Lisa Robertson: Women Make Music
Bio: Lisa Robertson is a composer from the West Highlands of Scotland, particularly interested in human/ environment relationships and Gaelic culture. She gained a PhD from the RCS. Her music has been performed by the RSNO, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, The Sixteen, EXAUDI, defunensemble, Red Note Ensemble, among others, and at festivals including Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Musica Nova Helsinki, and on BBC Radio 3 and BBC World Service. She was shortlisted for the Scottish Awards for New Music and featured in BBC Music Magazine’s ‘Rising Stars’ column. She is a Music Patron composer and her music is published by Composers Edition.
Project Description: The project, a new song cycle for mezzo-soprano and violin, by composer Lisa Robertson for mezzo-soprano Katie Coventry and violinist Rachel Spencer, will take an eco-feminist approach to the Scottish witch trials and persecution of women connected to the environment. Much of the text will be from accused witches’ testimonies, framing some of these remarkable confessions as an empowering feminist counter-narrative to these women’s disenfranchised existences. The language used in the testimonies is a blend of English and Scots, with some Gaelic influence, giving a unique flavour to the work and highlighting minority languages. The nature-focused soundworld will evoke these women’s connection with nature. This piece will make connections between the historical injustice of the witch trials and highly important issues of today, in these times of environmental crisis, when women’s rights are threatened worldwide and scapegoating is rife.
Short project title: Creation of a song cycle for mezzo-soprano and violin