An Anthology Of All Things
An Anthology of All Things was commissioned by Bedford Creative Arts who, alongside composer Johnny Parry formed the Bedford Arts Choir. The Johnny Parry Chamber Orchestra and soloist soprano Donna Lennard joined the choir to premiere the piece at the Bedford Corn Exchange, and recording for the album release followed, which was finished in 2014.
Two years later the recording found it way in to the hands of Bremen University, who commissioned Johnny to re-compose the orchestral part for their much larger Symphony Orchestra & Choir. The German University, with choir Mistress and conductor Dr. Susanne Gleass at the helm, invited the Bedford choir & soloist Donna Lennard to take part in an exchange where both choirs with the Bremen orchestra performed the work in first Bremen, and then in Oxford and Bedford in early 2017.
A short documentary on the making of Anthology Of All Things can be viewed in the video below.
Hailed by Monocle magazine as “the most beautiful piece of music you will hear all year”, the heroic composition broaches subject matter ranging from the mundane to the sublime, knitted together with common themes of childhood, love, and death.
To create the text for the piece hundreds of members of the public were approached to donate something unique about themselves relating to the themes of the movements. Johnny used these donations to create the text for THE MOVEMENTS.
More can be read about each of the movements’ collective community text contributions below.
Mvt I – Things I Like About Myself
We can be so aware of our flaws that to surrender something we actually respect about our selves can be a little harder. The donations for this movement varied from the superficial to the profound.
Mvt II – Song For Someone
Individual lines contributed by songwriters and poets that Johnny knows, where the author mentions a specific name. Whether they refer to a real person or an imagined character, the names mentioned in songs and poetry offer a glimpse into the artist’s lives.
Mvt III – Childhood Heroes
Collecting the lyrics for this movement were mostly via schools and playgroups. We asked the children to first think of their hero, someone they know or maybe a fictional character. Then they were asked to describe their chosen hero. Those descriptions verbatim create the text for this movement.
Mvt IV – 1942
We had the difficult job of finding people who could access a tangible memory from 1942, seventy years before this piece was written. Fleeting memories returned, many relating to childhood, and the affect WWII had on their past experiences, regaled with the poignant nuance of the many decades separating then and now.
Mvt V – Park Benches
An anomaly in the movements, as the text was collected through field work rather than direct interaction. These are the epitaphs of lost ones found on the benches of the river Ouse. The choir speaks the factual details of dates and names whilst the soprano soloist sings the personalised text also inscribed on the plaques.
Mvt VI – Romantic Statements
From the sentimental to the risqué, a grand statement of love to a running joke between intimate partners, romantic statements can be among the most memorable words we utter or receive. As a sub section of the donations we invited the public to also give us a romantic metaphor that they can relate to based on the structure ‘I am your [blank], You are my [blank]’.
Mvt VII – Enduring Memories from a Film
Collecting the lyrics for this movement were mostly via schools and playgroups. We asked the children to first think of their hero, someone they know or maybe a fictional character. Then they were asked to describe their chosen hero. Those descriptions verbatim create the text for this movement.
Mvt VIII – Pilgrimage
The journeys we take can be extremely significant. However the lyrics for this movement were taken from their original context, leaving only three simple facts; where a memorable journey began, ended and the method of travel that was taken to get there. These potentially insignificant snippets of information still contain with in them the seeds for a complete and powerful narrative. The donations were strung together to make a singular epic journey.
“A great advert for the power of music to unite, entertain and communicate… an utter triumph.”
Listen With Monger
“Think the Polyphonic Spree veering with more mournful and the majestic orchestration and you’ll be homing in on the heart beat of his sound.”
PRS magazine
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