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NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION 2010: Stop writing dishonest programme notes.

This work was conceived in the abstract and does not relate to human experience. It does not illustrate the composer’s state of mind, he having suddenly found himself awake in the middle of the night, unable to control his thoughts. While the experience of insomnia, especially when suffered over consecutive nights, can be physically and emotionally crippling, at times the abundance and insistence of multiple streams of unwanted thought (unruly Beta waves) can be, if not pleasurable, then certainly fascinating. This piece does not seek to illustrate this through music, nor does it sonically pose this question: why does the brain seize control of the consciousness and produce such a plethora of unwanted activity that sleep is made impossible and the host becomes miserable?

At times, certain thoughts seem to somehow rise above the melee of insomniac thought and become quite focused and of seeming import, however inane these might seem in the cold light of day. This is not portrayed in the music by infrequent parings-down of texture and emergence of single, insistent motivic ideas. The music doesn’t describe how such thoughts soon get swallowed up as the jumble of thoughts returns and the victim adjusts position once again, glancing desperately at his or her clock radio and resolving hopelessly to try to make yet another attempt at deep breathing and sheep counting work.

The composer could claim that the work is about these things, but that would be a lie; he no longer wishes to construct programme notes after the act of composition that conform to some conceivable extra-musical agenda.

This version of this work is the first of a number of versions, with another swapping cello for viola and another as a solo guitar piece currently projected.

The work was requested by Dylan Lardelli and is dedicated to this increasingly mythic musician.

• Watson, C.: about nothing...really; computer-set 

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• Chris Watson: about nothing...really; video 

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• Chris Watson: about nothing... really 

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Based on the haunting, low pitched booming call of the kakapo, the world’s largest parrot, this work celebrates the virtual rebirth of this magnificent bird from near extinction through the work of the Department of Conservation in New Zealand

• Rimmer: Kakapo Reborn; computer-set 

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• John Rimmer: Kakapo Reborn; audio 

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Written at the 1986 Cambridge Music School and premiered there, this work utilises flute with 3 percussionists: C# crotale, one timpani, suspended cymbal, vibraphone 4 roto-toms. Two particular uses of glissando occur in the music – the flautist is called upon to execute a tremolo while overblowing to produce an upward rush through the upper harmonics; and the percussionist is asked to place the crotale upside down on the timpani head then to strike the crotale sharply and manipulate the timpani pedal – this causes the crotale pitch to fluctuate.

• Hamilton: Slides 3, 5, 6 and 8; facsimile 

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• Freed: Wellington Letter; facsimile 

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My aim with Woodwinds and Vibes was to create an atmospheric piece, with rich harmonies and an equality of instrumental interaction, but where individual timbres shine through. I chose this combination of instruments because I have a particular fondness for the sound of woodwinds, and for the pure metallic sound of the vibraphone. In visual terms, this piece could be seen as a series of floating images, which emerge into view then disappear. I was influenced especially by the music of Morton Feldman, with its hushed, rarefied sound world, and the simple beauty of single notes.

• Willis: Woodwinds and Vibes; computer-set 

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• Willis: Woodwinds and vibes; computer-set 

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