EX CATHEDRA’S
SONGS OF PROTEST
By Christopher
Morley
For
Sunday’s Remembrance Day concert Ex Cathedra have gone one step beyond “Lest We
Forget”, presenting a powerful programme of “Songs of Protest”, putting the
case for peace, political freedom, compassion for our fellow human beings, and
the fight against torture.
South
African-born, Moseley-based composer John Joubert wrote many pieces for Ex Cathedra
over the decades, chief of which is South of Line, settings of some of Thomas
Hardy’s bitter Boer War poems, already
recorded twice under Jeffrey Skidmore, and now given a welcome live re-hearing under
his direction.
James MacMillan has
also composed several times for Ex Cathedra, notably his oratorio Seven Angels,
premiered in 2015. In Sunday’s programme we hear Cantos Sagrados, a protest
about political repression in Latin America and the “disappearance” of
political prisoners. Combining poetry with traditional religious texts,
MacMillan described his intention to create something “both timeless and
contemporary, both sacred and secular”.
“Songs of Protest” also
features two world premieres, including one from Ex Cathedra
composer-in-residence Alec Roth. His The Peace of the Night previews a project
with the German group Ensemble Nobiles, who are commissioning a series of
pieces ahead of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II,
with strong connections to Dietrich Bonnhoeffer, a humanist prisoner of war who
was killed in a concentration camp shortly before the war ended.
The other world
premiere is A Knock on the Door, Sally Beamish’s response to the use of torture,
and its effect upon the perpetrators as well as the victims. The hard-hitting
libretto is by her husband, Peter Thomson, and she tells me how they came to
keep a sense of perspective and avoid obvious sensationalism when dealing with
this harrowing subject.
“We wanted
to emphasise the 'ordinariness' of people affected by torture, and
the fact that, given certain circumstances, anyone might find themselves on
either side of this human tragedy,” she explains from their Brighton home.
“Peter's
language is simple, and so is the music. I have used a basic keyboard, rather
than a piano, which gives the score a rather banal - even slightly mechanical -
feel. There are two choirs, and the libretto is a dialogue between them.
“At one
point we had a meeting with the former Beirut hostage John McCarthy, and
he remarked that it was often humour that restored sanity in the most
unthinkable situations. So Peter felt he had licence to incorporate a measure
of humour into a pretty devastating situation.”
Sally tells
me about the pre-recorded elements in the score.
“Music is
used in torture - often at an almost unbearable volume level. The heavy metal
track I notated was recorded by our guitarist Arthur Dick and is used in stark
and shocking contrast to the generally gentle, measured language of the piece.”
We are
lucky in that we can experience such works in an open society, I put to Sally. She
must feel immense solidarity with creative artists operating under much more
repressive regimes.
“I have
thought a lot about Shostakovich, who was forced to join 'the party' much
against his inclination, in order to continue his career in safety. He was
deeply ashamed but felt he had no choice . It
is very easy for someone who has never experienced
oppression to judge the actions of those whose life is defined by danger and threat.
One thinks of the Russian artists whose appearances have been cancelled because
they would not openly condemn today’s prevailing regime.
“Growing up
in Iran, Peter is only too aware of the censorship that can blight artists -
but also of the power of creativity to cut through and challenge political
oppression - as in the case of Shervin Hajipour.”
“Peter, as
a playwright and actor, thinks dramatically, and this has become a more and
more important aspect of my work, even in instrumental works. .I have
also been influenced by our doorstep performances during lockdown of songs
across a range of genres. A Knock on the Door explores blues, jazz, metal, and
bland 'elevator'-type music.”
*
A Knock on the Door was commissioned by the Quaker
Concern for the Abolition of Torture (Q-CAT) www.qcat.org.uk
In a free pre-concert
performance at 3pm – ‘Songs of Protest and Hope’ – Ex Cathedra’s Academy of
Vocal Music youth choirs will perform an excerpt from Cecilia McDowall’s A
Girl from Aleppo and a selection of their own compositions. All are welcome.
Ex Cathedra with
soloists Imogen Russell (soprano) and Lawrence White (baritone), are joined by
Backbeat Percussion Quartet for Songs of Protest at Town Hall Birmingham on
Sunday 13 November (4pm). Tickets from www.excathedra.co.uk
A film of the live performance of A Knock on the
Door is planned and will be available to stream online in the future.
ends