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ROUND ELEVEN GRANT APPLICATIONS
FIGURE - Vespers
ENSEMBLE INFO
Ensemble Contact:
frederick waxman
Email:
Ensemble Connect URL
Year of formation:
2021
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
VESPERS takes Vivaldi’s Nisi Dominus as its core, with countertenor Iestyn Davies as soloist, in a semi-staged performance. We imagine the cosmopolitan Venice of the 18th century, a meeting point of the European Renaissance and the cultures of North Africa and the Middle East, and the kaleidoscopic musical influences over the centuries prior to Vivaldi’s setting of the psalm. Collaborating with medieval choir Idrîsî Ensemble, we will intersperse the baroque music with ancient sacred Mediterranean choral music, constructing a world rich in the history of the city in which Vivaldi composed.
The show has been booked by Sinfonia Smith Square, for two performances on the 2nd of June, with SSSq responsible for the promotion (although of course FIGURE will promote it too), and is currently on sale.
While we expect an audience of traditional Early Music fans, Idrîsî Ensemble has a perhaps unexpectedly wide reach amongst younger nontraditional audiences, with over 50k Instagram followers and having recorded with Florence + the Machine. Between that and Davies’ own following we expect that the performances will reach a broad audience.
We plan to tape but not stream the show (there is some scope for transplanting it to festivals, Sue Spence and Nicholas Moloney at Askonas Holt are looking into options for repeat performances in the coming seasons).
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
PROJECT COSTS
Number of performers:
Instrumentalists:
Vocalists:
Other:
7
13
1
Project Income (£):
Ticketing/Fees:
Public Funding:
Other trusts/foundations - confirmed
Other trusts/foundations - pending
Other
Income - Total sources
7000
0
0
0
8100
15100
Project Expenses (£):
Artists' fees
Artists' travel/accommodation
Venue - Rehearsal/Concert:
Recording/Filming:
Marketing/Publicity:
Management/Contingency:
18100
0
1500
1000
0
500
Total Project Costs:
21100
Amount (£) of Grant Requested:
6000
Detailed Budget (Download):
IMPACT OF GRANT
In VESPERS, FIGURE will work with an internationally renowned singer and an ensemble with an extremely wide audience, having been booked for a major London venue – it’s an opportunity to raise our profile significantly. While the project is expensive (and Iestyn is expensive), it’s an investment in a flagship project with potential for festival bookings. Iestyn is doing a fundraising event for us too, which will open a new avenue of funding in the model of a group like Arcangelo.
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
Video from recently formed ensemble (if provided. If not, the CF 'Happy Holidays' video will appear by default)
PDF of detailed programme notes (if provided):
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