Ever since I heard a quiet sound a few years ago, I have been obsessed with snow falling from trees. Back then, in the Sucha Woda Valley, the sun came out the day after heavy snowfall. The temperature caused the snow to fall from the trees, which had a particularly interesting effect when the mass of snow hit the dry spruce branches on its way down, creating a micro-sound in the air, somewhere between percussion and kalimba.
Although I managed to hear this sound later, I never managed to record it. To this day, it still bothers me, and whenever I can, I catch crown snow-load falling from trees in the hope of recreating the memory from Sucha Woda.
On that day, I was working on another project involving recording bells in the Tatrzański County. After recording bells I went for a longer walk. I was looking for a secluded place from which I could record the rural ambience from a distance. This is how I arrived at a part of the village called Zagóra, near the remote settlements of Resiowie and Modłowie.
My attention was drawn to a grove on the border between these settlements. It consisted of young spruce, beech and rowan trees. It was buzzing with rustling sounds. The crown snow-load was thawing, dripping, sliding down and falling, pulling with it leaves and needles that had not yet fallen. Somewhere on the sides, the village was bustling with activity: chainsaws, drills, shovels scraping against the driveway, dogs barking, shouts and greetings. Birds perched in the groves: great spotted woodpeckers, bullfinches, fieldfares, goldcrests and tits.
The sounds of thawing snow crust are harsh, like technical pops and clicks on a recording. They are also very close, with almost no reverberation, because I positioned the microphones as close to the tree line as possible, but in such a way that falling water, ice and snow would not hit the equipment.
Recorded on 25 November 2025 in Czarna Góra.
Equipment: Sennheiser MKH 50 & 30, Sound Devices MixPre 6 mkI