kerrin tatman
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ALBUM OF THE MONTH - The Crack Magazine, November 2023
"a heart-in-the-mouth experience that blends soaring choral pieces, classical and spoken word to grandstanding effect. Outstanding."
The Crack Magazine (full review)
Requiem for a Fading World is a live music performance that tells a fantastical, post-apocalyptic tale for modern times.
This new work by award-winning, Newcastle-based composer Kerrin Tatman is written for choir, solo singers and a chamber ensemble, and features English lyrics by Holy Moly & the Crackers songwriter Rosie Bristow. The secular, narrative piece blends contemporary classical, choral and folk influences and turns the traditional Requiem structure on its head.
Set in a landscape of perpetual winter, where all modern fuel resources have nearly run out, we follow two solo singers – a Mother and her Daughter – on their separate journeys to navigate this harsh terrain. The Daughter leads an army into a deadly battle to capture and harness the last remnants of fuel resource available to mankind. The Mother searches for greener pastures by working with the natural world. Who will succeed?
This project was part of my 2022-2023 Artist Residency at The Glasshouse: International Centre for Music (previously SageGateshead).
Music by Kerrin Tatman
Lyrics by Rosie Bristow
Comic book artwork by Kris Stewart
Dramaturgy by Becky Musgrove
Produced by Kerrin Tatman in assoc. with Sage Gateshead
Costumes by Rosie Bristow
Rehearsal choir direction: Tim Burke
Accompanists: Alison Gill, Drew Cantrill-Fenwick, Emily Murray
Ensemble
Solo Alto ‘Mother’ / Percussion: Jacqui Wicks
Solo Soprano ‘Daughter’ / Percussion: Emily Brown Gibson
Piano: Alison Gill
Violin 1: Ed Cross
Violin 2: Julian Cann
Viola: Gayle Roberts
‘Cello: Ele Leckie
Double Bass: John Pope
Flute / Piccolo: Clare Crinson
Oboe / Cor Anglais: Philip Cull
Clarinet / Bass Clarinet: Sue Hurrell
Bassoon / Contrabassoon: Sharon Clatworthy
French Horn: Chris Senior
Trumpet: Alex Lewis
Percussion: Will Hammond and Rosie Bristow
Choir of soldiers, ghosts, farmers, demons, mourners and humanity
First Sopranos: Becky Musgrove, Jo Tolan, Katie Bredin, Shirley Wilkinson, Shona Alexander
Second Sopranos: Amber Tatman, Angela Harrington, Helen Barber, Rosie Tate
Altos: Cecilia Wang, Emma Kerfoot, Heather Hull
Tenors: Chris Hull, Peter Vasey, Phil Kerfoot, Tom Albans
Basses: Anthony Mitchell, David Blackwell, Gareth Jenkins, Jamie Blake, Tim McElwaine
Technical team
Recorded and mixed by Rob Irish
Videography by Rob Irish and Dan Alecks
Stage Manager: Andy Greenshields
Stage Tech: Francis Murphy
Stage Tech: Nicholas Milburn
Recording Engineer: Richard Halling
FoH Engineer: Sam Williams
Lighting Engineer: Joe Dixon
Lighting Engineer: Josh Dunn
Photographer: Victoria Wai
A huge thank you to the production, marketing and technical team at Sage Gateshead who has supported this project, with special thanks to Adele Carmichael, Fergal Harkin, Mary Wilson, Matthew Jones, Rianne Thompson and Tim Burke.
"[a] striking testament to a sprawling, momentous achievement." 4.5/5" NARC Magazine (full review)
I am thrilled and very thankful to have been supported by Help Musicians UK (Music-led Creative Collaboration fund) and the PRS Foundation (The Open Fund), who granted funding towards the creation of the Requiem.
comic book
Requiem for a Fading World is also an experimental fusion of contemporary classical music and graphic novel illustration. Audiences who attended the debut performance of the work were able to follow the visuals of Kris Stewart’s comic book art live whilst listening to the music. The first issue of the comic spans the first and second movements Requiem Aeternam and Kyrie.
The first issue of the comic book is now available in independent comic book shop Travelling Man or from my Bandcamp store. This experiment of merging music and comic books hopes to make contemporary classical music more accessible, particularly to a younger generation. We hope to produce more issues of the comic to span all movements of the Requiem in the near future.
