polyphony
“A meditation on the human voice”
- The Times
Step inside polyphony, an immersive audio installation composed from the weaving and splicing of conversations with people across the country.
How many times have you cleared your throat today?
Has your voice ever surprised you?
In here is a detailed tapestry of composition. Voices that have changed dramatically, trained voices, shy voices. Voices that have been quietened. Voices ready to sing.
Listen a while.
A flurry of laughter
A circle of ums and errs
A song of breath
A wall of tongues meeting teeth
In the autumn 2021, amid Covid lockdowns, Verity and her collaborators interviewed people about their voices. From Middlesborough to London, Cumbria to Bristol, they asked people about the way they speak and sing, listened to their stories that have shaped their voices.
polyphony captures these conversations in intricate detail. So we can hear all the unique sounds that surround the words. Swallows, breaths, hesitations. In a time of distance, polyphony was a celebration of the intimate, deeply human noises we can only hear close-up.
“Remarkable, a chorus of sighs, ums, ahs, and laughter probing how we feel about our voices. Music was woven throughout with chords, humming, and beatboxing spilling over into beautiful song.”
– The Times
Conceived and composed by Verity Standen
Composed by Yas Clarke
Designed by Ben Pacey
Supported by Coombe Farm Studios
Produced by MAYK
Commissioned by Bristol New Music and supported by Arts Council England
Photos and film by Jack Offord