Carbon 12: A Choral Symphony
In mid 2007 Craig was approached by Welsh National Opera Company Max Director Rhian Hutchings concerning a major project which the company were working on for 2008.
An innovative venture by WNO, Carbon 12 was nothing if not ambitious: the oratorio boasted a cast of over two hundred performers - alongside the full Orchestra and Chorus of Welsh National Opera, the work also featured six soloists (which included internationally renowned Jason Howard and Alwyn Mellor), a male voice choir and an additional chorus of female singers recruited from the Valleys communities involved in the project. The company also wished to involve a brass band in the project, and it was this that Craig was asked to provide. Fully involved in the creative and rehearsal process Craig leapt upon the opportunity to showcase a brass band in such a world class production.
Carbon 12 received its premiere performances at the Wales Millennium Centre on Friday 6 June and Thursday 12 June 2008 with another performance at Birmingham Hippodrome on Thursday 19 June, all under the baton of maestro Carlo Rizzi. A special additional performance was then also held at the Rhondda Fach Leisure Centre, Tylorstown, on Thursday 26 June, which also featured a concert of songs from the community CD, and was directed by the project's Musical Director Gerry Cornelius.
Background
Carbon 12 traced the impact of the discovery of coal on a nation's economy and identity.
John Jones is an everyman. He has lived for millennia, since the formation of coal through to the demise of the pits. His life is the story of the Welsh coalfields and their people.
This is the story which is spectacularly told by Errollyn Wallen’s breathtaking symphony. Performed by the world-class Chorus and Orchestra of Welsh National Opera and additional performers, Carbon 12 is a moving celebration of hope, survival and the human spirit.
Throughout the creative process composer Errollyn Wallen and librettist John Binias interacted fully with the various performance groups and others from the communities in which the groups were based. They met with miners at the Tower Colliery, before its closure at Christmas, and with Tyrone Sullivan and former miners now acting as guides at The Big Pit. John also drew on the praise writings of 6th Welsh poet Taliesin for his starting point, drawing on the extreme contrast between the bloody subject matter of war and death with the beautiful language of poetry.
For many, coal's impact on Welsh industry and society was a mixed blessing; and Carbon 12 pinpoints the strengths of the mining communities, but also the tragedies, referencing one former miner's website detailing every fatality at the pits. It is this collective storyline that is driven throughout by the character of John Jones (Jason Howard), a man who has been mining the coal seams of South Wales since anyone can remember.
Outreach Work
Three songwriting projects were run in parallel with rehearsals for Carbon 12, each taking place in one of Wales's historic coal mining communities. The groups included Aberfan Wives Group, Stay Young At Heart from Trelewis, and students from West Monmouth School. Their stories fed into lyrics for songs, which were then set to music and recorded on CD by young musicians from Rhondda Sonig, a project that supports the development of a working music industry in South Wales.
These satellite projects launched a three-year programme of work by WNO aimed at connecting with new audiences, initially through exploring singing and narrative song traditions in two marginalized Welsh communities: the South Wales Valleys and Cardiff Bay. This work is supported and made possible by a £280,000 grant from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation (the largest single award given to Wales by the Foundation).
An innovative venture by WNO, Carbon 12 was nothing if not ambitious: the oratorio boasted a cast of over two hundred performers - alongside the full Orchestra and Chorus of Welsh National Opera, the work also featured six soloists (which included internationally renowned Jason Howard and Alwyn Mellor), a male voice choir and an additional chorus of female singers recruited from the Valleys communities involved in the project. The company also wished to involve a brass band in the project, and it was this that Craig was asked to provide. Fully involved in the creative and rehearsal process Craig leapt upon the opportunity to showcase a brass band in such a world class production.
Carbon 12 received its premiere performances at the Wales Millennium Centre on Friday 6 June and Thursday 12 June 2008 with another performance at Birmingham Hippodrome on Thursday 19 June, all under the baton of maestro Carlo Rizzi. A special additional performance was then also held at the Rhondda Fach Leisure Centre, Tylorstown, on Thursday 26 June, which also featured a concert of songs from the community CD, and was directed by the project's Musical Director Gerry Cornelius.
Background
Carbon 12 traced the impact of the discovery of coal on a nation's economy and identity.
John Jones is an everyman. He has lived for millennia, since the formation of coal through to the demise of the pits. His life is the story of the Welsh coalfields and their people.
This is the story which is spectacularly told by Errollyn Wallen’s breathtaking symphony. Performed by the world-class Chorus and Orchestra of Welsh National Opera and additional performers, Carbon 12 is a moving celebration of hope, survival and the human spirit.
Throughout the creative process composer Errollyn Wallen and librettist John Binias interacted fully with the various performance groups and others from the communities in which the groups were based. They met with miners at the Tower Colliery, before its closure at Christmas, and with Tyrone Sullivan and former miners now acting as guides at The Big Pit. John also drew on the praise writings of 6th Welsh poet Taliesin for his starting point, drawing on the extreme contrast between the bloody subject matter of war and death with the beautiful language of poetry.
For many, coal's impact on Welsh industry and society was a mixed blessing; and Carbon 12 pinpoints the strengths of the mining communities, but also the tragedies, referencing one former miner's website detailing every fatality at the pits. It is this collective storyline that is driven throughout by the character of John Jones (Jason Howard), a man who has been mining the coal seams of South Wales since anyone can remember.
Outreach Work
Three songwriting projects were run in parallel with rehearsals for Carbon 12, each taking place in one of Wales's historic coal mining communities. The groups included Aberfan Wives Group, Stay Young At Heart from Trelewis, and students from West Monmouth School. Their stories fed into lyrics for songs, which were then set to music and recorded on CD by young musicians from Rhondda Sonig, a project that supports the development of a working music industry in South Wales.
These satellite projects launched a three-year programme of work by WNO aimed at connecting with new audiences, initially through exploring singing and narrative song traditions in two marginalized Welsh communities: the South Wales Valleys and Cardiff Bay. This work is supported and made possible by a £280,000 grant from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation (the largest single award given to Wales by the Foundation).