‘A different kind of living’ is the third online project undertaken by the Open University Choir during the global pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. The piece was commissioned specially by the Choir, and is scored for mixed voice choir and bass clarinet: it was written, developed and rehearsed online, and recorded remotely under pandemic conditions.
The work was commissioned from the Choir’s friends and collaborators, Judi Moore (lyrics) and Liz Lane (music). They were joined by bass clarinettist Romola Smith. All three have connections with the UK Open University and with the Choir.
I was engaged as video producer with the task of portraying the words and music in visual terms. Footage was taken from a range of sources, starting with a video shoot with a small group of choir members at several well-known and symbolic landmarks around Milton Keynes, followed by a return to Milton Keynes in the early hours of a Sunday morning to capture scenes resembling ‘lockdown’. The video also includes a number of images submitted by choir members, reflecting their experiences of the pandemic and their reactions to the work they had performed.
Sam Johnston
The project consists of two videos: this first video is the musical outcome of the project, an audio recording of the work with accompanying visuals reflecting the words and music and the experiences of the choir during the pandemic. Individual audio recordings were made by the singers in their homes, and by the clarinettist, and were stitched together to create a performance.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF LIVING
Commissioned by The Open University Choir to be rehearsed, recorded and produced remotely during the Covid pandemic in 2021
Judi Moore – lyrics
Liz Lane – composer
Romola Smith – bass clarinet
Bill Strang – musical director
The Open University Choir is affiliated to the Open University Club and gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the University for this project.
Lyrics © 2021 Judi Moore
Music © 2021 Liz Lane
Audio and visual performance © 2021 The Open University Choir