Awakening Listening

Friday July 31st 7.30pm

£12, £10 concessions, 14-18 year olds £5.

AWAKENING LISTENING

Can you tell the difference between a robin and a blackbird’s song? Can you

hear someone’s inner being when they speak? Are you able to hear the

difference between recorded and live music?

Here is a concert working to redeem our listening into a more active and

discerning state. Local singer Andrew Thompson together with two Dutch

colleagues, Jorien van Tuinen (viola) and Joris Boon (cello) will play the

Lansdown Hall on July 31 st at 7.30pm. They will perform Renaissance, and

20 th/21st century songs of the approachable kind. It’s interesting that modern

visual art attracts huge audiences, yet the same vintage of music does not.

The group specializes in allowing contemporary ‘classical’ music to shine

whilst not compromising with modern musical elements, which are now

becoming important for our very survival: this new musical language of our

times encourages us to listen with greater presence, greater depth, and

greater selflessness. Such qualities, whilst under threat from the increasingly

centralized and hierarchical drift of societal life, are essential for good

communication, relationships, freedom and the spiritual life.

This process is helped by interludes and improvisations on bronze and iron

gongs, cymbal, tam-tam, sounding plates, triangles, and finger cymbals.

These instruments have been especially made to lead the ear into greater

activity, and link the more formed compositions together, allowing time for

reflection.

The two string players play a modified viola and cello in which the bridge

extends to the rear panel of the instrument, giving a more peripheral sound.

In addition the viola is made of Birch and the cello of ash, to bring out the

distinctive character of each instrument.

The singer works from a similar tradition in which the sound is taken in

(inhalare la voce) as well as projected outwards; thus connecting with a

universal cosmic essence.

Performed songs and pieces will be in four sets. To start: Perotin, Busnois,

Tromboncino, Byrd, Purcell. Set two: Vaughan Williams on William Blake

texts, Thompson using Bartok inspired scales and Shakespeare texts,

Bartok. Set three: Lutoslawski, Berio folk song setting, Richard Rodney

Bennet. Set four: a rousing finale. There will be an interval with refreshments,

a short burst of audience singing, and a chance to discuss and reflect for

those who wish to stay at the end.

Andrew Thompson

May 2026