Paul shares details of this upcoming event. Ed
What happens when the soundtrack of your life changes; when you are listening but hearing differently?
On 19th October at 19:30 a unique performance of music, words and visuals at Quay Arts attempts to address this with an immersive and very moving piece inspired by people whose hearing has deteriorated.
Touring project
‘Invisible Music’ is a major touring project by performance group Platform 4 whose last show, Memory Points, was one of The Guardian’s Top Ten shows of 2015.
Featuring five multi-instrumentalists the show is an acoustic experimental delight devised by Pete Flood, arranger/percussionist with folk supergroup Bellowhead, and Jules Bushell, P4’s long-term sound designer.
A concert with a difference
Like a live concept album layered with exquisite audio snippets and stunning visuals, it has been inspired by a series of interviews the company made with members of Winchester’s lip reading group and describes their experiences and stories through a loose narrative of six musical movements: From setting sail into unknown waters, to sinking underwater, to surfacing and eventually finding land.
All told through a variety of musical instruments and sampled voices.
Rapturous praise
This is Platform 4’s most personal project to date, Artistic Director, Catherine Church says:
“This piece was inspired by my mother who initially started me thinking about this project because she showed me a poem she had written called ‘Surreal Existence’ about her own experiences of gradually losing her hearing.
“That was the starting point, and from there I started going to Mum’s lip reading class and meeting more people. I asked myself: Could I make a sound-piece about the loss of sound?”
She has certainly succeeded, the show is picking up rapturous praise with one reviewer saying that it,
“… captured all the emotions and frustrations of losing one’s hearing and created a real sense of understanding! There were so many diverse situations and challenges.
“The music and the visuals wonderfully captured the feelings and were very moving.”
Armfield: “A genuinely unique experience”
Quay Arts manager, Paul Armfield, says,
“I am thrilled to have Platform 4 performing here, this is a genuinely unique experience, the music alone is simply incredible, but coupled with the text and visuals the effect is unforgettable and deeply moving.
“It’s such a rare thing to be able to host a musical performance of such a high calibre that can be enjoyed by all, with or without hearing difficulties.”
Book now
For members of the audience who are hard of hearing the programme provides a full transcription of the text used in the piece.
Some parts of the text also appear as projected visuals during the show.
Tickets are £10 in advance and can be purchased from the box office or online from Quay Arts.
INVISIBLE MUSIC Platform 4 from Platform 4 on Vimeo.
