Music can engage with issues that shape the society we live in today. This is what Luke Lewis and Alicia Jane Turner sought to do in their brand new works for the London Sinfonietta, which were premiered at the Southbank Centre on Sunday 6 February 2022.
The Echoes Return Slow by Luke Lewis used special speech transcription software to draw out the natural musical cadences of historic recordings of speech, and map them into melody. This innovative process told the sometimes sad, sometimes jovial songs and tales of old miners, speaking of national identity, better pay and conditions, unemployment, gender roles, language and culture; all themes as relevant today as they were fifty or a hundred years ago.
Tell me when you get home by Alicia Jane Turner was a theatrical exploration of the dangers of walking home at night, expressed through immersive staging and lighting, visceral sounds, electronics and the powerful voice of singer Ella Taylor.
Check out some photos and reactions from the night below!
...challenging, rewarding and fuelled by righteous anger. Evening Standard
A world premiere weekend 🌎
— London Sinfonietta (@Ldn_Sinfonietta) February 6, 2022
Rehearsals underway @southbankcentre starting with @aliciajturner ‘Tell me when you get home’ pic.twitter.com/3bXZz6KmPb
A new generation of composers is turning its back on abstraction and embracing socio-political issues with a vengeance... The Telegraph
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Photos: Monica Jakubowska
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Published: 9 Feb 2022
