Politics of the Imagination

Autumn is enervating this wood,
Cutting its sinews at the knee.
The evergreens show some resilience,
Seeing blotched spots of hope
In their sap reserves.
They’ll weather any pollarding.
Others taste the bitter husk:
The child who has forgotten her alphabet,
A young man, hunched like a choking sapling
With no leaf-cushion to soften his fall,
And the spreading blight of witches’ brooms on lonely, rusted oaks.
Prattling pigeons vacillate among the branches,
Cooing as they sow their ordure.
No roots, they’ll fly as they please,
At cross-purposes with their babbling.
I’ll bend my boughs towards the shade of
Christ, that fecund mustard seed,
Who calls to tree and bird,
'Come, abide in me,
And I …
In thee.'

Note by Anselm McDonnell

'Vez' in Serbian means embroidery, needlework. The piece is inspired by traditional Balkan music. Repeated notes, irregular rhythms and tiny 'embroidery' between accented structural pitches are in the main features of this piece.

Note by Ana Sokolović

Arachnid is a short early work, written while attending the Ennis Summer School of Composition in Co. Clare, Ireland in 1991. It is a significant piece personally, because it marks my first tentative steps as a young composer in addressing timbre as a compositional resource in its own right. Percussive sounds on cello are matched with unpitched percussion and more lyrical material is shared with tuned. The material is derived from chromaticism, from the opening freely notated gestures, through a melodic section on cello, puntuated by percussion interjections, to the final rhythmic section – all evoking a ‘spidery’ ambiance.

Note by Gráinne Mulvey

In Black Arrow, written for bass clarinet and electronics, bass clarinet solo part consists of three ideas as follows: the quiet timbral trills, abrupt slap tongues in low register and ghostly fleeting key slap scales. The whole piece develops around or between these three gestures turning on themselves or going through transformations. The latent energy seems to waver in a very low register but gradually the sounds creates a space filled with a strong directional kinetic energy. The succession of rising scales, lofty multiphonics and huge intervallic portamenti intensify the energy and constantly keep up the extreme tension.

The source of the sound comes only from bass clarinet in order to create unified sonic world between the electronic part and instrumental part. The electronic part of the piece realised at the electro-acoustic music studio at the University of York and at the composer’s home studio. The piece is dedicated to Sarah K Watts.

Note by Sungji Hong

Paddy was written especially for (and at the request of) the percussionist Tatiana Koleva. The set-up is for wood, scrap metal and two kick bass drums. Using South Indian and Irish rhythmic patterns as sources, the piece develops further what I like to call my 'elastic band' treatment of rhythm. For example, let’s take a pattern of two parts. You can stretch one part in relation to the other, but eventually, if the whole is elastic, the parts will return to their original relationship to each other. This is a really simple case but it explains something. This elastic stretching back and forth happens both horizontally (in repeating patterns with durations that stretch and shrink) and vertically (in the way a bass or treble pattern might relate to each other). Like its source patterns, Paddy resists colonisation.

Note by Donnacha Dennehy

1.1 Press Conference Fallout
1.2 Elevator Music 1
2.1 The Penthouse
2.2 Elevator Music 2
3.1 The Mezzanine
3.2 Elevator Music 3
4.1 The Basement

In the rural constituency of Nether Whittaker, one local politician believes he has all the answers to the post-Brexit, post-pandemic economic slump his town is facing: a government investment in his wife’s tech company to create jobs and level up the area. After grappling with several journalists at a press conference over the issue, he is accosted by an activist (and old schoolmate) as he enters the elevator. Their bickering is observed by an enigmatic lift attendant, who knows that not everything is as it seems in this particular elevator …

Politics of the Imagination explores the concepts of utopia, political dogmatism and bitterly opposed worldviews. It asks the question: how can imagination and playfulness inform our approach to political problems? And what is the key to utopia?

Note by Anselm McDonnell

Louise McMonagle

cello

A Scottish cellist based in London, Louise McMonagle is a versatile performer who enjoys making music in many environments. Her playing has been described as 'especially vivid, with its powerful combination of precision and intensity' (Jonathan Russell, Bachtrack). Career highlights include winning the Ernst Von Siemens Ensemble prize (2020, as a member of the innovative Riot Ensemble), performing at Wigmore Hall (London), playing as soloist in Pierre Boulez's Messagesquisse at the VIVA Cello Festival (Switzerland), and recording Berio Sequenza XIV with Four Ten Media.

Heather Roche

clarinet

Born in Canada, clarinettist Heather Roche trained in England, lived in Germany for seven years, and now lives in London. She has performed at most of the major European festivals, including musikFest (Berlin) and the Agora Festival (Ircam, Paris). She has also performed solo programmes at many festivals including the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.

She has premiered many solo works for her instrument. In 2020, Scott McLaughlin wrote his clarinet concerto, Natura Naturans, for her, and it was premiered at Tectonics (Glasgow) with the BBCSSO under Ilan Volkov. Her CD of Martin Iddon’s clarinet music, Sapindales, recently sold out on the Another Timbre label, and she has solo CDs out on the HCR/NMC and Métier labels.

In 2015 she formed a duo with Eva Zöllner, with whom she has performed internationally and commissioned dozens of new pieces for their duo. She has played with Apartment House since 2016.

Matthew Farthing

percussion

Matthew Farthing is a dynamic drummer and percussionist based in London. He is delighted to perform regularly with orchestras and ensembles including the London Symphony Orchestra, the John Wilson Orchestra and the Colin Currie Group.

Barrowclough

rap artist

Barrowclough is the artist name of Jonny Mellor. He is a rapper who has been writing, recording and performing for over 30 years. As a vocalist in the hip-hop group Michaelis Constant and a solo artist, he has supported hip-hop artists such as Public Enemy, Souls of Mischief, Anti Pop Consortium, Buck 65, Dilated Peoples, Sugarhill Gang, All Natural and Task Force. Michaelis Constant’s debut single, Verbal Vomit, received single of the month (and five stars) in hip-hop magazine HipHop Connection, and since then his releases have received favourable (three- or four-star reviews) from Line of Best Fit, Hiphop Connection and Ukhiphop.com. He is also the co-founder of artist network Sputnik:Faith and Art.

Joel the Custodian

rap artist

Joel the Custodian has been rapping since 1991 throughout Europe and the US. He has co-hosted monthly hip-hop nights in Birmingham and has opened up shows for such hip-hop luminaries as Public Enemy, Dilated Peoples, Task Force, Jehst, Souls of Mischief, The Pharcyde and One Self. Between 1998 and 2003 he was a part of rap group Michaelis Constant.

In 2012 he produced and directed a short film titled The Quickener, a medieval movie told entirely through rap lyricism. His latest double album SXXTStorm/PANDÜZIMA (2022) features guest rap appearances from the likes of LA hip-hop legend Myka9, Dan Bull, MStork, OCHE Igboyi and Zaeb Dust. For over 20 years Joel has coached young rappers and facilitated rap and poetry workshops.

Kosyne

rap artist

Kosyne (or Kos for short) is a rapper, producer and label owner based in Birmingham, and has been releasing music and performing around the country since the early 2000s. Within the hip-hop scene he has supported artists such as Pharoahe Monch, Ghostface Killah, MF DOOM and more.He was one of the founders of underground label EATGOOD Records and was also creator of LOUISDEN, a popular hip-hop producer network and curated beats event/label.