Premiered by 220 primary school singers in 2009 at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, The Songbook of Unsingable Songs is the first collaboration between Stephen Deazley and poet Matt Harvey. Children from Edinburgh and Glasgow schools came together with the support of both cities’ education teams to participate in this extraordinary massed singing event. Scored for amplified ensemble, live electronics, dramatic soprano and children’s choir, the songbook was inspired by the sometimes unruly and nonsensical imaginations of young children. It received rave press reviews.
If you’d like to sing The Songbook of Unsingable Songs with your school, class or with other schools from your local education authority, please get in touch.
The project was made possible with support from Scottish Arts Council (now Creative Scotland), and State Street Foundation.
These are juicy, clever, renegade songs that tap into the delights of bizarre imaginings and ricketty-racketty word play. Naughty round the edges… but touching deep into the soul of childhood… ~ The Songbook of Unsingable Songs
Everything about it was clever and cutting edge… a most incredible and uplifting event, as though Tom Waites and Stephen Sondheim had come together with Roald Dahl. Deazley is quite simply a visionary… he makes real, challenging art with the children who are lucky enough to work with him. ~ The Songbook of Unsingable Songs
