Pax, Gododdin

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.

 

 
 

Buy the CD of Pax

 

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

 

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The Roswell Incident

 
 

Opera: Child, soprano, tenor and bass-baritone soloists, piano, 4 strings, 4 toms and pre-recorded sounds
94 minutes
Libretto by Heledd Wyn.

Commissioned by Music Theatre Wales and Eastern Touring Agency. First performed 9/05/97 at Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds by Music Theatre Wales.

The Roswell Incident explores the effects of the famous alleged crash in the New Mexico wilderness of an unidentified flying object in 1947, and the mythology and speculation which have surrounded the event.

Music Theatre Wales artistic director Michael McCarthy described it as "a fascinating story with strong human and emotional undercurrents... an intriguing new music-theatre piece... a cinematic piece in which image, music and message blend together."

Scored for child singer, soprano, tenor and baritone with string quartet, piano, percussion and electro-acoustic soundworld, the libretto is by Heledd Wyn.

 

“A powerful new opera”
Duncan Hadfield, The Independent, 3-9 May 1997

“Hardy’s approachable score… ranges from Brittenesque nerviness… to New Age, neo-minimalist lyricism.”
Rodney Miles, The Times, 13 May 1997

“Cunningly crafted… score.”
Christopher Morley, The Birmingham Post, 31 May 97

“Hardy’s fretful, quick-fire exchanges…
are witty… the vocal pointillism clicks… the odd instrumental touch (eerie, zither-like keyboard, a three-second glisten of violin harmonics) makes appealing subliminal contributions. 
The focal character… seems to stand outside normal time and space… [seeming] to be an unnerving liberated reflection of ourselves… Hardy gives this young slyph recitatives ranging from minor thirds… to quite supple, intricate vocal cat’s cradles and octave pirouettes.”
Roderic Dunnett, The Independent, 3 June 97

“A remarkable topical opera… both modern and approachable, outré and understandable… [the] audience… were captivated and enthralled.”
Michael Courtney Soper, Contact International UK, 9 June 97

“Anothernotable success [for Music Theatre Wales.]”
Jon Holliday, The Stage, 3 July 97

“The piece deserves further life.”
Rodney Miles, Opera, August 1997

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Ellen MacArthur: In the Eye of the Storm

Orchestra: 2(I+pic).2(II+ca).1.bcl.1.cbn - 4.3.2.btbn.1 - timp.2perc(II+mar) - hp - str
2003
22 minutes

 
 

This music was written to accompany a BBC One documentary following the extraordinary journey of a gutsy 25-year old who sailed into the history books to become the youngest and fastest yachtswoman to cruise around the world single-handed. The music was recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Michael Rafferty.

"Ellen MacArthur thrives on extremes. After her record-breaking, life-threatening performance in the Vendee Globe round-the-world race, many people thought she might relax into cosy celebrity. Her response was to announce an attempt on the Jules Verne Challenge, the record for non-stop sailing around the world. The current record is 64 days. Ellen hoped to do it in 60.

"This one-hour special on Prime follows Ellen’s challenge from start to finish: the intensive crew-selection process, the preparation of the massive boat, the ups and downs of life on board and the ultimate triumph or failure."

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Not Darkness but Twilight

SATB choir - timp.vib.tbells - hp.org
OR SATB choir - vib - 2pno
19 minutes
Text: Aneirin, R. S. Thomas (English)
Commissioned by BBC National Chorus of Wales. First performed 31/5/04 at St. David's Cathedral, Pembrokeshire by BBC National Chorus of Wales conducted by Adrian Partington.

 
 

Not Darkness But Twilight is a choral piece setting words by R.S. Thomas.

The piece was first performed by the BBC National Chorus of Wales conducted by Adrian Partington at St David's Cathedral Festival in Pembrokeshire, Wales and broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

The work is around 20 minutes long and is scored for choir, organ, harp and percussion. The movements set words by R.S. Thomas, with the prelude setting words from Y Gododdin, the epic 7th century Welsh poem attributed to Aneirin)

1 - Prelude
2 - Relay
3 - Gone
4 - The River
5 - The Bright Field
6 - Shadows
7 - At The End

“...The Bright Field, in which a shaft of sunlight is seen as a manifestation of the divine, inspired a fluent and altogether more intense outpouring in what was essentially a heartfelt requiem for both Thomas and Hardy's own father, who died within months of each other.
... rich waves of sound in At the End.”
Rian Evans, The Guardian

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