The Sinking of The Titanic
Composed in 1969 and first recorded for Brian Eno’s Obscure label, Gavin Bryars’ The Sinking of the Titanic was inspired by reports that the ship’s string ensemble continued to play the hymn tune Autumn as the vessel sank in April 1912.
Originally scored for orchestra and tapes, Bryars’ exquisite piece has been interpreted, adapted and performed in innumerable subsequent configurations. Written as an ‘aleatoric’ work, The Sinking of the Titanic was intended to evolve with each performance.
The acclaimed and most recent audio release of the work, on the UK-based Touch label, was recorded live at the 49th International Festival of Contemporary Music at the Venice Biennale in 2005 and was performed by Bryars along with Alter Ego Ensemble and the experimental turntablist Philip Jeck. Throughout the 72 minute piece Bryars and the ensemble weave refrains from Autumn with layers of Jeck’s sample-based materials, creating, at times, clamouring waves of sound that suggest the great engines and massive bulk of the vessel and the ocean that swallowed it. The result is a heart-achingly intimate and direct work.
In 2012, the centennial year of the disaster, the Gavin Bryars Ensemble, Philip Jeck and artists Bill Morrison and Laurie Olinder will present a series of audio-concerts with an accompanying scenography of archival film images cued live to the music. Initially presented in April 2012 in cities most closely associated with the Titanic, the production will then tour more widely.
The first concert will take place at the Town Hall & Symphony Hall Birmingham on 13 April, followed by the Barbican, London on 15 April 2012. Early-bird tickets for the Barbican show are now available from the Barbican’s website.
Related links
gavinbryars.com
philipjeck.com
Bill Morrison biography
Laurie Olinder official site
Wikipedia: Harold Bride (the ship's surviving wireless operator who reported on the string ensembe playing as the Titanic sank)
Further information for presenters of Forma projects
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