Bushra El-Turk’s Tuqus, a LSO commission for multi-ability orchestra, will feature in the re-stream of BMW Classic 2019 from Trafalgar Square concert.
Sunday 7 June 2020, 3pm BST
BMW Classic 2019 from Trafalgar Square
Programme
Dvořák Selection of Slavonic Dances
Bushra El-Turk Tuqus
Poulenc Selection from ‘Les biches – Suite’
Ravel La valse
Sir Simon Rattle conductor
London Symphony Orchestra
LSO On Track Young Musicians
Guildhall School Musicians
Program note:
Tuqus (trans. ritual in Arabic) evokes the spirit of zar which is a community healing, cathartic, trance-like ritual of drumming and dancing whose tradition is carried mainly by women in secret hideaways in regions such as Egypt, East Africa and Southern Iran. Entering through the left foot, the spirit of zar is like a special wind which enters a person’s body and ‘makes them sick’. The ritual is performed in a space in which women can work out the extreme tensions and frustrations of social constraints which limit their movements, their dress, their voices and even their dreams. Tuqus shows us the turmoil that is going on inside the body, finishing with an out of body experience in which the practitioner flies outwards and gazes upon the effects of the ritual on themselves.
Seeing art as a means for social change, Bushra’s works never shy away from highlighting important socio-cultural issues that need to be voiced. In Tuqus, one sees her preoccupation with emotional health and its impact on oppressed women in their society. Frantic ululating melodies inspired by villages in the Middle East gradually extend, alternating with inflections of the 1950’s Egyptian oriental ensemble sound world. These melodies soar over a highly rhythmic and gestural backdrop often heard in zar rituals
Composers Edition is proud to present a catalogue of Bushra El-Turk works available for perusal and purchase through our website.
Tags: BMW Classics, Bushra El-Turk, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle