LIFTED (2016)
LIFTED (2016) Premiere, Turner Contemporary. Photograph: Lee Thompson.
17 January 2016, Turner Contemporary, Margate, Kent
LIFTED is a choral work inspired by and performed inside public lifts. LIFTED draws attention to the potential of the lift, its engineering, beauty, the people within it, and their inner thoughts, while creating a sense of wonder as the doors open to reveal many people dressed in work clothes, who burst into song. By staging a choral performance in a venue that usually pipes background music—or Muzak—through its speakers, LIFTED challenges perceptions about venue and value. LIFTED is lift music that cannot be ignored; the antithesis of Muzak. It comprises different movements for each floor of the lift, and can be adapted for multiple lift set-ups. The lift is viewed as a stage, with the doors as curtains, as the choir travel from floor to floor with a series of unique performances.
Materials: Live SSSAATTB choral work for project community choir, beat boxer, lift operator and sign language interpreter. Equipment required: stop watch, pitch-pipe(s), battery powered amplifier for beat boxer, and folding step stools for staging. Adaptable to different lift set-ups, with a minimum of 9 performers required (1 for each part). Can be performed with choir split across two-lifts, synchronised by stop-watch. Currently comprising 5 movements, which can be performed in any order. Performance time defined by conductor.
PhD: LIFTED is included in my PhD ‘Creating Accessible, Inclusive and Engaging Musical Works Through Experimental Processes in the Community‘.
Funded by Arts Council England. Produced in partnership with Turner Contemporary.
Team: Lead artist, composer & musical director: Emily Peasgood. Lyrics: Emily Peasgood & Kate Harwood. Producer: Emma Wilcox. Beat Boxer: Jackapella. Sign language interpreter: Bridget Bree.Films and live sound: Anton French. Photography: Lee Thompson. Studio demo recording: Matthew Smyth and Bryan Orwell.
Film
LIFTED Premiere Performance Teaser
LIFTED Documentary Film Trailer
LIFTED documentary
LIFTED at Asda Folkestone
LIFTED at Southbank / Royal Festival Hall (2017)
Sound
LIFTED premiere live recording
LIFTED studio recording
Learning
The following resources were created to support singers in learning LIFTED.
Audio learning resources
These demos makes learning the work accessible to singers without the requirement to read sheet music.
Score and lyric sheets
A score (containing lyric sheets) will be available to view in July 2020.
Supplementary Support Pack
The support pack provides guidance for musical directors and venues who wish to host performances of LIFTED. It includes information regarding instrumentation and difficulty, alternative performance venues, a lift operator guide, a guide for venues, and learning exercises to make the complex rhythmic features in the work accessible to singers.
13.-LIFTED-Supplementary-PackGallery
Performances
17 January 2016: Premiere at Turner Contemporary as a part of the exhibition: RISK. Performed by a project community choir of 70 singers and beat boxer.
13 February 2016: Performances in Asda supermarket in Folkestone as part of Profound Sound Festival of Experimental Music by Folkestone Fringe. Performed by 16 singers and beat boxer.
13 February 2016: Performances at Rocksalt restaurant, Folkestone Harbour as part of Profound Sound Festival of Experimental Music by Folkestone Fringe. Performed by 9 singers and beat boxer.
1 July 2017: Performed at Chorus Festival in the Royal Festival Hall lifts at Southbank Centre, London. Performed by 51 singers from Voicelab and beat boxer in 2 lifts, synchronised by stop-watch.
Press
BBC South East Feature [10 Feb 2017]
Reviews
“I absolutely loved it – came especially to see it, and it was worth the trip from Yorkshire!” – Audience member, Southbank / Royal Festival Hall, July 2017
“I was making a very rare trip out to shop yesterday in my local Asda store and was greeted by your choir as I entered the corridor to the lift. I simply wanted to thank you all for making my trip out somewhat less stressful and bringing a smile to the rest of my day. The choir was so great I couldn’t resist watching a second time. I suffer depression, anxiety and chronic fatigue syndrome so I rarely go out and this truly ‘lifted’ me. Thank you so much” – Audience member, Asda, February 2016
“An unusual piece that makes you think about your thoughts while in a lift. True to life lyrics and thought provoking” – Audience member, Turner Contemporary, January 2016
“Liked the fact that the singers were dressed in work clothes and expressionless – just how a group of strangers in a lift at work would be!” – Audience member, Turner Contemporary, January 2016
“Very well performed, a piece I would like to hear again, as the words, music and setting were effective and dramatic – a clever idea” – Audience member, Turner Contemporary, January 2016
[…] asked to provide my location recording services by artist/composer Emily Peasgood for her new work, LIFTED. The piece was rather unique comprising choir of 70 singers and a human beat boxer… Crammed into […]