Philip Venables & David Hoyle: New Music Biennial

For:

Illusions

Commissioned by:

London Sinfonietta

Illusions is politically-engaged contemporary music exploring themes of government, LGBT rights and the rituals of music and art performance, featuring footage of avant-garde performance artist David Hoyle. The interplay between music and the cut-up video snippets of Hoyle searing and topical polemic is reflected in the erratic, boisterous and aggressive nature of the composition. The piece is written for an ensemble of nine musicians and is an extended and further developed version of Philip Venables’ existing composition which was part of the London Sinfonietta’s Notes to the New Government in May 2015. Philip Venables’ music is often

concerned with violence, politics and speech within concert music and opera. Performance artist David Hoyles’ often focuses on themes in the LGBT community attacking what he sees as dominant trends in ‘bourgeios Britain’.

Philip Venables said,

“I’m delighted that Illusions has been selected for the 2017 New Music Biennial.  Working on such a specific political piece with David Hoyle, and allowing anger to pour out was completely exhilarating.  I’m so happy that this also exhilarated the audience, and that we have a chance to revive it and re-target it for whatever political apocalypse may be underway in 2017.”