Lucilin: Now! – A Ritual for Lucilin

A Ritual for Lucilin This is a ritual for renewal, created by soprano Juliet Fraser for and with the members of United Instruments of Lucilin. Renewal requires a letting-go of some matter and implies a surge of energy that might take unexpected forms — be ready! Out of this theme of renewal, and a lot of experimentation, have emerged circular canons, moments of spring-like blossoming, and the determination to do things with curiosity, courage and sometimes even humour. This is a ritual that incorporates movement, gesture, singing, whistling and, yes, also the playing of instruments. The music has variously been improvised, devised, arranged or traditionally composed, and ranges from the twelfth century to the present day, featuring two world premieres. At the heart of the project are two commissions. Patricia Bosshard (Switzerland) has composed three ‘bubbles’ that draw inspiration from her own morning ritual in remembrance of the dead. These miniatures hover between notated and improvised music, the sound swirling smoke-like into the space. Erin Gee (USA) continues her ‘Mouthpiece’ series in a new work for the full ensemble that explores the circular idea of renewal: ideas return; there’s a sense of endless starting again, but nothing is ever quite the same. What is the trunk? What is new growth? Music by Guillaume de Machaut is woven through the programme, chosen for his links to this city: for some twenty years Machaut was secretary to John I, Count of Luxembourg and King of Bohemia. James Weeks (UK) pays homage to Machaut in his specially composed introduction to, and then arrangement of, Machaut’s Rose, liz, printemps. Juliet writes: It’s not every day that, as a performer, you are invited to curate a project for other people to perform! It would have been easy simply to programme an hour of interesting contemporary repertoire for Lucilin to play but this felt like a very special opportunity, so I wanted to make the most of it and do something a bit different… The theme of RENEWAL, around which this ‘ritual’ has been built, came out of conversations with the players, and has proved a wonderfully fertile container for experimentation. I have been thinking a lot in recent years about how and why we make music, and the limitations that we often place upon ourselves as professional musicians. We are encouraged to specialise and then, sometimes, it becomes difficult to play music outside of that specialism. We are trained in excellence, which can sometimes stop us having fun! For this project, then, I wanted to try and give us all permission to play—to experiment, to roam freely across time and traditions, and perhaps to renew and refresh our sense of possibility on stage. Huge thanks to Lucilin for coming on this adventure with me. Programme: Christian Wolff (1934) Exercise 27 (Snare Drum Peace March) (1988)   Patricia Bosshard (1965) Bubbles of Smoke I (wp, 2026) Guillaume de Machaut (c.1300-1377) Je vivroie liement Cucurbita (improvisation) Aldo Clementi (1925-2011) Canone Circolare (2006) Kristine Tjøgersen (1982) beak (2022)   Stephen Chase ‘why can I not’ from Jandl songs (2007-)   Patricia Bosshard Bubbles of Smoke II (wp, 2026) James Weeks (1978) / Guillaume de Machaut Rose, Lux (wp, 2026) Erin Gee (1974) Mouthpiece 44 : for Lucilin (wp, 2026)   Christian Wallumrød (1971) Stompin’ At Gargarin (2004)   Patricia Bosshard Bubbles of Smoke III (wp, 2026) Aldo Clementi Canone Circolare (2006) Hildegard of Bingen (c.1098-1179) O viridissima virga Lawrence Dunn (1991) Maya Verlaak (2018)   Guillaume de Machaut (c.1300-1377) Douce dame jolie   With: Juliet Fraser, Curator