Louise McMonagle cello
Hannah Kendall (UK, 1984)
Tuxedo: ‘Hot Summer No Water’ World Premiere (2020) 5’
Earlier this year, the Riot Ensemble launched Zeitgeist, a new series of commissions responding to the worldwide lockdown that hit the UK in March. In an attempt to keep music flowing and work for composers circulating, the group teamed up with the eponymous Zeitgeist, an online gallery that presents contemporary work through a digital lens. Through this project, they commissioned seven young composers across the globe, committing to performances of their work presented in Zeitgeist’s online space, and also via YouTube.
As the pandemic continues to roll on, bringing with it major complications for working musicians, hcmf// is proud to join forces with the Riot Ensemble to deliver a second wave of Zeitgeist Commissions. The six pieces, selected by the festival together with Riot, were written for solo performances by members of the group, and will receive their video premiere at hcmf// 2020. As ever, we’re proud to be working alongside the Riot Ensemble to find a practical way to give musicians a hint of reality by bringing about new paid opportunities, as well as unique showcases for their work.
Hannah Kendall’s work exists at intersections. Connecting with poets, choreographers and art galleries, she finds new experiences to drive her compositions forward. Her music is guided by communal culture and calls to action; it teems with detail, wrapping up subtle arrangements with bombastic resolutions. With the same penchant for reference and reach, her new work Tuxedo: ‘Hot Summer No Water’ is all over the place, rearranging a text by Jean-Michel Basquiat to get its title while working a micro-performance of Handel’s Messiah into the piece on a music box. For the piece, Kendall opted to work with new, ‘auxiliary’ instruments, experimenting with police whistles that augment Louise McMonagle’s cello playing.
Co-commissioned by the Riot Ensemble and hcmf// in partnership with Zeitgeist Online Gallery