Creating the piece

The first thing I decided on was the instrumentation. Carl Rosman (clarinet) had already expressed an interest in developing a piece for solo clarinet and ensemble, and I had previously negotiated the core line-up with the project manager. Certainties and ideas came to equal:

flute = piccolo
oboe = cor anglais = slide whistle
solo clarinet in Eb
horn = slide whistle
trombone = slide whistle
tuba = slide whistle
piano = slide whistle

I had a sound-world, and I was engrossed. Having already spent two years with the ensemble, I had a vast collection of new ingredients with which to work. Ensemble Musikfabrik comprises a syndicate of virtuosos which, to a young composer, is the painter’s equivalent of a palette comprising colours of the entire electromagnetic spectrum.

I began generating material by means of applying text to rhythm, on a macro level. This is a technique I have been exploring for about a year or so now, but it changes from piece to piece. This time I chose an acutely short note-duration as my unit and as one would predict, this gave rise to intricate, lively material.

Various systems were used in order to manufacture and develop the components of this piece but as the narrative progresses, emerging ‘substances’ expand to assume all the attention. Laws crumble and materials are freed; simply present in mind and hand.

About the piece

The piece – Gêmdis – moves through a series of different moods, with some returning in a cyclic fashion and thus defining the pieces’ structural foundations. There are five ‘beginnings’. This beginning material is frantic and ferocious, but is followed by a playful, more fragile version of itself. How this fragile, giocosso-type material evolves is different each time. Sometimes it simply drifts away; other times it grows to become a new and distinct ‘substance’. These newly-developed ‘substances’ present juxtaposing eventualities in connection with the opening material, while giving space and depth to the piece as a whole.

The next project in line was the transcription of Kagel’s Ludwig van. for stage. Carl Rosman (Ensemble Musikfabrik) had taken on the somewhat daunting task of transcribing the fifty-minute LP for two voices, two pianos and string quartet, and he’d asked me to be his side-kick. I love this piece, so I was looking forward to getting stuck in but I have to admit, I was continually baffled by Carl’s quiet assuredness regarding the size of the project and the amount of time we had to give it. It turned into a gargantuan puzzle, comprising physical cut-outs of photocopied Beethoven excerpts; scribbled transcriptions of various degrees of accuracy (there is large scope between what Beethoven would likely have written and what’s actually heard on the LP); and a mishmash of digital samples. Thankfully my role was not concerned with the fitting of things together but rather, with the deciphering of pitch content and as things went on, as a voice for promoting the what’s actually heard side of the notation coin. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to work so closely with this piece, there are layers that only reveal themselves as one listens again, and again, and more deeply, and perhaps even more slowly… it’s a piece that just keeps giving. The project enabled me to take a break from creative thinking too which actually, was quite refreshing. You can read Carl’s account of the process here.

In other news, two very special audio-visual recordings are due to be released as part of Ensemble Musikfabrik’s Lockdown Tapes series very soon. The first is of Datod – a violin and piano piece that I wrote last year – bewitchingly performed by Hannah Weirich (violin) and Ulrich Löffler (piano). Datod is a musical exploration of controlled freedom and is dedicated to my dear friend, Sally Groves. The second audio-visual recording is of a solo version of Gêmdis, for E-flat clarinet. It must be about a year since Carl first put the idea in my head but sure enough, on 29 December the solo version was recorded live to tape by Janet Sinica. Initially, I felt quite nervous about making a solo version of an ensemble piece but thankfully, it only needed to be eight-minutes long (whereas the ensemble version is seventeen-minutes). That took the pressure off the material a little, because it meant that I could reassemble the primary ideas so as to quite literally form a miniature version of the structure (apart from the fact that sections a and b appear in reverse order) without revealing everything that the ensemble version is. This latter point was important to me because I wanted to leave room for the possibility of forming a Gêmdis triptych at some point, with the solo version being the first ‘movement’; the ensemble version being the second; and a fixed tape version becoming the third (and final) adaptation. Only time will tell…

Another concert that has sadly been cancelled is the BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert that was due to take place on 26 June at LSO St. Luke’s. Aptly titled, ‘Antoine Tamestit & Friends: with Colin Currie’, the concert was to feature pieces for viola (Antoine) and percussion (Colin) by Tristan Murail, Bruno Mantovani, Elliot Carter, Luciano Berio and me. This cancellation is especially upsetting as the piece I’ve written – Dog in the Moon – is dedicated to my late dog, Hettie. I really hope the BBC and LSO can find another date for this concert as it is a piece that’s especially close to my heart. You can read more about it here.

On a brighter note, there is something to look forward to that, conveniently, is not impacted by the need for physical distancing: the release of Panuknik Legacies III by LSO Live. The disk includes Scoot – an orchestral piece I wrote in 2015 – along with pieces by Patrick Giguère, Donghoon Shin, Ayanna Witter-Johnson, Sasha Siem, Ewan Campbell, Joanna Lee, Ben Ashby, Alex Roth, Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian, Patrick Brennan, Michael Taplin and Matthew Sergeant. It was recorded by François-Xavier Roth and the London Symphony Orchestra in April 2019, and is due to be released very soon.

Currently, I am working on a piece for Ensemble Musikfabrik that’s due to receive its premiere in Den Haag in November. It’s a sort of mini clarinet concerto scored for flute, oboe, solo clarinet in Eb, horn, trombone, tuba, piano & electronics. It is the first ensemble piece I have attempted that doesn’t include any bowed-strings, and it’s proving to be a rather steep learning curve as a result. I was meant to be travelling to Köln at the end of this month to workshop ideas but, of course, that is no longer feasible. Thankfully, the ensemble’s administrators are working hard to try and take as much of those sessions online as possible, which is fantastic, although I am going to miss the opportunity to try out some of the tutti sections. Be that as it may, I am enjoying the challenge of writing something Carl Rosman will actually have to practise… it’s “game on!” (his words not mine).

Anyway, thanks for reading. Stay safe everyone!

More soon.