BBC Proms 2011
Proms 11 & 12: Human Planet, Royal Albert Hall
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BBC’s Human Planet TV series explored how man interacted with nature from all areas of the globe in a bid to show how humans can adapt and survive in practically any environment on earth. This landmark show seemed ideal to provide the basis for its own prom in a celebration of how even in the most extreme conditions, humans use music to help survive in sometimes the most barren and formidable places.
The BBC Concert Orchestra performed the lush works composed by Nitin Sawney especially for the series, and interspersed between these pieces that were linked to footage from the show were performers from the farthest reaches of the planet. Acts included the haunting folk vocals of Rasmus Lyberth from Greenland, the Siberian three piece of Ayarkhaan on Jew’s Harps, Enock Mbongwe’s Zambian biblical folk songs, rousing Mongolian throat chanting from Khusugtun that dates back to Genghis Khan and the Bibilang Shark Calling Group representing Papua New Guinea with their spirited performance of traditional pieces. The show also saw a world first for the ‘Scrapheap Orchestra’ – essentially the BBC Concert Orchestra with all of its instruments made entirely from scrap yard materials. This included cellos made from reclaimed tin baths, clarinets made from broken shower units, a tuba made from a disused cooker and a contraption made of an iron bed frame with a spring loaded yacht mast to replicate the attack, sustain and resonance of humble cymbals. With such devilishly hard instruments to play and keep in tune, conductor Charles Hazlewood lead them through the ‘1812 Overture’, with the proviso that any pitch issues were not operator error! To cope with the channel count that two orchestras and five bands demanded, Sound By Design used DiGiCo D1 digital mixing consoles at front-of-house (under Prom veteran Phil Wright) and monitors (under the helm of Stephen Hughes). EM Acoustics M-12S’ were deployed to provide tight monitor coverage without unnecessary colouring for FOH, radio or TV recordings. With the close working relationship between BBC Radio 3 and Sound By Design’s experienced stage crew, the show flowed seamlessly and proved to be a touching education about the diversity of world music. |
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