Our Sophisticated Weapon

Our Sophisticated Weapon takes the words of two Marxist thinkers - Samora Machel, the former President of Mozambique and leader of FRELIMO (the revolutionary party which overthrew Fascism in the East African nation), and William Morris, the artist, printmaker and theorist who has been pivotal in developing Marxist thought on art, and society in general.  Both texts look at how art relates to the common populace - namely, art is made by people, however it is stolen from us by the wealthy. Though they lived nearly half a century apart, both are quite unified in their feelings and both quotations seem to flow quite naturally from one to the other.  

Finally, the work is dedicated to John Campbell, a man who passed away on the 1st January 2022 after a long fought battle with cancer. Though not a monumental figure like Machel or Morris, Campbell has played an incredible part in my political development; especially in his support and guidance when I was elected chair for the North Lanarkshire Trade Union Council. His politics was that or Morris and Machel and as the composition of this coincided with the fateful day he passed away, it felt only natural to honour the life of a man dedicated to fighting for the improvement of the lives of others.  

The work was written as part of the Young Composers Meeting 2022 ran by Orkest de Ereprijs and was awarded the Orkest de Ereprijs Prize