Mesmeric sounds of the hive: Heloise Tunstall-Behrens' The Swarm at the Vault Festival

Composer (and bee-keeper) Heloise Tunstall-Behrens piece The Swarm explores the euphoric and mesmeric sounds of the hive, combining choral music, sound and movement into a boundary-pushing piece. 

The piece was first performed at the Brunel Museum in Rotherhithe, and now is being performed by The Quorum at the Vault Festival, The Vaults, Leake Street, London SE1 7NN from 8-12 February 2017. Using a solo voice (the queen bee) and nine-piece choir, Tunstall-Behrens uses the forms and patterns created by the bees' social organisation to create complex poly-rhythms and an immersive experience combining live performance with a soundscape comprising field recordings and composition evoking the urban landscape.