Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
In polyphonic overtone singing, vocalists manipulate their tongue, mouth and throat to produce two tones at once. While the technique has emerged in disparate societies, it is thought to have originated in (and is most commonly associated with) Mongolian culture. For this video, the German singer Anna-Maria Hefele entered an MRI machine to perform Mozart’s ‘Sehnsucht nach dem Frühling’ (‘Longing for Springtime’), alternating between ‘normal’ monophonic and polyphonic overtone singing. Produced by researchers at the Freiburg Institute for Musicians’ Medicine in Germany, the MRI imagery provides an extraordinary peak into the distinct differences between these singing styles, revealing yet another marvel of human physiology.
Via Open Culture
Video by the Freiburg Institute for Musicians’ Medicine
Performer: Anna-Maria Hefele
video
Nature and landscape
Take a serene hike through an ancient forest, inspired by a Miyazaki masterpiece
6 minutes
video
Design and fashion
The mundane becomes mesmerising in this deep dive into segmented displays
14 minutes
video
Physics
A song of ice, fire and jelly – exploring the physics and history of the trumpet
9 minutes
video
Architecture
Tour the European architecture that dreamed of a wondrous, fictitious China
16 minutes
video
Animals and humans
An artist and ants collaborate on an exhibit of ‘tiny Abstract Expressionist paintings’
5 minutes
video
Mathematics
How a curious question about colouring maps changed mathematics forever
9 minutes
video
Cities
The rise and fall of Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong’s infamous urban monolith
18 minutes
video
Art
Inside the unique creative space where ‘outsider’ artists find their form
14 minutes
video
Physics
A dreamy tribute to the music of Brian Eno, rendered in paint, soap and water
2 minutes