La Guerre and Orpheus Explored
La Guerre and Orpheus Explored were experiments in the blending of vocal music and spoken word, devised by Harry Christophers and Jonathan Holmes. The Sixteen, Alan Howard and Virginia McKenna performed at both concerts, with lighting design by Paul Need.
La Guerre featured translations of Eluard by Jonathan Holmes, and of Lorca and Brecht by Tom Davis. The music was by Poulenc, and included his Figure Humaine.& Holmes' translations of Eluard
Orpheus Explored featured the poetry of Denise Levertov and Holmes’ translation of Petrarch. The music included madrigals by Monteverdi and climaxed with Hans Werner Henze and Edward Bond’s masterpiece, Orpheus Behind the Wire.