Hearing Voices

Jocelyn Pook’s Hearing Voices was commissioned by BBC3 for the BBC Concert Orchestra, who gave the first performance at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, on 3 December 2012, with Melanie Pappenheim, mezzosoprano, conducted by Charles Hazlewood. The text for Hearing Voices was written by Emma Bernard. It also uses the words of artists Bobby Baker and Julie McNamara, Jocelyn's relatives Phyllis Williams and Mary Pook, and the seamstress Agnes Richter, inmate in a German asylum in the 1890s, who covered her straightjacket with densely embroidered text. Instrumentation: 2 Flutes (I/Alto, II/Piccolo) 2 Oboes (II/Cor Anglais) 2 Clarinets (II/Bass Clarinet) 2 Bassoons(II/Contrabassoon) 4 Horns 2 Trumpets 3 Trombones Tuba Timpani Percussion (2 players): Hi-Hat, Cymbals, Splash Cymbal, Sleigh Bells, Side Drum, Bass Drum, Temple Blocks, Crotales, Glockenspiel, Vibraphone, Xylophone, Tubular Bells Harp Sampler (recorded voices) Strings Solo mezzo-soprano Duration: circa 35 minutes