Songs of Being: A Hong Kong Collaboration Stages William Blake

Description

Inspired by renowned poet William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience, Songs of Being is a site-specific collaboration between local prominent composer Daniel Lo, award-winning media artist Keith Lam, and celebrated choral conductor Sanders Lau. Staged across two venues at Tai Kwun, the work unfolds as a dual sensory journey through sound, space and image. 

In the contemporary JC Cube, four female vocalists from NOĒMA evoke innocence through luminous, hymn-like harmonies. In the historic F Hall, meanwhile, two male vocalists explore the weight and ambiguity of experience, amplified by resonant acoustics and atmospheric lighting. 

Drawing on Blake’s exploration of opposing human states, Lo’s compositions incorporate poetic elements shaped by reflections during the pandemic. The result is an immersive, contemplative work that moves between clarity and complexity, solitude and connection, inviting audiences to inhabit the tension between inner and outer worlds.

Each performance runs around 75 minutes including a 15-minute interval.