Lucy Goddard's American Songbook tour

Mezzo-soprano Lucy Goddard and pianist Siwan Rhys have put together a fascinating combination of British and American contemporary song which reflects views of America from both sides of the Atlantic. American Songbook features new work by Laura Bowler and Christopher Mayo, plus music by Michael Finnissy, Charles Ives, Ruth Crawford Seeger, John Cage, Milton Babbitt and George Crumb, plus the UK premieres of three works by Morton Feldman.

The programme was previewed at an Open Session in Aldeburgh in August, and opens on 19 September at The Hurst Festival at Danny House, Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex, with further performances at The Brunel Tunnel Shaft, Rotherhithe, London (6 October), The MUSICON series in Durham University Music Department (17 October), The Performance Space, City University, London (31 October).

Laura Bowler's A Damned Mob of Scribbling Women uses texts by Louise May Alcott, Gertrude Stein, Kate Chopin and Patti Smith to create a collage picture of American society. Christopher Mayo’s work promises to provide an evocative and thought-provoking reflection of Mina Loy’s Tuning in on the Atomic Bomb. Goddard and Siwan will be performing extracts from Michael Finnissy's song cycle Whitman, having worked with the composer during a Snape Malting's residency in August. The cycle takes its text principally from Whitman's Leaves of Grass.

Full details from Lucy Goddard's American Songbook website.