for vocal ensemble

written and composed for EXAUDI Ensemble 

 

The idea for the piece came while reading the article Noc Fuckupów – Żenada, Porażka, Dramat written by Olga Święcicka for the Polish magazine Activist. The article introduces a new cultural phenomenon known as Fuck Up Nights, which is gaining more and more popularity across the globe. 

 

FuckUp Nights is a global movement born in Mexico in 2012 that shares stories of professional failure. Each month, in events across the globe, people gather in a range of venues to have a drink and chat about personal failures. Each speaker is given 7 minutes. After each presentation, there’s a question/answer session, as well as time for networking over beers. The stories of the business that crashes and burns, the partnership deal that goes sour, the product that has to be recalled – you can tell them all. FuckUp Night brings a level of intimacy, laughter, and authenticity that is unparalled by any other event.

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                                                                                         Source: Fuckup Nights – Stories About Failure, https://fuckupnights.com/ 

   

                                                                                                                                                                                            

[FuckUp Night] for vocal ensemble has the setting of a social meeting. Voices do not represent any particular characters or individuals. The action takes place around a table, in a closed circle, offering security and intimacy: a place where it is safe to talk, contemplate or gossip ear to ear. The table surface is also used as a sound source. The performers complete a system of gestures commonly understood as gestures associated with objection or presentation of the power against something. All of the spoken sections are treated musically. 

 

                                                                                         ‘We Live Lives Without Filters’ 

                                                                                         Source: Fuckup Nights – Stories About Failure   

                                                                                             

[FuckUp Night] for the vocal ensemble was premiered as a part of the MMus studies at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, in February 2017, at the Milton Court Concert Hall.                             

The inspiration for the original text of the piece came from the @SoSadToday Twitter account. 

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Watch the full performance here:

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