Through a discussion of the installation piece, The Trade / Oro por
Baratijas, we address the theoretical issues behind the development of
ecologically based compositional work. We discuss whether ecologically based
music can be studied using linguistic tools. The concepts of potentiality
and actuality are situated within the perspective of individual–environment
interactions. A process that describes the relationship between an
individual and his specific social context is proposed: the personal
environment. Consistency is discussed in relation to environmental sound
listening processes and ecological modelling work. The first part of the
paper concludes by suggesting that form-creation is dynamically determined
by a process of mutual adaptation between listener and environment. The
second part focuses on compositional methods and contextual elements as
they are used in The Trade. This work has been developed through a
multilevel approach where visual and sonic materials stem from social and
historical issues. The organisational processes of the sound piece are based
on the micro-temporal and spectral properties suggested by the visual
elements in the installation. The meso-temporal dynamic is organised
through ecologically constrained events. The macro-structural shape and the
sources used in the piece make reference to a specific historical context,
i.e. the conquest of the American continent by the European armies during
the first half of the sixteenth century.