Trees by Sam Richards & the Sonic Harvest Ensemble

Event Information



Sam Richards writes:
There are roughly 420 trees to every human on planet Earth. A visitor from space would probably assume that trees are the planet’s main inhabitants. But unlike humans, trees grow and move very slowly. There are bristlecone pines in East California that are over 5,000 years old, thus first taking root around the time of Stonehenge. Any music written with trees in mind must be aware that trees live in such different time scales to humans. This is why much of my Trees consists of apparent stasis and expansive lengths of time.
The music takes the life cycle of a tree as its basis – from dispersal through germination, shoots, sapling, young tree, mature tree through to decay – after which the whole process starts again. Such is life. You will hear washes of sound, moving textures and hints of vernacular melody.
Performers are asked to read musical systems, hints, outlines, to interpret and to improvise. I call the group Sonic Harvest Ensemble after the title of a book I wrote in 1992 the premise of which was that the 20th century had explored, discovered, developed, documented, archived and collected vast amounts of music from all over the world in time and space. I saw it as time to reap this sonic harvest. This is even more so now in the 21st century.

I am proud to have the collaboration of Sybille Schiffmann whose photographic work in, of and around trees provides a compelling slide sequence to complement the music.
Totnes, August 2024

Featuring:
Steve Day percussion
Roger Hall gongs
Ric White sax/ewi
Mike McInerney piano
Jennifer Campbell
 flute
Gillian Taylor violin
Emma Welton viola
Eliza Jacobs cello
Chris Derrick clarinet
Andy Williamson 
 sax/bass clarinet

Singers
Briony Greenhill
Jenny Osborne
Lucinda Guy
Kerry Priest



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