More about these collaborations with Brith Gof, a conceptual performance group and Test Dept., an edgy, industrial percussion group resulted in performance spectacles of massive proportions:
Pax and Gododdin are large-scale works which were performed in massive spaces such as derelict car factories, tramways, and crane factories across the UK, Europe and Latin America. Genre-defying and incorporating multi-media elements and even choreography of trains, the projects have become legendary and are unforgettable experiences in the minds thousands of spectators.
The works were made during John Hardy's 7-year role as musical director of Brith Gof, the conceptual performance troupe which toured highly physical, politically questioning, multi-discipline shows to London, Glasgow, Dublin, Europe & Latin America. Visit the Brith Gof website to find out about the company.
Pax
Oratorio: 3 female soloists, voice, drums, percussion, 4 strings, keyboards and trumpet
80 minutes
Large scale theatrical work. First performed September 1990 at St. David's Hall, Cardiff by Brith Gof.
“Pax is a breath-taking spectacle… a magnificent and chilling oratorio… every element of the piece was terrifying and magical, on an almost biblical scale.”
Joyce Mcmillan, The Guardian
Pax is a site-specific performance work which explores the way in which change can affect related people separated by location and experience.
Staged in St. David's Hall in Cardiff, the Harland and Wolff shipbuilding yard in Glasgow and the British Rail Station in Aberystwyth, Pax is described by the Guardian as a "heady mix of grand opera, performance art, physical theatre, symphonic rock, scenography and, crucially, a forceful green message". Set in a 'ghost cathedral' of scaffolding, angels fly down to Earth where they struggle to understand the toxic atmosphere humans have created.
Pax later became the basis for a radical work for the television medium which was awarded the prize for Innovation in the 1994 British Film Institute awards.
The music in Pax is performed by John Hardy with the Brith Gof Orchestra and written by John Hardy for violin, three violas, electric and acoustic basses, keyboards and samples, electronic and acoustic percussion and taped sound effects.
“Pax is a breath-taking spectacle… a magnificent and chilling oratorio… every element of the piece was terrifying and magical, on an almost biblical scale.”
Joyce Mcmillan, The Guardian, 24 September 1991
“A unique, memorable performance… great swirling banks of sound… you knew it was something special from the beginning.”
David Adams, The Guardian, 28 September 1990
Gododdin
Oratorio: trumpet, bagpipes, percussion, keyboards and tape
70 minutes
Large-scale site-specific touring music/theatre production, composed and performed in collaboration with industrial percussion group Test Dept. First performed 1988 in an abandoned car factory in Cardiff by Brith Gof and Test Dept. Filmed by Greeneye for HTV. Recorded for Ministry of Power, distr. Rough Trade International then Revolver/APT.
Gododdin, described by The Independent as an "exceptional achievement" was inspired by one of the earliest surviving examples of Welsh poetry. In collaboration with industrial percussion group Test Dept., the production included fragments of the poem sung and spoken in Brythonic and English, a highly amplified instrumental soundtrack played live and on tape, dynamic physical action, an arrangement of hundreds of tons of sand, dozens of trees and wrecked cars, and thousands of gallons of water gradually flooding the performing area during the show.
Find out more about Gododdin and watch video from the show on the Brith Gof website.
"Elemental, wild and exhilarating... an exceptional achievement"
The Independent
"The production draws the admiration which must go to any project ambitious in aim and original in execution. There is nothing humdrum about it... spectacle for the imagination.
The Scotsman
