-
Richard Pinnell on Parkinson Saunders at Audiograft
Tim and I had a great time rehearsing and performing his songs 2011 at the Holywell Music Room in Oxford onThursday. There seemed to be a of of people filming and taking photos, so I’ll upload some evidence if any materialises. In the meantime, here’s Richard Pinnell’s review of the performance at The Watchful Ear (see also March 1 entry)
-
Audiograft
Here’s a picture of [rout] rehearsing for a performance of my piece nothing reveals itself without at the same time concealing something else for Audiograft in Oxford on 1 March. They are also playing imperfections on the surface are occasionally apparent, and I’ll be performing with Parkinson Saunders, doing some new songs by Tim. There’s some information here.
-
review
There’s a review of the another timbre CD posted at the All About Jazz site. This is my first jazz review.
-
Revue & Corrigee
Tim Parkinson has written an article about British-based composers Matteo Fargion, Laurence Crane, Bryn Harrison, John Lely, Markus Trunk and me for the French magazine Revue & Corrigee. Tim writes about the article: I’’m going to describe the work of six composers in Britain at the moment whose music I like. To me it’s just that: music that I like. And why I like it is a question for self-analysis, rather than joining the stylistic or aesthetic dots. And only six because it’s impossible to be comprehensive. How can I be? There’s so much good music out there, and of course there…
-
from scratch
Jennie Gottschalk has posted an interesting review of the From Scratch project which I was involved in with Basel Sinfonietta at the Sound Expanse blog. She touches on the influence of the Scratch Orchestra on the pieces played in the concert, in light of various discussions in relation to the project. From my point of view, it wasn’t really an issue. When the project was first suggested, it was an opportunity for composers of different generations working in a similar area to make orchestra pieces. I wasn’t aware of the Scratch Orchestra referencing until much later (I’m not sure any…
-
things whole and not whole (again)
Here’s an extract from the rehearsal with Basel Sinfonietta in Martinskirche, Basel, the day before the first performance. You can see the way the players respond to each other’s cues, and the range of sound selections they made. They were absolutely wonderful to work with, and really explored the possibilities for making sound within the piece’s framework. Thanks to Angharad Davies for filming this.
-
things whole and not whole (on radio)
The Huddersfield performance can be heard on BBC iPlayer for the next couple of days (UK only I think). The programme also has the pieces by Jürg Frey, Christian Wolff and Michael Parsons, as well as some other bits from hcmf. I have a short chat with Robert Worby before the excerpt that they play, and then there’s some discussion afterwards. Not a great radio piece given the visual aspect of the performer interaction, but you’ll get a sense of it. Let me know what you think….I could do with some comments below. The programme can be heard at the iPlayer…
-
things whole and not whole (on TV)
An excerpt from my piece for Basel Sinfonietta was broadcast on the Swiss TV programme Was Lauft on 9 November. They filmed bits of the second half of the concert, which included my piece and Christian Wolff’s Spring Two. The programme also had a feature on Mike and the Mechanics as part of an 80s revival tour, and he sat behind me on the plane home as it turned out. The performance will also be broadcast on DRS2 on 28 December, with the Huddersfield performance going out on BBC Radio 3 as part of Hear and Now on Christmas Eve.…
-
last distribution study
The final distribution study is being performed today at the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich. Olaf Nicolai commissioned twelve composers to write pieces to be performed by the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart on the steps of the museum on twelve Sundays in 2011 through his project Escalier du Chant. I decided to make one piece for each month. All of the pieces involved distributing copies of the scores to visitors who could then take them away and perform them elsewhere. In the earlier pieces, this involved passing limited-edition copies of the score to other people as part of a sequence, with individual,…
-
things whole and not whole
I’ve been working with Basel Sinfonietta and conductor Manuel Nawri over the past few weeks as they prepared for the first performances of the orchestra piece I made for them, things whole and not whole. The piece uses rules pertaining to bird flocking, building on research by Craig Reynolds in the 1980s. The players set up chains of interdependent cues, and have to source all the sounds themselves, based on specific criteria. The rest of the programme included new pieces by Tim Parkinson, Michael Parsons, Jürg Frey, and Christian Wolff. Here are some pictures of the rehearsal in Basel:
-
imperfections on the surface are occasionally apparent
Edges Ensemble gave a lovely performance of my piece imperfections on the surface are occasionally apparent on Monday at hcmf. It was a carefully choreographed event, with pieces by Tim Parkinson, Michael Parsons, Christian Wollf and Stefan Thut being played without a break. They are a great group, all students in Huddersfield, organised by Philip Thomas. I took some pictures.
-
morning surfaces
I’m back in the room with Simon now, having had a little sleep. I’ve been looking at the way some of the work he’s done has developed. There’s a sheet hanging at the back of the room with a load of squares drawn on it. When I left last night at about 2am, it only had a few marked on it, but he’s gradually filled the whole surface now, going back to this, and other actions, over the course of the realisation. I’ve found that by sitting in on the piece for extended periods over the last 23 hours, I’ve…
-
surfaces underway
Simon Limbrick is currently performing his realisation of surfaces at hcmf. I’ve been popping in and out of the space today, and it’s been interesting to see what has changed on returning. There’s now quite a lot of mess on the table as the materials start to get broken down into debris of various proportions. Although there’s clearly a visual aspect to the way he’s realising it, I laid down and closed my eyes for twenty minutes and found the way this prioritised the sound gave it more presence. It’s about the sonic properties of the materials primarily, and I…
-
surfaces
The website for surfaces is now up and running, and there will be a live video stream of the performance on 19-20 November at hcmf. Before that, Simon is working on the piece as part of a residency at Aldbeurgh, during the TEDx conference. He’ll be doing a short presentation as part of that event, which will include a discussion we recorded yesterday in Bath. The Huddersfield performance will last for 24 hours, and will take place in the university art school.
-
cd reviews
There are a few reviews beginning to appear of my another timbre release, divisions that could be autonomous but that comprise the whole. I’ll post links to them here, good or bad… Richard Pinnell – The Watchful Ear Julien Héraud- Improv Sphere Brian Olewnick – Just Outside Dominic Lash – Force of Circumstance
-
surfaces website
There’s now a website that will document the project I’m doing with Simon Limbrick for hcmf// this year. The piece is called surfaces and is part of an ongoing project, on the sonic properties of materials, which investigates the way in which sounds can be elicited from simple materials. There are some pictures of the work we’ve been doing here. The piece uses surfaces – including various types of paper, wood and other recyclable materials – as the instrumentation, with a verbal score describing actions to be undertaken. During the performance, overlaid instructions transform the materials, leaving a pile of…
-
MusikTexte
I’m featured in the August edition of the German music magazine MusikTexte. There’s an article about my work by Max Nyfeller based on the programme he made for Bayerischer Rundfunk last year, and a translation into German of my article Modular Music, which appeared previously in Perspectives of New Music. This is supported by an updated list of pieces. I’m really pleased that Antoine Beuger and Tom Johnson – two of my favourite composers – are also featured in the magazine. There’s a profile of Antoine, as well as a translation of the interview I did with him that was…
-
another realisation
Ard van der Horst has just sent me a great film of his realisation of various distinct spatial and temporal locations. He says ‘Coffee cup provided by Lungoccino (www.lungoccino.nl) – best coffee in Amsterdam, where I always buy my morning coffee before work. Realised on a colleague’s desk while the sun shone, 8:30 am local time. Had a lot of fun doing it.’ Thanks Ard – lovely realisation! The score is available for download here.
-
PHONO:GRAPHIC at GALERIE8
The score for with paper will be distributed at PHONO:GRAPHIC at GALERIE8 on 14 August. It’s part of a series called Sunday Sound Waves, and admission is free. The event on the 14th is curated by SoundFjord,and will also include live performances by Formanex and Tim Yates, together with artworks and installations by David Chapman, Claudia Molitor, Steve Roden, Gary James Joynes, Jo Thomas, Bill Thompson, and Luke Munn. My piece is a series of score sheets where the notation and instrument are contained within the page. The instructions can be realised by touch, making marks on the paper, or…
-
music we’d like to hear
Parkinson Saunders played in the final concert of this year’s music we’d like to hear on 15 July, alongside violin duos played by Angharad Davies and Sara Hubrich. There are some nice pictures from the rehearsal taken by Markus Trunk below. Tim and I had a lovely time playing Michael Parsons’ Pentechordal Melody in a version for melodicas, pipes, and bells, as well as Christian Wolff’s Material which we realised with our normal selection of tabletop detritus. Sarah and Angharad played pieces by Jürg Frey, Chiyoko Szlavnics, and Vincenzo Gabrieli. The concert links to the project we’re involved in with…
-
coffee cup surface
Richard Glover pointed me towards this item, which seems like a likely possibility for realising various distinct spatial and temporal locations. Çurface is an industrial surface made from compressed coffee and melted coffee cups, although you’d still need a coffee cup to realise the piece. In the meantime, have a look at Johnny Chang’s video of his realisation in Berlin
-
interview with Simon Reynell
I’ve been doing a short correspondence interview with Simon Reynell at another timbre in advance of the release of the CD of divisions that could be autonomous but that comprise the whole. You can read it at the another timbre website, where there’s also details of the CD itself.
-
various distinct spatial or temporal locations
I’ve just finished a new piece which can be realised by anyone using a takeaway coffee cup and a surface. I’ve used this method of sound production in quite a few pieces, but here it is focused on a single action lasting between 40″ – 1’20”. All realisations of the piece constitute a single performance of various distinct spatial or temporal locations. So the score links all the actions which are made when realising the piece, wherever and whenever they might be undertaken. The score is available to download here, and I’m encouraging people to document their realisations using the form…
-
surfaces
Simon Limbrick visited me in Bath last week to continue our work for the piece we’re making for hcmf this November. It uses surfaces as the sound sources, activated by other surfaces, objects, or manipulation. We’re experimenting with materials at the moment, having sourced a variety of papers. Simon will be performing the piece for 24-hours in November, following a retreat in Scotland and an artist residency at the TEDx conference in Aldeburgh where he’ll be working on the piece. The score is a series of instructions that are applied to whichever surfaces are to hand. They can be applied…
-
new CD released on 11 July
The recording of pieces from the series divisions that could be autonomous but that comprise the whole will be released on another timbre on 11 July. There are six pieces from the series on the disc, and there’s some more information available on the label website. I’ve also been working on a correspondence interview with Simon Reynell which will be published on the site in July.
-
new website
I finally decided to change my website after three years with an iWeb template. This is the new one, and it’s just about up and running. Still lots to do though… Why not say hello? Leave a comment below…
-
location composites
There have been six log entries for location composite #1: Portbury Wharf since hiding the cache on 5 May. The range of descriptions of the local soundscape shows quite a lot of variety. I needed to edit out some of the descriptions of source sounds, but they are otherwise reproduced as written by the geocachers. The latest version of the score is available for download and will be first performed by the BeezArts trio in Oxford on Tuesday 21 June.
-
dripping tap
We found this sound in the kitchen when we were tidying up. There’s a point where too much water comes through and forms a stream, at which point the sound disappears. Up to this point, the rhythmic drip gradually becomes more chaotic, and produces a lovely series of harmonics. [audio:http://178.18.116.10/~jamessau/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/drippingtap.mp3|titles=drippingtap]
-
more divisions
Two new pieces in the series divisions that could be autonomous but that comprise the whole are being performed in May. The first of these, certain elements within that situation remained constant was written for Travis Just and will be performed at Incubator Arts in New York on Friday 27 May. The other piece, opposition between the two spaces and their common mediation is being played by Tim Parkinson and Angharad Davies at the Streetlevel Photoworks Gallery in Glasgow on Saturday 28 May. Two other pieces in the series are being played by [rout] and Patrick Farmer/Sarah Hughes at Beaconsfield…
-
new circulated book pieces
I sent out two new circulated book pieces recently. In this project, a pocket notebook containing instructions for making the piece is sent to someone who agrees to participate. They follow the instructions, which involve a notation activity, and then pass the book to someone else, and so on. The scores gradually accumulate as they are passed between people, finally being returned to me once complete. The first of the two new books, x sequential pitches, asks participants to notate between one to five pitches on a page, producing a long series of pitches which will be used as part…
