars. The music video features Michio Kaku, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian Greene, Lisa Randall, and Brian Cox. Michio Kaku performs the chorus with Brian Cox, who sings only the first and fourth lines:
Monsters of the Cosmos
On August 27, 2013, Boswell released the eighteenth installment, "Monsters of the Cosmos", which explains the black hole phenomenon and how they are both terrible and beautiful, destroying stars but creating galaxies. The music video features Morgan Freeman, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michio Kaku, and Lawrence Krauss. Morgan Freeman performs the chorus with Lawrence Krauss.
Waves of Light
On July 28, 2015 the nineteenth installment of Symphony of Science, titled "Waves of Light," was released. The video explains the way that we are able to look at the history of the universe through the power of light. The music is sung by Brian Cox.
Beyond the Horizon
On October 24, 2015, the twentieth installment of Symphony of Science, titled "Beyond the Horizon",[20] was released.
Released on November 1, 2017, the twenty-first entry is titled "The Nature of Sound" and is about how sound is generated via vibration but also about how music interacts with the human psyche. The chorus is sung by Bill Nye.
Children of Planet Earth: The Voyager Golden Record Remixed
This installment focuses on the Voyager Golden Record, two gold-plated records launched with the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes. The chorus is the English greeting on the record: "Hello from the children of planet Earth." The music video ends with a Morse code message spelling out Per aspera ad astra, meaning "Through hardships to the stars."
Related projects
Symphony of Bang Goes The Theory
Not strictly part of the Symphony of Science series as this was made for the BBC science show Bang Goes the Theory, it nevertheless uses the same formula of pitch correction of spoken words over an original music track. It celebrates the tantalising questions that science throws up, as well as being an entertaining showreel for the show itself. In addition to the four presenters - Liz Bonnin, Dallas Campbell, Jem Stansfield, and Yan Wong - there are guest spots for Jim Al-Khalili and Tara Shears. The clips are all taken from the TV show or its website.[22]
The chorus is sung by Yan Wong.
PBS Digital Studios
While not strictly part of the Symphony of Science series, Boswell uses the same formula of pitch correction of spoken words over an original music track. Made for the Public Broadcasting Service's PBS Digital Studios, various clips from present and past PBS programming are sampled to make these songs.
Carl Sagan Tribute Series by Milky Way Musings
Similarly, another science inspired music project came about during the period in which Symphony of Science had gone viral. The Carl Sagan Tribute Series featured snippets of the COSMOS television series episodes and Carl Sagan overlaid with select music recordings. According to the creator, Callum C. J. Sutherland of Toronto, Canada,
"Milky Way Musings is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting scientific literacy, supporting funding for scientific research and providing creative and educational science programming that is accessible to everyone".[23]
The Sagan and Feynman Series by Reid Gower
Founded by Reid Gower of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, The Sagan Series and The Feynman Series were also a byproduct of the same era spawned by Boswell's Symphony of Science. Although neither of them collaborated, both music video projects had similar themes, incorporating popularizers of science and science education set to musical melodies and inspirational themes.[24]
Reviews
Musician Carrie Brownstein found the idea behind Symphony of Science "quite beautiful and amazing in both its sincerity and aims". She also enjoyed the "hip-hop stylings" of the camera angle on Bill Nye while he is moving his hands around and expressing himself on "We Are All Connected".[25] Writer Nick Sagan, son of Carl Sagan, was impressed with "A Glorious Dawn", giving it a favorable review and stamp of approval. Sagan writes, "John Boswell over at Colorpulse Music is a mad genius, sampling both Cosmos and Stephen Hawking's Universe series into three minutes and thirty-four seconds of pure, concentrated awesomeness... Love it, love it, love it. Dad would have loved it, too."[26]
Columnist Franklin Harris argues that Boswell's videos show that science can arouse the minds of artists just as much as religion and mythology have in the past. Harris calls the videos "art for the Information Age, inspired by science".[27]
New Music Transmission, a podcast who featured Symphony of Science in 2009, gave "A Glorious Dawn" positive reviews and called Symphony of Science as "A thinking man's Pogo", referring to the Australian electro artist who was featured 2 weeks before.[28]
Christopher Jion, of Dirgefunk Records, has praised Symphony of Science saying,
"When I first heard John Boswell's "A Glorious Dawn," it brought tears to my eyes, it was life-changing. The original idea was to release a compilation of space and science-themed tracks from a handful of artists I like (of course, including some Symphony Of Science tracks). But as John kept releasing new Symphony Of Science material it became very obvious that it deserved its own album, and, as it's an ongoing project, perhaps there will be more volumes to follow. This CD is a gift from me to anyone listening who has a passion for music and science. It was paid for out of my own pocket with nothing expected in return. It's free to anyone who'll appreciate its ideas and messages. Dirgefunk Records does not exist for profit Its sole existence is to release material for the enjoyment of myself and likeminded persons. So, enjoy. (April, 2012)"
Jion released a limited edition music CD compilation[29] in 2012 featuring 15 Symphony of Science tracks, listed below:
Ann Druyan is an American documentary producer and director specializing in the communication of science. She co-wrote the 1980 PBS documentary series Cosmos, hosted by Carl Sagan, whom she married in 1981. She is the creator, producer, and writer of the 2014 sequel, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey and its sequel series, Cosmos: Possible Worlds, as well as the book of the same name. She directed episodes of both series.
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage is a thirteen-part, 1980–81 television series written by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter, with Sagan as presenter. It was executive-produced by Adrian Malone, produced by David Kennard, Geoffrey Haines-Stiles, and Gregory Andorfer, and directed by the producers, David Oyster, Richard Wells, Tom Weidlinger, and others. It covers a wide range of scientific subjects, including the origin of life and a perspective of our place in the universe. Owing to its bestselling companion book and soundtrack album using the title, Cosmos, the series is widely known by this title, with the subtitle omitted from home video packaging. The subtitle began to be used more frequently in the 2010s to differentiate it from the sequel series that followed.
The Planetary Society is an American internationally-active non-governmental nonprofit organization. It is involved in research, public outreach, and political space advocacy for engineering projects related to astronomy, planetary science, and space exploration. It was founded in 1980 by Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray, and Louis Friedman, and has about 60,000 members from more than 100 countries around the world.
Jill Cornell Tarter is an American astronomer best known for her work on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Tarter is the former director of the Center for SETI Research, holding the Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI at the SETI Institute. In 2002, Discover magazine recognized her as one of the 50 most important women in science.
Cosmos generally refers to an orderly or harmonious system.
A scientific celebrity, also known as a celebrity scientist or public scientist, is a scientist who has gained significant public attention, usually through the media. For the general public, scientific celebrities serve to represent science or a field of science. In some instances this can be self-serving in nature or can be at the behest of governmental or corporate interests or to promote the science involved.
Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. Tyson studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia University. From 1991 to 1994, he was a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University. In 1994, he joined the Hayden Planetarium as a staff scientist and the Princeton faculty as a visiting research scientist and lecturer. In 1996, he became director of the planetarium and oversaw its $210 million reconstruction project, which was completed in 2000. Since 1996, he has been the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York City. The center is part of the American Museum of Natural History, where Tyson founded the Department of Astrophysics in 1997 and has been a research associate in the department since 2003.
Cosmos is a popular science book written by astronomer and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Carl Sagan. It was published in 1980 as a companion piece to the PBS mini-series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage with which it was co-developed and intended to complement. Each of the book's 13 illustrated chapters corresponds to one of the 13 episodes of the television series. Just a few of the ideas explored in Cosmos include the history and mutual development of science and civilization, the nature of the Universe, human and robotic space exploration, the inner workings of the cell and the DNA that controls it, and the dangers and future implications of nuclear war. One of Sagan's main purposes for both the book and the television series was to explain complex scientific ideas in a way that anyone interested in learning can understand. Sagan also believed the television was one of the greatest teaching tools ever invented, so he wished to capitalize on his chance to educate the world. Spurred in part by the popularity of the TV series, Cosmos spent 50 weeks on the Publishers Weekly best-sellers list and 70 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list to become the best-selling science book ever published at the time. In 1981, it received the Hugo Award for Best Non-Fiction Book. The unprecedented success of Cosmos ushered in a dramatic increase in visibility for science-themed literature. The success of the book also served to jumpstart Sagan's literary career. The sequel to Cosmos is Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space (1994).
Stephen Hawking (1942–2018), a theoretical physicist, has appeared in many works of popular culture.
Steven Soter is an astrophysicist currently holding the positions of scientist-in-residence for New York University's Environmental Studies Program and of Research Associate for the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. He is a proponent of the International Astronomical Union's definition of planet.
The Science Network (TSN) is a non-profit virtual forum dedicated to science and its impact on society. It was initially conceived in 2003 by Roger Bingham and Terry Sejnowski as a cable science TV network modeled on C-SPAN. TSN later became a global digital platform hosting videos of lectures from scientific meetings and long form one-on-one conversations with prominent scientists and communicators of science, including Neil deGrasse Tyson, V.S. Ramachandran, Helen S. Mayberg, and Barbara Landau. TSN has also sponsored and co-sponsored scientific forums, such as Stem cells: science, ethics and politics at the crossroads, held at the Salk Institute in 2004 and the Beyond Belief conference series.
The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing is an anthology of scientific writings, arranged and introduced by Richard Dawkins of the University of Oxford. Published first in March 2008, it contains 83 writings on many topics from a diverse variety of authors, which range in length from one to eight pages. All inclusions are dated post-1900, and include poetry, anecdotes, and general philosophical musings.
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey is a 2014 American science documentary television series. The show is a follow-up to the 1980 television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which was presented by Carl Sagan on the Public Broadcasting Service and is considered a milestone for scientific documentaries. This series was developed to bring back the foundation of science to network television at the height of other scientific-based television series and films. The show is presented by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who, as a young high school student, was inspired by Sagan. Among the executive producers are Seth MacFarlane, whose financial investment was instrumental in bringing the show to broadcast television, and Ann Druyan, a co-author and co-creator of the original television series and Sagan's wife. The show is produced by Brannon Braga, and Alan Silvestri composed the score.
"Standing Up in the Milky Way" is the first aired episode of the American documentary television series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. It premiered on March 9, 2014, simultaneously on various Fox television networks, including National Geographic Channel, FX, Fox Life, and others. The episode is presented by the series host astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, directed by Brannon Braga, produced by Livia Hanich and Steven Holtzman, and written by Ann Druyan and Steven Soter.
The Starmus International Festival is an international gathering focused on celebrating astronomy, space exploration, music, art, and the natural sciences. It was founded by astronomer / amateur musician Garik Israelian and musician / astrophysicist Brian May. The festival has featured multiple well-known astronauts and astronomers.
"Unafraid of the Dark" is the thirteenth and final episode of the American documentary television series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey and its series finale. It premiered on June 8, 2014, on Fox and aired on June 9, 2014, on the National Geographic Channel. The episode was written by Ann Druyan and Steven Soter, and directed by Ann Druyan, making this her series directorial debut. The episode explores the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter, as well as the contributions and theories of Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky, who furthered our understanding of "supernovae, neutron stars and 'standard candles.'" The finale reveals a recording of life on Earth - the final message on the golden record of the space probe, Voyager. The episode ends with Carl Sagan's iconic speech on Earth as the "Pale Blue Dot."
Bill Nye: Science Guy is a 2017 American biographical documentary film produced and directed by David Alvarado and Jason Sussberg of structure films, and produced by Seth Gordon, Kate McLean and Nick Pampenella. The documentary concept was pitched to the film's subject, Bill Nye, by Alvarado, Sussberg, and Gordon at a hotel bar in San Francisco in October 2014. Upon release, it was selected as a NYT Critic's Pick.
Cosmos: Possible Worlds is a 2020 American science documentary television series that premiered on March 9, 2020, on National Geographic. The series is a follow-up to the 2014 television series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, which followed the original Cosmos: A Personal Voyage series presented by Carl Sagan on PBS in 1980. The series is presented by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, written, directed, and executive-produced by Ann Druyan and Brannon Braga, with other executive producers being Seth MacFarlane and Jason Clark.
Timelapse of the Future:A Journey to the End of Time is a 2019 short epic documentary film created by American astronomy-themed musician and filmmaker John D. Boswell, made as a follow-up to his other short film Timelapse of the Entire Universe. Running at 29 minutes, it is a flowmotion—a combination of a hyper-lapse, time-lapse, and regular shots—of the universe from 2019 to the end of time, with the lapse rate doubling every five seconds. The film consists of self-made and fair use footage from films, the Internet, and speeches by scientists, using current knowledge and combining different hypotheses.
Timelapse of the Entire Universe is a 2018 short epic animated pseudo-documentary web film created by American astronomy-themed musician and filmmaker John D. Boswell. Inspired by the Cosmic Calendar, the 10-minute film is a hyperlapse of the universe from its start to current humanity, with every second representing 22 million years, with the entire humanity represented in a short time, using current knowledge. The film was originally released on Boswell's YouTube channel Melodysheep on March 7, but it was eventually taken down due to a copyright infringement regarding Morgan Freeman's voice. A revised version was uploaded 3 days later, on March 10, 2018. A year and 10 days later, a follow-up, Timelapse of the Future, was released.
↑ Boswell, John. "About". The Symphony of Science - Spreading scientific knowledge and philosophy through music. Archived from the original on 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
↑ "GWC Podcast #191". Galactic Watercooler (Podcast). 2009-10-24. Archived from the original on 2009-11-03. Retrieved 2009-10-26. Interview with John Boswell. (60.8 MB MP3)
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