The17
Encyclopedia
The17 is a choir
based in the United Kingdom
. It specialises in improvised music, and does not make recordings of its performances. The choir was founded by Bill Drummond
as a development of his interest in choral music, after hearing the music of Arvo Pärt
.
s, and his idea of the seventeenth year as a stage of life between the "sweet, coy" sixteen and the full adulthood of eighteen. There was also a play on the name of The Sixteen
, a professional choir admired by him.
calling on people to "dispense with all previous forms of music and music-making and start again",
Each performance has no audience and is never recorded. Also, there is no sheet music
; instead the choir performs according to a set of instructions written by Drummond. These instructions (called "scores," but bearing little relation to musical scores) are open to change over time, and exist in the public domain
.
. Children from several primary and secondary school
s in County Durham
wrote scores that were eventually compiled in the book Scores 18–76. The children also performed their scores in the Hatton Gallery
, Newcastle
.
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
based in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It specialises in improvised music, and does not make recordings of its performances. The choir was founded by Bill Drummond
Bill Drummond
William Ernest Drummond is a Scottish artist, musician, writer and record producer. He was the co-founder of late 1980s avant-garde pop group The KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with which he burned a million pounds in 1994...
as a development of his interest in choral music, after hearing the music of Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-made compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also finds its inspiration and influence from...
.
Name
Drummond states that he thought of the name immediately. It has origins in his love of Prime numberPrime number
A prime number is a natural number greater than 1 that has no positive divisors other than 1 and itself. A natural number greater than 1 that is not a prime number is called a composite number. For example 5 is prime, as only 1 and 5 divide it, whereas 6 is composite, since it has the divisors 2...
s, and his idea of the seventeenth year as a stage of life between the "sweet, coy" sixteen and the full adulthood of eighteen. There was also a play on the name of The Sixteen
The Sixteen
The Sixteen are a choir and period instrument orchestra; founded by Harry Christophers in 1979.The group's special reputation for performing early English polyphony, masterpieces of the Renaissance, bringing fresh insights into Baroque and early Classical music and a diversity of 20th century...
, a professional choir admired by him.
Ethos
The choir's ethos derives from Drummond's disillusionment with recorded music. He released a manifestoManifesto
A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...
calling on people to "dispense with all previous forms of music and music-making and start again",
Each performance has no audience and is never recorded. Also, there is no sheet music
Sheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
; instead the choir performs according to a set of instructions written by Drummond. These instructions (called "scores," but bearing little relation to musical scores) are open to change over time, and exist in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
.
Members
The choir has a constantly shifting membership (the choir's website states that to join one need only turn up and sing ); as of April 2009 there have been 1,508 performers, mostly members of the public with little or no experience in professional music.Education
In 2006, Drummond was invited to help schoolchildren compose scores in a project sponsored by the Arts CouncilArts council
An arts council is a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing events at home and abroad...
. Children from several primary and secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
s in County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
wrote scores that were eventually compiled in the book Scores 18–76. The children also performed their scores in the Hatton Gallery
Hatton Gallery
The Hatton Gallery is Newcastle University's art gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and is a part of the Great North Museum. It is based in the University's Fine Art Building.- History :...
, Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
.