This Thursday, composer Tim Parkinson brings Time With People, an opera exploring the concept of “no instruments”, to London, and the score has just been published by The Experimental Music Yearbook.

Parkinson explains that “since 2003 I have occasionally performed with James Saunders in a performance duo initially conceived around the notion of ’no instruments’.” Having become interested in the concept of a chorus, Parkinson set out to work on Time With People. “The notion of the chorus, and the connection between Greek tragedy and the experiments and theorisations of the Florentine camerata of the late 16th century, suggested to me that what I was conceiving could be called an opera.” The resulting performance is based around using unorthodox methods to provide a soundtrack to the opera, working to the notion of “no instruments” rather than “no music”. You can watch a trailer for the opera below and find sign-up details for the upcoming free London performance with the Edges Ensemble this Thursday here.

Time With People, an opera by Tim Parkinson - video trailer from tim parkinson on Vimeo.