Honey harmonies
Sound recordist and member of Cabaret Voltaire, Chris Watson conceived the bee symphony project for Pestival in 2009 to explore the ‘vocal harmonies between humans and honey bees in a
unique choral collaboration around and within the hives of an English country garden.’ Touch Records
Cross Pollination
The Bee Symphony consisted of recordings of bees by Chris Watson and Mike Harding of Touch Records with a vocal score by Marcus Davidson. The symphony was first performed at The Queen Elizabeth Hall for Pestival 2009 at the Southbank.The bee symphony was later played on BBC Radio 3 as part of Fiona Talkington’s Late Night Mix, 24th May 2011 and was featured in Guardian article, ‘Crickets, bees and vinyl – a Pestival mix by Chris Watson’.
Essential creatures
As bee symphony conductor, Marcus Davidson explains “honeybees are an essential part of the natural process. They pollinate many plants important to man including clover, which is essential to the beef cattle industry, and fruit-bearing plants like apple and orange trees which provide many essential vitamins. So the worrying reports in an as yet unexplained large reduction in numbers is of great concern. We hope that The Bee Symphony makes a small contribution to increasing awareness of this remarkable and important creature.”
Read more via Touch Records
