Bacchae

Bullen, Richard

About the work

Inspired by Euripides’ daring, violent play of the same name, this site-specific work for the David Josefowitz Recital Hall (and surrounding corridors) is a study in psychoacoustics and ritualised frenzy. It also seeks to examine and subsequently unravel our perceived notions of the traditional performer-audience relationship. The vocal parts are in Greek, selecting isolated words from passages in the play for their acoustic properties.

“Shall it ever come, the time when I tread, white-footed in ecstasy, in the night long dances, my head flung back to the dewy air?”

“…sing the praises of Dionysus to the booming kettledrums, celebrating with “Evoe!” with Phrygian crying and clamour…”

Central to the piece are the female voices; the possessed, raving ‘Maenads’, who will tear limb from limb any living thing they come across!

First performance at the DJ Hall, Royal Academy of Music, March 2009 by CoMA London ensemble conducted by Paul Burnell

Origin

Call for pieces: Open Score 2008 student piece from RAM