A concert project with the intention of performing and showcasing the electro acoustic vocal music of Trevor Wishart.

The heart of the concert is the piece “Anticredos” written for 6 voices and multi channel sound design/electronic. The range of the composition is vast, both vocally and aesthetically speaking. The piece had it’s premiere in 1980, and it is based on a very detailed system of sound and notation published in the book “Book of Lost Voices” (1980). One can find this system in almost all of Wishart’s vocal compositions. “Anticredos” is both vocally demanding and musically very complex and for that reason it has been performed only a handful of times. At the same time the music speaks to us all, with it’s fascinating soundscapes and strong contrasts. Song Circus has since April 2009 performed the piece on several occasions, amongst others at the contemporary music festival PGNM in Bremen, which was broadcasted on the radio (Radio Bremen/Nord-Deutsche Rundfunk). Song Circus has also participated on Wishart’s free improvisation program together with The Kitchen Orchestra in Stavanger.

And from “Anticredos” we move towards Wishart’s current electrophonic sound universe. “Encounter in the Republic of Heaven” is a multi channel electro acoustic surround piece where Wishart works with phonemes as a musical phenomena in combination with storytelling. The material is based on recordings of people of all ages, speaking in different dialects and with different individual expressions, freely telling stories. Act 1 of this piece had it’s world premiere in July 2010 and the second act had it’s world premiere in May 2011.

These two pieces combined provide an insight to the development of Wishart’s compositions through the last 30 years, as a pioneer within the electrophonic music and the exploration of the voice as a basis for sound:

How has his approach to language and voice changed? In what way has he evolved as an electrophonic composer? and how have the technical challenges and the development of new electrophonic equipment influenced and affected his music?

Trevor Wishart (UK) (b. 1946) has been a pioneer within electronic music, vocal music and academia since the early seventies. Wishart is currently associated with the Durham University as Arts Council Composer Fellow. Wishart has also developed musical software that has been and still is being used by many electrophonic music performers today.