On Sunday 20 February we took over the Barbican with live performances, DJ sets and more for our curated event listening to place. The day was centred around artists responses to location-based sound and field recordings – read on to learn more about our favourite moments. All images by Dimitri Djuric.
The day began with Chihiro Ono’s performance on the FreeStage, performing her own music on violin accompanied by live electronics and field recordings. Langham Research Centre followed with a selection of their own music alongside works by Luc Ferarri and John Cage.
A panel discussion followed in the Fountain Room exploring “The evolution of field recording from documentation to personal artform.” Moderated by Gabriel Prokofiev and featuring Chihiro Ono, Kate Carr, Cedrik Fermont and Robert Worby (Langham Research Centre), the discussion featured fascinating stories about the panellists’ relationships with recordings, the ethics surrounding capturing sound in public places and how each artist incorporated these recordings into compositions.
Back at the FreeStage, Ligeti Quartet enraptured the audience with Anna Meredith’s Chorale for quartet and quadraphonic sound emulating MRI machines, presented alongside works by Pauline Oliveros and selections from Christian Mason’s Sardinian Songbook. Cedrik Fermont then performed a solo set featuring new electroacoustic pieces, with elements of birdsong, gongs and more. Ahead of the evening performance, Gabriel Prokofiev and Blue Maignien performed DJ sets.
The evening performance that followed was a sonic and visual feast for audience members in person and viewing online. Langham Research Centre began the main event with their piece ‘A Return to Spatial Futures' featuring reel-to-reel tape player and accompanied by striking images of Parisian brutalist architecture from Photolanguage. Rebeca Omordia followed with works for solo piano inspired by gardens, mountains and more, carefully intertwined with curated field recordings and live electronics from Gabriel Prokofiev. Kate Carr’s piece, inspired by Bricklayers Arms roundabout in Bermondsey, was a captivating sonic exploration of a table full of objects and electronics.
The world premiere of Ersatz opened the second half, a new commission by Cedrik Fermont performed alongside the Ligeti Quartet. Ligeti Quartet continued their set with visceral pieces by John Luther Adams and Cassandra Miller responding to birdsong and wind. The night concluded with Li Yilei’s original set Boundary Conditions, performing with theremin, live image scanning and field recordings from the UK and China. Stunning visuals accompanied their three part set, inspired by the rituals of tea ceremonies rooted in the Tang Dynasty.
With thanks to our incredible artists for their performances, the supporting team at Barbican and to all of the audience members who made the event what it was.
Images by Dimitri Djuric
Student journalists Charlie West and Zuzanna Wawrzkiewicz reflect on their experiences at our the greenhouse effect concerts in the Barbican Conservatory.