Giles Swayne: The Open Fund for Organisations
For:
The Courtship of Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo
Commissioned by:
John Armitage Memorial Trust (JAM)
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Supported by PRSF and in collaboration with St. Davids Festival, JAM is delighted to headline its 2014 season with its commission of The Courtship of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo; a 20-minute work from seasoned, highly creative and inspiring composer, Giles Swayne. Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo will be an outstanding addition to the British choral scene.
The courtship of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo, by Edward Lear, is one of the most touching, tragic and at the same time light-hearted poems in the English language, yet has never been set for professional musicians.
Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo will be a dramatic cantata. The Narrator will be sung by the choir, Lady Jingly by a soprano, and Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo by a tenor. The organ will make an excellently deep and sonorous ocean, and the brass quintet will supply the atmosphere of the Isle of Coromandel, enhancing the characterisation of the protagonists. Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo will premiere in St David’s Cathedral; a wonderful and apt coastal setting for this beautiful portrait of love and loss.
With each performer’s sound and calibre in mind, Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo will be written with creativity and confidence. Giles will compose mindful of the acoustic and performance spaces of the planned venues.
Giles is an internationally respected composer with an extensive work-list. He continues to be hungry to explore new sound worlds. He has never written for JAM’s unique palette of voice, organ and brass and is relishing this compositional challenge as well as the multiple performances and fruition of a long-time desire to set Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo.