TREVOR WISHART’S ‘LANDSCAPE’

We are delighted to present the second ever staging of Trevor Wishart & Mick Banks’ landmark Hebden Bridge site-specific music composition/environment ‘Landscape’ (1970)*. Consisting in a series of music theatre situations, scored for pre-specified activities, outdoor locations, times and durations; the work spans twelve hours over one day.

Cast for performance is hundreds-strong: joined by local musicians, artists, cyclists, school children, community groups, business and institutions. Listen out for the ‘Royd’s IcesPiece’, whose vans will be playing unusual sounds, selling their legendary mysterious black ice-cream.

To experience the work is a re-framing of the everyday, the imagined fabric of our quirky mythical town as both stage and raw material – is it normal, is it art, does it matter? The piece culminates around dusk, with singers on the hillsides, ‘red fire’ and rockets, semaphore flares as ciphers. But what does it all mean?’** This free event is an entertainingly accessible encounter with rarely performed contemporary music, appealing to both new and experienced audiences alike.

This event is kindly supported by Sound and Music, the British Music Collection (#BMC50), and an Arts Council England, Lottery Grants Award.

*First performed during the ‘A-Wake Festival’ (1970). For both, no known documentation currently exists. If you have photos or memories of these events, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact helen@hbaf.co.uk

** Trevor will be joining us Wed 27th June at HB Town Hall to explore this, and many other questions, regarding his work.