Review: Encounters in the Republic of Heaven
ENCOUNTERS IN THE REPUBLIC OF HEAVEN
TREVOR WISHART
THE COWDRAY HALL Friday, 2 November 2012
Alan Cooper writes...
So far sound’s opera weekend has provided some amazing not to say unique audience experiences. Trevor Wishart’s Encounters in the Cowdray Hall did not really qualify as happening in an unusual place but it must rank among the most stimulating, astonishing and unusual musical experiences of the entire Festival. Was it an opera at all? Well yes, in certain senses, it had stories and emotions and it created a sense of different places, but it was so much more than that. It was filmic, symphonic and poetic too. This was an opera with no performers or perhaps with thousands of them. Wishart had made sound recordings of voices from the North of England, the youngest four years old, the oldest ninety-three. Perhaps the words of the programme note sum it up better than I ever could. The 8-channel sound-surround experience begins with the sound of the wind, formed from tens of thousands of human voices, and gradually unfolds the stories of fishermen, and city dwellers in the North East of England, accompanied by imaginary musical instruments derived directly from the speaking voices we hear. As each story subsides, we encounter a sea of human voices organised in surprising ways – speech that waltzes, speech that harmonises, clouds of speech that circle the audience, culminating with speech that transforms into song.
Of course the voices we heard during Wishart’s four act opera were not really themselves “performers” in fact as he told us, he went to considerable lengths during the recording process to make sure that his chosen speakers were not “performing” for the microphones. Nevertheless, I felt that we really got to know these unnamed people in a remarkably intimate way. There was a great deal of splendid comedy in the performance often from the young children taking part or from the gentleman who had discovered that the Bellydancer in Act One was a bloaaaak! There was a wistful poignancy in the relationship of the old lady with her blue budgie Peter or drama in the Soldier’s Tale of when he was nearly killed in the war.
What really generated the fascination and excitement in this amazing musical journey though were the transformations created from the voices by Trevor Wishart, alchemist in sound. Choruses of voices, huge organ chords and as the programme note said so aptly “imaginary musical instruments” that sounded as if they had come from another universe. This was an amazing journey for the ears, for the mind and even at times for the emotions. Thank-you Trevor Wishart for letting us take a glimpse into your fabulous universe of sound.
© Alan Cooper 2012
