Dazzling aural journeys where the political commentary and sheer playfulness combine with a serious purpose: Anselm McDonnell's Politics of the Imagination

Anselm McDonnell: Stop Small Boats, Politics of the Imagination, The Union is our God, Cross-Purposes; Crash Ensemble, London Symphony Orchestra, Kosyne, Barrowclough, Joel the Custodian; Anselm McDonnell/Bandcamp
Reviewed 4 June 2025

Politics and playfulness thread their way through composer Anselm McDonnell's latest album as he collaborates with rappers on a music theatre piece that mixes political comment with magic realism, yet we also have a musical evocation of Northern Ireland's troubled past.

Politics of the Imagination is Anselm McDonnell's third album, released through his own label. Featuring works for 2022/23 commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra and Crash Ensemble, the connecting theme of the disc is politics and the works showcase collaborations with Birmingham rappers Kosyne, Barrowclough, and Joel the Custodian, performed with members of the London Symphony Orchestra and Crash Ensemble.

We begin with Stop Small Boats featuring dazzling vocals from the three rappers with music from Leonie Bluett (clarinet), Kate Ellis (cello), and Paddy Nolan (percussion) of Crash Ensemble. The words with their refences to the small boats political catch phrase form a vivid, seductively rhythmic line where meaning dissolves into seductive pure sound complemented by McDonnell's wonderfully bouncy clarinet line.

Politics of the Imagination almost defies description, it is a hybrid music-theatre piece that the press notes refer to as hybrid rap/theatre/spoken-word play. In seven sections, it features a series of discussions between an activist (Joel the Custodian) and politician (Barrowclough) forced by getting trapped in a lift, which means that there are also contributions and musings from the mysterious lift attendant (Gerard). The narrative, such as it is, uses the idea of the faulty lift taking them to strange and magical places. The drama takes a bit of concentration and as in Stop the Small Boats, the sheer dazzling verbal dexterity takes over, creating a vivid aural experience. It says much for McDonnell's skill that his music stands against this providing strong colours and musical moments. 

Performed by Leonie Bluett (clarinet), Kate Ellis (cello), and Paddy Nolan (percussion) of Crash Ensemble, the music manages to be maximal and minimal. McDonnell uses a spareness of means but the musical material is rich indeed. The work is very much linked to the personalities of the three rappers but what comes over is a remarkable synthesis. The work made me think of rapper and playwright Testament's Orpheus in the Record Shop produced with Opera North. As with that work, we have something that hovers on the fringes, crosses lines and yet has a dazzling sense of its own identity. Oh, and it is great fun!

Whilst the previous two works very much referred to the politics of the UK, The Union is our God refers to McDonnell's Northern Ireland. The work was commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra and is here played by Darren Bloom (conductor), Tom Ellis (electric guitar), Clare Findlater (flute), David Jackson (percussion), and Sam Walton (percussion) of the London Symphony Orchestra. 

The work refers to Northern Ireland’s heady mixture of religion and politics, using musical references and symbolism from the parade culture into a work of contemporary music. The work begins not as anything tub-thumping but as something truly eerie and disturbing, elements of music concrete creating an soundscape that is not quite aural evocation of a march but gets close at times. Music riffs, flute rhapsodies and other elements merge, but underlying all is the disturbing sense of the ever present march. Towards the end, the drums threaten to take over but then the whole evaporates.

Cross-Purposes uses vocal samples of UK politicians to reference events through the months April to August 2020. Commissioned by Crash Ensemble, it is here performed by Louise McMonagle (cello) and Heather Roche (clarinet) of the London Symphony Orchestra. This work explores sounds common to the works with rappers as McDonnell uses the samples to create a vocal percussive layer, but with odd (the emphasis on 'odd') words and phrases coming over, and many resonating. Yet McDonnell's music makes for a distinctive commentary, changing perspectives.

Rappers Kosyne, Barrowclough, and Joel the Custodian with Anselm McDonnell (Photo: Dan Smith/LSO)

What comes over most on this disc is the way McDonnell has taken rather disparate elements and assembled them into a series of dazzling aural journeys where the political commentary and sheer playfulness combine with a serious purpose.

Politics of the Imagination
Anselm McDonnell - Stop Small Boats
Anselm McDonnell - Politics of the Imagination
Anselm McDonnell - The Union is our God
Anselm McDonnell - Cross-Purposes
Cello - Kate Ellis (Crash)
Cello - Louise McMonagle (LSO)
Clarinet - Leonie Bluett (Crash)
Clarinet - Heather Roche (LSO)
Conductor - Darren Bloom (LSO)
Electric Guitar - Tom Ellis (LSO)
Electronics - Anselm McDonnell
Flute - Clare Findlater (LSO)
Percussion - David Jackson (LSO)
Percussion - Paddy Nolan (Crash)
Percussion - Sam Walton (LSO)
Vocalist - Barrowclough
Vocalist - Joel the Custodian
Vocalist - Kosyne
Released 29 March 2025
Anselm McDonnell/BandCamp [50:00]

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