In 'Minding the hive', Christopher Fox explores the remarkable tonal resources of Lore Amenabar Larra帽aga鈥檚 self-designed quartertone accordion. These sounds become a focal point for the orchestra鈥檚 music, as different groupings of instruments create swarms of sonic activity around her. The music takes inspiration from the ways bees communicate, interrelate, work, and even 鈥渄ance鈥� to convey the precise location of food and water.
Laura Bowler, a 鈥渢riple-threat composer-performer-provocatrice鈥� (The Arts Desk), offers a humorous yet incisive reflection on the pressures of everyday life, inspired by Lucy Ellmann鈥檚 essay 鈥楾hings Are Against Us鈥�. 鈥淭he work is propulsive, unrelenting, and overwhelming for the soloists as they battle through the eventually overpowering surrounds,鈥� Bowler explains. In this setting of Ellmann鈥檚 text, the GBSR Duo embodies the 鈥渢hings,鈥� while the orchestra (representing the global) extends and amplifies these forces. Bowler herself stands for 鈥渦s鈥�: the human experience, caught in the midst of a turbulent rollercoaster ride.
In Star Washers, Ang茅lica Castell贸 contemplates stars in all their manifestations, 鈥渇rom the ones we find, one afternoon, crushed on the street, to the ones in the sky鈥� It鈥檚 also about stars in my life: stars who inspire and accompany my creative path,鈥� she explains. Castell贸 blends orchestra, electronics and the recorded voice of the supremely gifted Barbara Hannigan, which emerges as a mysterious appearance鈥� like a voice from outer space.
