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Chris Watson  

about nothing...really

Duration: 07' 00" Year: 2010
for flute, B flat clarinet, guitar and cello

  • Programme Note

    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.

  • Availability

John Rimmer  

Kakapo Reborn

Duration: 09' 00" Year: 2002
for bass clarinet, bass trombone, cello, double bass

James Gardner  

Kvetch

Duration: 01' 00" Year: 1999
microscore for percussion, double bass, bass trombone and bass clarinet

James Gardner  

Kvetch 2

Duration: 01' 00" Year: 1999, r. 2000
for bass clarinet, bass trombone, vibraphone and double bass

Alex Taylor  

quasi concertino

 Year: 2012
for bassoon and string trio

David Hamilton  

Slides 6

Duration: 05' 00" Year: 1986
for flute and three percussionists

  • Instrumentation
    Percussion 1. c# crotale, one timpani, suspended cymbal; Percussion 2: vibraphone (motor off); Percussion 3: 4 rototoms (med or large) C# D# G# B
  • Programme Note

    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.

  • Availability

Alex van den Broek  

Still Standing Silent

Duration: 50' 00" Year: 2009
for four musicians and a contemporary dancer

  • Instrumentation
    for B flat clarinet, tenor saxophone, percussion, contrabass - there is improvisation within set structures mostly for the tenor saxophone and contrabass
  • Programme Note

    In my work as a composer I have found bringing together classical and jazz musicians to be a rich and unique way of working. I have experience in both fields and my compositional talent and interest lies genuinely across the two art forms.

    This piece has been specifically composed for these performers and their unique sets of skills. Each performer is of a very high calibre and each possesses something special and unique in their playing and approach to music making. Mike Kime and Reuben Derrick often have moments of freedom as they are both accomplished improvisers. Gretchen Dunsmore and Mark Le Roche are classically trained performers with excellent skills and intelligent ears and minds. I knew that each of them would bring something to the work that would be unique and exciting.

    More recently my creative interest in movement and form has expanded to contemporary dance and I wanted to involve and include another artistic discipline in this work. Collaborating with Julia Milsom has been an exciting new venture for me. The nature of the sounds within the piece are highly applicable to contemporary dance and have been interpreted and expressed with considerable talent and skill by Julia.

    Layers of sound in time is a theme I have developed extensively in the piece. The layers interact, evolve, contrast, compliment, and conflict with each other to create a depth of space and time between them.

    The work is an exploration of the timelessness that comes in moments of deep introspection through evocative sounds and movement.

    Alex van den Broek

  • Availability

Dorothy Freed  

Wellington Letter

Duration: 06' 00" Year: 1980
for quartet and narrator - incidental music for poems

Peter Willis  

Woodwinds and Vibes

Duration: 05' 45" Year: 2005
for flute, oboe, clarinet in b flat and vibraphone

  • Programme Note

    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.

  • Availability

Briar Prastiti  

ζωώδες/zo̱óḏes (‘Animality’)

Duration: 04' 20" Year: 2011
for chamber ensemble