Joshua Leung – Museumism: The Greatest Mummies Return
Location:
Main Hall
Performers:
Elizabeth Watson (flute)
Benjamin Emery (trombone)
Naomi Isaacs (violin)
Yazan Khwies (guitar)
Catrin Owen (cello)
The piece was inspired by the reopening of the Manchester Museum in February 2023. The title uses a new word created by Mr Leung himself: “museumism”, which means “ideology of museum music, or any form of art, inspired by museum visits and curations.” Mr Leung was inspired by the Golden Mummies of Egypt when he makes this chamber music, which consists of guitar solo, flute, trombone and strings. To keep the voice down so as not to disturb the visitors, instruments are muted mostly during live performance.
Jiahui Yang – The Portrait Of Divinities
Location:
Main Hall
Performers:
Cameron Hood (flute)
Qing Wang (zhongruan)
Echoes of ancient Egypt,
Listen to the sounds.
A portrait of the gods,
In melody profound.
In the beginning chaos reigned,
But the sun god brought light.
Creation sprang forth,
And the world came to life.
The gods of wisdom then appeared,
To sprinkle civilization’s seeds.
The people grew and prospered,
A golden age of deeds.
But war gods also looked on,
As civilisations fought and died.
Invasions came, and they fell,
Tears for the fallen cried.
The god of death then came to reap,
As time marched on and on.
The end of ancient Egypt,
Witnessed by the eternal one.
Ella Kay – as the Earth preserves…
Location:
South Asia Gallery
as the Earth preserves… explores the sounds of organic activity and human involvement in spaces commonly affiliated with archaeological dig sites. Kay’s work highlights and responds to Manchester Museum’s Archaeology exhibition by drawing upon the preserving processes and environments of archaeological artifacts before they come to be in museums today. With the help of sound recordings captured above and below ground, the work offers an insight into the Earth’s changing landscapes from beneath, highlighting the passage of time and its role in caring for lost pieces of history before they are unearthed.
Ruiqi Xiong – “Harmony of Qin and Se”
Location:
Lee Kai Hung Chinese Culture Gallery
Performers:
Qing Wang (zhongruan)
Qing Fang (vocal)
This duet is a unique and captivating composition featuring the combination of zhongruan and Chinese ethnic female vocals. The piece showcases the fusion of traditional music cultures from China’s southern and western regions.
Through the combination of zhongruan and ethnic female vocals, the composition brings a rich and dynamic soundscape to life, highlighting the interplay between traditional and contemporary elements. The fusion of different musical traditions creates a powerful and beautifying listening of the experience Chinese culture.
Modern composition techniques are used to infuse a contemporary sensitivity and innovation into the piece, while still preserving its traditional cultural features.
Cameron Hood – Wail
Location:
Living Worlds Gallery
Performers:
Gina Hazell (soprano saxophone)
James Harms (alto saxophone)
Romano Bezzi-Coddetta (tenor saxophone)
Bobbo Peers (baritone saxophone)
Hood’s first saxophone, quartet, ‘Wail’, was composed for the Manchester Museum to be premiered in the Living Worlds gallery which has been home to the magnificent sperm whale skeleton for over 130 years. The title is a play on words as the music aims to sonically draw attention to how humans have disrupted the lives of sperm whales through both hunting them for the oil their bodies possess, as well as changing their hunting and migration patterns by producing seismic booms which oil companies use to find oil deposits under the seabed leading to whales being washed ashore and stranded.
Rachel Beckles Wilson – Juggling with Extinction
Location:
Living Worlds Gallery
“Juggling with Extinction” is composed to be played under the dinosaur skeleton in the Living Worlds Gallery. The listener is overshadowed by this tangible example of species loss, but the playful title refers to voices from other beings in the Manchester Museum. ‘Okopipi’ (Blue Poisoned Dart Frogs), successfully bred during Covid lockdown, and Japanese cranes, powerful symbols of peace, have their stories to tell. In its interweaving of destructive and regenerative sounds, the electroacoustic, interactive “Juggling with Extinction” invites participants to consider their role in preserving the natural world and the urgency of taking action to ensure a sustainable future.
Ding Feng – Tears in the Ankeniheny-Zahamena Corridor
Location:
Living Worlds Gallery
Performers:
Sarah Fore (flute)
Gina Hazell (soprano saxophone)
James Harms (alto saxophone)
Romano Bezzi-Coddetta (tenor saxophone)
Bobbo Peers (baritone saxophone)
This piece is inspired by the rainforest in the Living World Gallery. All this reminds me of how much these scenes have been destroyed in recent years. I have divided the piece into three parts, the first, which mimics the sound of raindrops falling in the early morning and the cries of the animals; the second, the cutting down of plants and the hunting of animals, which combines the sound of gunshots, digging and cutting, and the mournful cries of the animals; and the third, the animals dying, the rain falling heavily, which seems to be crying for nature.
Joshua Gardner – Very much alive
Location:
Living Worlds Gallery
Taking the Living Worlds room as inspiration, Gardner combines prehistoric soundscapes with contemporary electroacoustic techniques to create a piece that reflects on the work of the curators. The piece brings life to the room’s historical artefacts by highlighting both their journeys through time as well as the audience’s presence within the room. By contrasting these against electroacoustic techniques, he merges the room’s pasts and presents, inviting the museum-goers to immerse themselves in a variety of tones, moods, and perspectives.
Jens Singleton – Of Life
Location:
Living Worlds Gallery
Performers:
Life – Aimee Skye (soprano)
The Bard – Arthur Geoghehan (violin)
The Curator – Jens Singleton (live composition)
In a certain corner of the Living Worlds Gallery, there sits an empty display case labelled ‘Life’. Beneath its plaque lies a comments book, within which museumgoers are encouraged to share their thoughts on what they would fill this case with. Of Life is a translation of what that book contains, an interactive sonic installation of three performers with real-time composition, to set to music what was once only ink on a page. Some aspects are curated, others improvisationally generated – but just like the book, dear visitors, the power to change this piece’s journey shall ultimately belong to you.
