Songscape project 2019
Presented by SongBuilders and performed and written in collaboration with:
Age UK Horsham District • Big Notes Choir • CFYT Wednesdays • Little Notes Choir Salvation Army Connections • St Mary’s CE Primary School • Storrington Primary School The Weald School • West Sussex County Youth Choir & Orchestra.
Songscape culminated in a public performance in the impressive 'Big School' at Christ's Hospital on 20th October 2019
Back in 2013 composer Christopher Hussey and opera singer Mark Bradbury embarked on their first creative project together in the rural setting of Chesworth Farm, only a short walk Horsham town centre. This rather enchanting landscape served as the backdrop for the the first ever Build an Opera week. Alongside working in their own professional fields, Christopher and Mark have both independently been involved in earlier devised performance pieces for orchestras and opera companies and their coming together was a natural joining of forces.
Songscape has been at times challenging, frequently full of laughter and sometimes incredibly moving. The songs represented here tell stories of Sussex legends and explore the writings and local history of some of the outreaching areas in the rich Horsham District.
Some songs will represent a moment in time and others will lend themselves to the legacy of being performed again in the future.
Chris and Mark would like to thank the Horsham District Year of Culture for believing in this huge project, West Sussex Music for partnering with us along the way and most of all, the group leaders and individuals who have come into Songscape and said ‘yes’ to exploring the unknown.
Horsham District Year Of Culture 2019
Songscape is a fully funded HDYOC project, brought to you but the creators of Horsham's Build an Opera.
The creation of a brand new performance piece for massed choirs and orchestra in Horsham District is exciting in itself, but this is a choral project with a difference. Yes, the ensemble is supported by a core of county youth singers and orchestral players experienced in the world of classical music, but at the heart of the project is a platform for developing social cohesion by inviting groups typically unfamiliar with the concert platform to take their first outing onto the big stage. The multi-generational performers involved in the project will be spending time over the summer in songwriting workshops with composer Christopher Hussey and opera singer Mark Bradbury to pen lyrics, fresh melodies and new musical ideas. These will then be woven deeply into the texture of the final performance piece, ‘SongScape’, giving every performer a sense of ownership not just of their performance, but of the fabric of the music itself.
The project will culminate in an event that will take place at Christ’s Hospital, in one of the district’s largest performance spaces known as Big School on 20th October.
