Concert I: Jonty Harrison

Friday 5th May. 19:30

• Jonty Harrison, Going Places, 2015, 32.0, 59:55

Going Places, 2015, 32.0, 59:55 • Commission: Pierre Alexandre Tremblay, Electric Spring, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival

• Premiere: November 25th, 2015, hcmf// 2015:16. Jonty Harrison, Phipps Concert Hall - Creative Arts Building - University of Hudders- field (Huddersfield, England, UK)

To Ali, Clare, and Emma One day, nearly 25 years ago, when I was recording a journey on the Lon- don Underground, a lost overseas visitor asked me directions: that incident gave me the idea for a piece based on the broad theme of travel, and the sense of disorientation, even alienation, it can engender. My habit of always carrying sound recording equipment started in the early 1990s when I became interested in capturing everyday sonic events that somehow indicated their geographical location. I have amassed quite a sound library over the past 25 years, but only started to investigate these materials methodically in 2014, with three re- lated works: Hidden Vistas - a 20-channel gallery piece, premiered at the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham (England, UK); Espaces cach´es - a 30- channel concert work, premiered at the Klang! ´electroacoustique 2014 festival in Montpellier (France); and Secret Horizons - a 14-channel installation work, composed for Birmingham Sculpture Trail and premiered at the RBSA Gallery in Birmingham. My approach in these three works was to ‘present’ the material, but in a way that, given the geographical disparity of some of the concurrently sound- ing materials, would be impossible in ‘real life’: we cannot, physically, be in two places at once, but it is entirely possible in the aural domain, especially if recognition and personal memory are evoked and involved. Presenting these works using large loudspeaker arrays, often in different rooms or areas of a single room, aided the illusion I was trying to create. I felt, however, that I wanted to subject this material to a more ‘in-depth’ acousmatic investigation, so was delighted when Pierre Alexandre Tremblay, one of my former PhD students at the University of Birmingham (England, UK) and now Professor of Music at the University of Huddersfield (England,

1 UK), asked me to compose a 60-minute multichannel work when I retired - it was the perfect opportunity.

A ‘rough guide’ I thought it might be useful to offer some ‘signposts’ (this is a project about travel, after all!) - not to tell you what you ‘should’ be hearing, but sim- ply to enhance and complement your listening experience (and to give you something else to do if you get bored!). The musical moments or ‘scenes’ (some clearly delineated, others overlapping) are all completely artificially constructed. Some border on reportage or documentary; others are more fanciful but they all have their origins in specific locations. Telling you what and where these locations might be does not, I hope, detract from the aural experience. We begin and end in Italy, my second home. Between these scenes - one implying imminent motion, the other more restful and tranquil - we flit erratically and unpredictably between other locations in Europe, Iceland, Australia, North America, North Africa and parts of Asia, and the means of travel (trains, cars, planes, ships, etc) are lurking almost throughout. But the logic of the narrative (if there is one) does not lie in the geographical connections or distances but in the sonic journey: the relationships and con- trasts - spectral, rhythmic and spatial - that I had enormous pleasure in discovering within this huge range of material. I hope you enjoy the ride.

1. Railway stations in Florence, Pisa, Rome, and Castelfiorentino (Italy)

2. Crickets on the Great Ocean Road, Victoria (Australia), plus events from the Red Centre and Queensland (Australia)

3. Buskers and bustle in Jemaa el-Fnaa, Marrakech (Morocco)

4. On the SkyRail, passing over birds in the tropical canopy, in Queens- land (Australia)

5. Wind, tourists, kr´ıa (Arctic terns) and other birds on Snæfellsnes (Ice- land)

6. Subterranean glacial stream and ice melt in a cave on the S´olheimaj¨okull glacier (Iceland), plus resonating cables from the Hellissandur radio mast on Snæfellsnes (Iceland)

7. Idling steam locomotive and on board the Kuranda Scenic Railway in Queensland (Australia)

2 8. Geothermal pools at Selt´un (Iceland), and Rotorua (New Zealand) extent in fugal textures. In the case of Imago timbre is equivalent to the melodic line in a contrapuntal work. There are five independent ‘klangfar- 9. Near and far: distant railroad horns in wintry Ohio (USA) with a benmelodie lines’ heard throughout which are highly fluid. The languidly close-up of track sounds from the UK and South Australia undulating high frequency pulsations heard in the middle section coalesce 10. Circular Quay, with buskers, ferries and trains, framed by the ocean into bell tones for instance. I have attempted to employ imitation and to liner Queen Mary 2 leaving port, in Sydney (Australia) preserve the integrity of each timbral line to invest the whole with internal consistency. 11. Floating quays strain at their moorings near Sydney Opera House (Aus- Spatialisation is accomplished by separating the audio into frequency tralia) zones. This produces a new improvisatory dimension since the projection of the material into space and subsequent motion actually generates new 12. Underwater echoes of the quays, plus barnacles in Sydney Harbour timbral lines as a consequence of the segregation of the audio stream. (Australia), near the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland (Australia) and Finally as a spiritual artist I also want my creations to reflect the Imago off Corfu (Greece) Dei (God Image). I believe that there is a lineage descending from God 13. Street demonstration in Montpellier (France) through to the artist and his work. Compositions in any medium reflect the human image in a manner equivalent to the way in which the human reflects 14. Harbours, boats and swifts in Corfu and Poros (Greece) the Imago Dei. The process of transformation into the Image of Christ causes the artists work to reflect the Divine essence more vividly. In this sense the 15. More boats straining at their moorings, this time at the yacht club in title is a reference to my foundational creative principle. Boston (Massachusetts, USA) Ishmael Beckford-Tongs: I am currently pursuing an MA in Electronic 16. Insects, frogs and monkeys in the equatorial rainforest in Bako National and Computer music having spent several years studying Jazz and Electroa- Park in Borneo (Malaysia) coustic Music. My fascination with timbre led me to focus on Electroacoustic music. Much of my research revolves around the spectral characteristics of 17. Pipes and drums: ghaitas (double reed instruments) in Marrakech (Mo- sound which has led to me exploring the prosodic features of poetry from a rocco), piccolo bands parading during the Basler Fasnacht (Carnival of musicological perspective. Basel) (Switzerland), bagpipers (yes, really!) in Morelia (Mexico) and a religious procession with firecrackers in Thailand counterpoint coins being placed in offerings bowls in the Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha) in Bangkok (Thailand)

18. Wheels on the rails resonate through the washroom sink on a UK train, plus friction squeaks from Eurotunnel train carriages

19. Call and response: calls to prayer in Istanbul (Turkey) and Marrakech (Morocco - complete with nesting storks clattering their beaks) fuse with the voices of singers on gondolas in Venice (Italy) and market callers in Melbourne (Australia)

20. In transit: announcements in airports - in Bangkok (Thailand), Bris- bane (Australia), Helsinki (Finland), and Dubai (United Arab Emi- rates), plus my homage to Bernard Parmegiani with his indicatif used between 1971 and 2005 at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport (France) and on planes, trains, and boats, including a vaporetto in Venice (Italy)

3 20 texture of the background noise. My objective was to create a cohesive piece 21. An insect chorus at dusk on the night of a lunar eclipse in the tropical of music featuring different sections by utilising a range of electroacoustic rainforest in Queensland (Australia) merging into pedestrian signals techniques and hardware such as synthesizers, samplers, granulators as well at intersections and ships’ bells at the Museum of Old and New Art as time stretching, arranging and cutting sounds with built in effects from (MONA) in Hobart (Tasmania, Australia); brief appearances from a Adobe Audition. In the past I have always begun my compositions with an train bell in Oakland (California, USA) and trams and crossing signals extra-musical concept, therefore this is a new and creative approach for me in Melbourne (Australia) as I was intrigued by the walrus recording whilst searching for samples on the Macaulay Library Catalogue. 22. Bells from Chartres (France), Venice (Italy), Berlin (Germany) and Albrecht Lange is a former student of the BA English and Music pro- Corfu (Greece), plus the clock in Montaione (Tuscany, Italy) gramme at University of Leeds. He is now pursuing a masters degree in 23. Notturno Canada. Going / Places, a 32-channel work, was realized in 2015 at the com- Charlotte Bickley, DK/LOB, stereo, 10:30 poser’s studio in Birmingham (England, UK) and premiered on Novem- ber 25th, 2015 during the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in the A performance of the Qawwali Research Unit’s I will go with the Yogi at the Phipps Concert Hall of the University of Huddersfield (England, UK). Thanks Huddersfield Electric Spring 2016 festival provided conceptual inspiration for go to a large number of people and organisations for their contributions to DK/LOB. This audiovisual composition takes a recording of a performance this work and their assistance in its creation: by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and uses it as a structural and musical founda- tion; merging new, electroacoustic aspects with the original recording. I have • The Leverhulme Foundation for a 12-month Leverhulme Emeritus Fel- emulated and developed this framework in DK/LOB, where all the sonic ma- lowship allowing the field recording trips to Australia and Iceland, and terial is derived from two recordings of a Hindustani Classical piece, Raga the development of multichannel signal processing software; Darbari Kanada. In contrast to I will go with the Yogi, and other notable • compositions based on recordings of Hindustani music (such as Hildegard The National Lottery via Arts Council England for a Grants for the Westerkamp’s Into India), DK/LOB makes no attempt to preserve the mu- Arts award for the period of composition; sical or structural elements from the original recordings - in fact, various • Pierre Alexandre Tremblay for inviting me to compose on this scale; processing techniques are employed to disintegrate the samples into obscu- rity. The piece is far removed from traditions of Hindustani Classical music, • James Carpenter and Chris Tarren for their programming expertise and instead uses the samples as a foundation for sonic exploration, distorting in developing signal processing tools for the work; these have been and subverting them to create a varied, dense, noisy soundscape, in a style incorporated into BEASTtools, a suite of Max/MSP patches; which emulates the diverse soundworlds created by Tim Hecker on Virgins. • Charlotte Bickley is a former student of the BA English and Music pro- Alex Harker and University of Huddersfield postgraduates for setting gramme at University of Leeds. up the Huddersfield Immersive Sound System (HISS) for me to hear before setting about the piece in earnest;

Ishmael Beckford-Tongs, Imago, 8.0, 3:00 • Lisa Whistlecroft and Steve Benner for sharing their knowledge of places to record interesting sounds in Iceland and for accompanying us Imago emerged from a single rhythmic motif derived from a self- oscillating on the trip; filter. This cell permeates the composition insofar as the entire piece is created centrifugally with rhythmic spectral and melodic elements emerging • David Hirst for the use of his house at the eastern end of the Great from it. Ocean Road and for extensive advice and information about recording The linear development of the whole is loosely based on the contraction locations in Australia; and dilation of time I have observed in free jazz improvisation and to an

19 4 • Elainie Lillios (and Michael Thompson) for hosting me during the worldly environment of the music underneath his narration. The pitch of his Klingler ElectroAcoustic Residency (KEAR) at Bowling Green State voice is modulated and repeated: digitally mimicking the consequences of University (Ohio, USA); playing old and worn records that skip. Edward Wilson-Stephens: I have entered into postgraduate education at • The unknown overseas visitor in the London Underground nearly 25 the School of Music, University of Leeds, in the hope of expanding my elec- years ago; tronic explorations, so that I can begin to compose and perform dynamic • ...and finally as ever thanks to my wife Alison Warne for keeping me electronic music that moves away from grid-based structures and set tem- more or less sane during the composition of the work, and for helping pos. I am currently releasing music on the Leeds-based record label Digital me carry all the recording gear to far-flung corners of the world: I Distortions under the pseudonym of CCH Poundr, as well as collaborating couldnt have done it without her. with artists who work with music for film and television. My main interests within electronic music include the use of cracked media, heavy use of effects Jonty Harrison (born 1952) studied at the University of York (DPhil in processors commonly associated with dub music, and modular and closed- Composition, 1980). Between 1976 and 1980 he worked at the National The- system synthesis: preferring to utilise equipment that does not depend on atre and City University, London. In 1980 he joined the Music Department computers for operation. My main influences include artists such as Andy of the University of Birmingham, where he was Professor of Composition Stott, Rhythm and Sound, Nils Frahm and Throbbing Gristle. and Electroacoustic Music and Director of the Electroacoustic Music Studios and BEAST; he is now Emeritus Professor. He has won several international Ewan Stefani, N´ıtj´an, 8.0, 8:00 prizes (Bourges, Ars Electronica, Musica Nova, Destellos) and been com- missioned by leading organisations and performers. His music appears on Based on studio recordings of 19-division trumpet, N´ıtj´an (‘nineteen’) ex- three solo albums (empreintes DIGITALes, Montreal) and on several com- plores the spatialisation of improvisations by the composer and Stephen Al- pilations (NMC; Mn´emosyne Musique M´edia; CDCM/Centaur; Asphodel; toft recorded between 2011 and 2014. Musical themes include spectral dis- Clarinet Classics, FMR, Edition RZ and EMF). http://www.electrocd. sonance, pitch-textures and boundaries between noise and microtonal pitch. com/en/bio/harrison_jo/ Designed for 8-channel spatialisation, oscillating panning techniques are used throughout the piece to separate distinct lines within textures and create spa- tial ostinato patterns. Ewan Stefani (b. 1971) lectures in music technology, computer music and electroacoustic composition at the University of Leeds. As an acousmatic composer, his works have been performed on BBC Radio 3, and at vari- ous international sonic arts and computer music conferences. His articles on electroacoustic composition have been published in ICMC conference pro- ceedings and Organised Sound journal. Current research interests include: acousmatic music, free improvisation, multi-channel sound theatre, and syn- thesizer performance practice.

Albrecht Lange, Chuckchi, 8.0, 5:30 Chuckchi explores the possibilities of manipulating a single audio source, using various electroacoustic methodologies. The chosen sound source is a 1 minute and 29 second field recording of a walrus from the Macaulay Library Catalogue. I was attracted to this sample due to its low fidelity sound quality, the percussive sounds from the walrus, the tones of the water and the rough

5 18 sound materials for An Introduction to..., where a sense of a virtual ‘acoustic’ Concert II: USSS and friends performance - the pipes distributed across an ensemble of players surrounding th the audience - was created by arranging the recordings in time and space Saturday 6 May. 13:00 while avoiding any other sonic manipulation. • Jake Randell is a postgraduate music student at the University of Leeds Adrian Moore, Metricity, 2017, 7.1, 11:15 with a focus on experimental composition. In 2008, after writing a series • Alejandro Albornoz, The Light, 2017, 8.0, 10:00 of solo piano works as part of a conference at the United Nations Office in Geneva, he became determined to pursue a career as a composer. During • Steven Naylor, Automatopoiea: Study 1, 2006, 8.0, 9:34 his undergraduate studies, his work CANVAS WALK received a public per- • formance by the soprano Juliet Fraser at The Hepworth Wakefield gallery. James Surgenor, shift, 2014, stereo, 12:04 His new work Coma was performed by the School of Music’s (University of • Vanessa Sorce-L´evesque, An Almost Abstract Experience, 2016, 5.1, Leeds) new music ensemble, LSTwo, as part of their annual concert in April 11:11 2017. • Adam Stanovi´c, Escapade, 2010, stereo, 9:46 Edward Wilson-Stephens, Snap Crackle and Not, stereo, 4:00 Adrian Moore, Metricity, 2017, 7.1, 11:15 This piece of electronic music is a condensed adventure through cracked me- Metricity is a concert piece that marries an investigation into pulse and dia composition and sound design. The media and medium of vinyl play- repetition (meter and rhythm at times) - Metric, with a fascination for cre- back is explored. In particular, the relationship between the speed of the ating sonic environments (that are often busy, bustling and energetic) - City. vinyl crackles found at the centre of eight randomly-picked vinyl records and Rhythms were found within manipulated soundfiles and constructed, using the speed of the record player revolution is considered. Utilising an old and samplers playing very small sounds. This purposeful investigation took in ˚ slightly broken record player produced interesting results in this relationship, a wide range of music influences (Ake Parmerud from the electroacoustic in terms of indeterminate pitch and speed. The speed of the record player repertoire and numerous commercial artists from EDM to Dubstep). It also revolution was discovered through the skipping of the stylus after each full incorporated a number of techniques not normally used in electroacoustic cycle. music (sidechain compression, use of ‘snap to grid’, bass drops and filter Vinyl crackles have been mixed into electronic music: particularly in dub sweeps). These techniques led to my discovery of sound ‘icons’ - sounds (and electronica, dubstep and dub techno music. They can create a tense and techniques) that define a genre but defy clich´e. Metricity led to questions uncertain atmosphere within a musical soundscape. Utilising the content of concerning the accumulation and repetition of small sounds, sonic density the worn and overplayed vinyl records that was not intended to be enjoyed within a multi-channel space, and the nature of embodiment within a sonic by the listener creates a culture of recycling, where the adjoined intended environment. Metricity was composed between May 2016 and January 2017 musical content would be otherwise unplayable. Therefore, the better vinyl in the composer’s private studio and at the electroacoustic music studios records for use within this practice are those which would otherwise have been of Bowling Green State University, generously supported by the Klingler ignored: perhaps deemed too noisy and likely to skip. Other sounds were Electroacoustic Residency (KEAR). My sincere thanks to Joe Klingler and incorporated which mimicked the scratchy and motorized noises inherent in Elainie Lillios for enabling the residency. vinyl media and in the electronic record player medium. Adrian Moore is a composer of electroacoustic music. He mainly composes The main vocal is sampled from an old second-hand vinyl ‘The Ancient music intended for ‘sound diffusion’ over multiple loudspeaker systems. He Voices of Papua & New Guinea’, released on Australia’s Festival Records in directs the University of Sheffield Sound Studios (USSS) where researchers the 1950s. Narrator Mr P. N. Cochrane’s explanation of the use of wooden and composers collaborate on new musical projects. Adrian Moore’s research materials by the indigenous members of the tribes accompanies the other- interests are focused towards the development of the acousmatic tradition in electroacoustic music, the performance of electroacoustic music, signal

17 6 processing, and human-computer interaction in music. His music has been On taking early retirement from the University of York in 1996, he was commissioned by the Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM), the Institute honoured by the University with a lifetime Emeritus Readership. [Source: International de Musique Electroacoustique de Bourges (IMEB) and the Arts Wikipedia] Council of England. A significant proportion of his music is available on 4 discs, ‘Traces’, ‘Rˆeve de l’aube’, ‘Contrechamps’ and ‘S´equences et Tropes’ Albrecht Lange, Fulcrum, 8.0, 7:40 on the empreintes DIGITALes label. His book ‘Sonic Art: An Introduction to Electroacoustic Music Composition’ is published by Routledge. Fulcrum explores the correlation between free form music and repetitive rhythms. I was inspired to pursue this project after reading As Serious As Alejandro Albornoz, “The Light”, 2017, 8.0, 10:00 Your Life by Valerie Wilmer, a book about the evolution of Free Jazz. I was intrigued by the musical vocabulary of improvising musicians, in particular Voice: Natalie Verhaegen. the rhythmic diversity. At the time I was also listening to a lot of Krautrock This is the fourth section of the octophonic cycle “La Lumi`ere Artifi- bands and the music of Laddio Bollocko, which features repetitive rhythms cielle”, and corresponds to the third language used of three: French, Spanish and melodies. Can drummer Jaki Liebzeit, and Blake Flemming are captivat- and English. In an interview of 1919, the Chilean avant-garde poet Vicente ing drummers to study due to their large dynamic spectrum and mechanical Huidobro, talked about a new project: “The creationist and simultaneist approach on rhythm. Being fascinated by both free music and the repetitive poem La Lumi`ere artificielle, for three voices on gramophone with new pro- rhythms of the two drummers, I decided to incorporate a few elements of cedures (...)”(1). This plan was never done. In the future, the poet would these genres into my electroacoustic composition. create works with sound as central axis and in Spanish and French, becom- The piece contains five distinct sections: a calm, but suspenseful introduc- ing an important reference for sound poetry in the Spanish speaking world. tion which establishes a repetitive rhythm (Section 1), followed by a darker This is a work in progress, a cycle inspired by Huidobro’s statement and the segment where the rhythm is much more free form, with repetitive rhythms idea of voices in a fixed media, dealing with these issues: languages, abstract appearing occasionally (Section 2). Section 3 introduces rhythmic material sounds by voice, new and old technologies. once more: a heavily filtered and distorted drum pattern with the addition (1) Huidobro, 1919, cited in Garc´ıa-Huidobro, 2012: 34: Garc´ıa-Hudobro, of a water recording. Section 4 is focused around a rhythmic pattern, with Cecilia. A la interperie (entrevistas 1915-1946). Santiago de Chile: Ed. the pitch and the tempo alternating as the section progresses. Section 5 is Ocho Libros, 2012 the quietest part of the piece and features a repetitive bass rumble and a Alejandro Albornoz. With a previous education in visual arts, he studied synthesizer with a filter that fluctuates rhythmically. The piece concludes electroacoustic composition with Rodrigo Sigal and Federico Schumacher and with a simple and familiar rhythmic pattern. works on acousmatic and live electronics since 2004. His music has been per- Albrecht Lange is a former student of the BA English and Music pro- formed in several festivals like Synth`ese (Bourges), JIEM (Madrid), BIMESP gramme at University of Leeds. He is now pursuing a masters degree in (S˜ao Paulo), Sonoim´agenes (Buenos Aires), Sound Junction (Sheffield) and Canada. the Semaine Internationale de la Musique Electroacoustique (Lille). He is an active member of the Electroacoustic Music Community of Chile and of the Latinamerican Sound Art Network. Usually he composes for performing Jake Randell, An Introduction to the Organ Pipe En- arts. He has been producer of several concerts, meetings and publications, semble, 8.0, 8:40 highlighting the Festival of Electroacoustic Music of Chile “Ai-maako” and This piece was Jake Randell’s first exploration of how a dismantled pipe collections of Chilean electroacoustic music. He currently is a PhD researcher organ may be repurposed as a new instrument or collection of instruments. on Electroacoustic Composition in the Department of Music at the University He recorded a large collection of organ pipes individually inside a Wesleyan of Sheffield, under the supervision of Adam Stanovi´cand Adrian Moore. The chapel in Whitby, North Yorkshire, exploring the sonic capabilities of each central topics in his research are the human voice and poetry in acousmatic type of pipe (bourdon pipes, principal rank pipes, reed pipes and others) music. using a variety of performance techniques. These recordings were then used as

7 16 book happened to be an encyclopaedia volume covering the alphabetic range Steven Naylor, Automatopoiea: Study 1, 2006, 8.0, 9:34 of topics from SHO to ZYG, which is where the instrument’s unusual name Automatopoiea is a series of studies based on the sounds of mechanical toys, comes from.) These objects were played in an improvised manner, with the or automata, built by the late Tony Mann, an innovative designer-maker fingers, or with the aid of implements such as small screwdrivers, toothpicks, based in Devon, UK. Mann’s clever, kinetic pieces incorporated cast-off me- etc. The tiny sounds, which would otherwise be too quiet to hear, were am- chanical and electro-mechanical materials, chosen from a vast aggregation plified via contact microphones, creating a bizarre but strangely engrossing that spilled beyond his studio and into a nearby barn. Though primarily a microscopic sound-world not unlike that heard in John Cage’s Cartridge Mu- visual artist, he pursued sonic creativity with the same rigour - and original- sic (1960). (Along with Stockhausen, Cage was also acknowledged by Davies ity - as an electroacoustic composer. His creations embodied careful listening, as an influence.) imaginative thinking, and a willingness to explore and invent. Each study Davies in fact built two Shozygs in 1968: Shozyg I, comprising the objects in this series focuses upon the sonic idiosyncrasies of several of Tony Mann’s just described; and Shozyg II, similar in principle, but comprising a different automata. The result ranges from the delicate highlighting of details to ram- set of amplified objects: two springs, a rubber band, and a set of guitar pant commotion. Study 1 explores sounds produced by Aviator, Captain machine heads. This piece - Shozyg I & II - is a recording of an improvised Webb, and Ratchet-Bird. duet involving those two instruments, one played by Davies himself, the other Steven Naylor composes electroacoustic and instrumental concert music, by his friend and collaborator Richard Orton (1940-2013). James Mooney. performs (piano, electronics, seljefløyte) in ensembles concerned with both Hugh Davies (1943-2005) was a composer, instrument inventor, performer through-composition and improvisation, and creates scores and sound de- and writer on music. After reading music at Oxford University (1961-4) he signs for theatre, film, television and radio. His concert works have been worked with Stockhausen between 1964 and 1966; in the following year he performed and broadcast internationally; his theatre scores have played to became director of the electronic music studio at Goldsmiths College, Lon- live audiences of over five million, in 15 countries. Steven co-founded Nova don, later becoming its research consultant (1986-91). From 1999 he was a Scotia’s Upstream Ensemble and The Oscillations Festival, and is a former part-time researcher in sonic art at the Centre for Electronic Arts, Middlesex President of the Canadian Electroacoustic Community. University. Starting in 1968 he was active in a number of groups specializing He is presently artistic director of subText Music & Media Arts, an in- in improvisation and the realization of indeterminate scores. From 1967 he dependent artist, and Adjunct Professor in the School of Music at Acadia devised and constructed over 120 instruments, sound sculptures, sound in- University. His first solo DVD-A of electroacoustic works, Lieux imaginaires, stallations and musical toys, many of which incorporate found objects and was released in 2012 on empreintes DIGITALes, and nominated for a 2013 cast-off materials. He composed for conventional forces, tape, live electronics East Coast Music Award. Steven completed the PhD in Musical Compo- and his own instruments, including several music theatre works, and devised sition at the University of Birmingham, UK, supervised by Jonty Harrison. environmental music projects and documented unusual sound environments. He presently lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Further information: [Source: Grove Music Online] http://sonicart.ca Richard Orton (1940-2013) was a composer, performer and music educator. In 1968 he co-founded the electronic music ensemble Gentle Fire along with Hugh Davies. Orton worked at the Department of Music at the University James Surgenor, shift, 2014, stereo, 12:04 of York from 1967 to 1996. He established the University’s Electronic Music shift explores the idea of sounds being living entities that have three primary Studio (EMS) in 1968, the first in a university in the North of England. He life-events: a birth, some sort of activity, and a death. Algorithmically creat- was a co-founder of the Composer’s Desktop Project, which placed affordable ing these entities in clusters at constantly shifting time intervals ultimately sound technologies on the individual composer’s desk. In the early 1980s, resulted in a piece that aims to shift the listening focus towards the resultant with his colleague Ross Kirk from the Department of Electronics at York, he and entrancing soundworld. started work on the concept of Music Technology as an academic discipline. James Surgenor is a Northern Irish electroacoustic composer, program- This led to the establishment of the world’s first postgraduate course in mer and performer. Having completed an undergraduate degree at SARC Music Technology in 1986. In 1992 he began working on his algorithmic (QUB), he went on to complete an MA in Sonic Arts at The University of composition language, Tabula Vigilans, designed for real-time performance.

15 8 Sheffield, where he is currently a PhD researcher interested in electroacoustic Concert IV: 3*3 Leeds composition and software design. He is supported by a University of Sheffield th Faculty of Arts and Humanities Scholarship award. When not writing music Sunday 7 May. 13:00 or software, he can be found drinking coffee and watching science fiction films 3x3 is a collaboration between the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York and television for inspiration. (the White Rose group of universities), showcasing electroacoustic music re- search and practice at those three institutions. Over the course of 18 months, Vanessa Sorce-L´evesque, An Almost Abstract Experience, 2016, there have been three specially curated concert programmes, one each cu- 5.1, 11:11 rated by Leeds, Sheffield and York. Each programme has been performed three times - once in Leeds, once in Sheffield, once in York - resulting in 9 Finding balance and focusing on the very limit between what holds us to- concerts in total, hence 3x3. This concert, representing the third and final gether and what tips us over: this may well be how music comes to be. programme in the series, is curated by Leeds, and completes the cycle of 9 Where this piece abounds with surreal worlds inspired by the deepest invis- concerts. James Mooney, Leeds University. ible energy streams, it is also made of very real, concrete sound sources. By its fluid nature it therefore becomes an almost abstract experience. Com- • Hugh Davies, Shozyg I & II, 1968, stereo, 9:00 posed at Visby Tons¨attarcentrum, EMS in Stockholm and USSS Sheffield. • UK premiere. Albrecht Lange, Fulcrum, 8.0, 7:40 Vanessa Sorce-L´evesque With the many projects leading her to not be • Jake Randell, An Introduction to the Organ Pipe Ensemble, 8.0, 8:40 very long in one place at a time, Vanessa has developed a sensitivity to the multiple environments and their complex, evolving realities. This has become • Edward Wilson-Stephens, Snap Crackle and Not, stereo, 4:00 an important aspect of her composition and is therefore her main subject of PhD research at Sheffield. Interval • Ewan Stefani, N´ıtj´an, 8.0, 8:00 Adam Stanovi´c, Escapade, 2010, stereo, 9:46 • Escapade was composed under the expert supervision of Professor Denis Albrecht Lange, Chuckchi , 8.0, 5:30 Smalley, during my time at City University, London. Following Denis’ ad- • Charlotte Bickley, DK/LOB, stereo, 10:30 vice, the piece went on to receive First Prize in the Destellos Competition, Argentina, 2010. In the same year, it represented Great Britain at the In- • Ishmael Beckford-Tongs, Imago, 8.0, 3:00 ternational Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM), and was a ‘top rated’ • work at the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC). Maeve Brayne, Olona, 8.0, 14:00 Adam Stanovi´c composes electronic music. His works continue to be per- formed, published and prized around the world. Hugh Davies, Shozyg I & II, 1968, stereo, 9:00 Recording of a performance by Hugh Davies and Richard Orton. Shozyg I & II was commissioned by the University of York Department of Music. It was first performed on 6 March 1969, to mark the opening of the Lyons Concert Hall (York). In 1968, inspired by his work as assistant to the avant-garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, Hugh Davies (1943-2005) built an idiosyncratic mu- sical instrument, which he called a ‘Shozyg’. This instrument comprised a selection of every-day objects - three fret-saw blades, a ball bearing, and a spring - mounted inside the covers of a book with its pages removed. (The

9 14 Professor of Music and Head of the Department of Music. He retired from Concert III: Denis Smalley City University in 2009, and is now Professor Emeritus. In 2013 he became th an Honorary Professor at the University of Kent. Saturday 6 May. 19:30 Denis Smalley’s works have been widely acclaimed, winning a number of • international awards including the Prix Ars Electronica in 1988. In 2008 he Fabrezan Preludes, 2016, 8.0 was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of Huddersfield – Portal, 4:50 for his achievements in electroacoustic music. He has made original contribu- tions to thinking about electroacoustic music, in particular his development – Debussy’s Cathedral, 7:10 of the notion of spectromorphology (the shaping of sound spectra through • Spectral Lands, 2011, 6.0, 15:40 time). A book on his music and ideas was published by GRM/INA in the Polychrome Portraits series - in English in 2010, and in French in 2011 - and • Sommeil de Rameau, 2015, 8.0, 15:20 there are associated on-line resources available at • http://www.institut-national-audiovisuel.fr/sites/ina/medias/ Fabrezan Preludes upload/grm/mini-sites/smalley/co/siteWeb_Smalley.html – The Voices of Circius, 8:50

There will be a very short break after Spectral Lands

Fabrezan Preludes, 2016 • Portal

• Debussy’s Cathedral

• The Voices of Circius

Commissioned by the School of Music and Fine Art, University of Kent, and first performed in the Colyer-Fergusson Hall, Canterbury, on May 21st, 2016. The three preludes were composed mainly in Fabrezan, a village in the Corbi`eres, in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France, where Denis Smal- ley and his partner live for part of the year. The central prelude is based around the transformation and develop- ment of a pair of resonant chords taken from Debussy’s piano prelude La cath´edrale engloutie (the submerged cathedral), which evokes the story of the mythical city of Ys, submerged off the coast of Brittany. Legend has it that the city’s church bells can be heard in calm seas. Debussian intervals and scale patterns provide the framework for my prelude rising, open fourths and fifths, pentatonic allusions. The spaciousness of a cathedral nave is sug- gested through undulating, oscillating patterns and reflections, and wave-like surges, embellished with more mobile bell partials. In the opening prelude, Portal, the listener crosses over the threshold into the nave.

13 10 The Voices of Circius refers to the Roman god of the cers wind to whom Sommeil de Rameau, 2015 the Emperor Augustus dedicated an altar near Narbonne, in the Languedoc. Commissioned by the Sonorities Festival, Belfast, and first performed at the The cers blows from the north-west, gathering force and circular motion as Sonic Arts Research Centre on April 25th, 2015. it is channelled through valley corridors, towards Narbonne and the Mediter- Sommeil de Rameau was composed in homage to Jean-Philippe Rameau ranean. It can be impetuously violent, emerging suddenly, bending trees to (1683-1764), whose music I have long loved and admired; 2014 was the 250th its will, chasing away clouds, initiating luminous skies. Recognised as having anniversary of his death. I have drawn on characteristics of the sleep scene in health-inducing properties, it can bring welcome cool breezes in the summer French Baroque stage works and cantatas, which first appeared in Les amants heat, but can be bitingly cold in winter. This prelude aims to capture aspects magnifiques (1670), a com´edie-ballet by Moli`ere and Lully. It became more of its “voices”. firmly established as a result of the substantial scene in Lully’s trag´edie en musique Atys (1676), and many examples can be found during the following , 2011 Spectral Lands hundred years, including Rameau’s music. Commissioned by the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and the When a sleep scene is invoked, dramatic action is suspended as a main Centre for Research in New Music (CeReNeM) at the University of Hudder- character is exhorted to sleep. The music may be solely instrumental, or may sfield, and was given its first performance in the Huddersfield Contemporary involve sung commentary, where, for example, the singers personify dreamed Music Festival in November 2011. thoughts or suggest future courses of action. The musical style, with its The “spectral” of the title has two meanings. It refers both to the am- slowish harmonic motion, undulating or rocking contours, and airy instru- biguous, sometimes spirit-like auras of voices, birds and natural phenomena mentation (typically strings and flutes), is intended to create a contemplative inhabiting an imagined landscape, and to the idea of “spectral space” - the atmosphere and a sense of timelessness, drawing in both the sleeping charac- impression of space and spaciousness created by the placing and motion of ter(s) and audience. Rameau’s sleep music, which is very inventive, adapts sonic materials within the audio spectrum. The textures of spectral space in- the Lullian characteristics in imaginative ways, but there can also be drift- teract both with the dimensions and distances of spatial perspective, and with ing, descending contours, sometimes adventurously chromatic, rather than the types of spaces evoked by voices, birdsong and environmental sounds, to undulating motion. create “lands” with distinctive spatial qualities. Sommeil de Rameau is a contemplative journey based around recurring In the back of my mind as I composed the piece lay the experience of refrain materials, contrasted with diversions into a series of episodes that a recent visit to Golden Bay, in the north-west corner of the South Island lengthen as the piece progresses. My starting point was a refrain motive of New Zealand - the long coastal sweep, the sounds in the native bush, adapted from a pair of chords, rocking over a pedal note, which intervenes and the blurring of differentiation in certain lights and weathers between between the main phrases in the “sommeil” in Act IV of the trag´edie en land, mountains, sea and skies. Particularly striking was the expansive, musique Dardanus (1739). Passages derived from Rameau’s music permeate deserted beach at Wharariki, where winds blowing over the sand-drifts soon the longer episodes, but these are recomposed and transformed, and are not cover up any trace of human presence; enormous rocky outcrops loom out explicit references. Tonal intervals and harmony prevail, but are expanded of sand and sea, and enclosed resonant caves contrast with the openness of through spectral “orchestration”, creating an electroacoustic “spectral tonal- the landscape. I was equally taken by landscape views in the Corbi`eres in ity”, as if Rameau in his (sometimes disturbed) dreaming were contemplating the south of France, where most of the piece was mixed. Amidst the sunny an imagined musical future. days, there can be dramatic skies, swift-moving cloud strata, noisy gusts Denis Smalley was born in New Zealand in 1946. He studied music at and flows of wind in the trees, and if the rain suddenly descends, vibrant the University of Canterbury and the Victoria University of Wellington prior textural energies. But Spectral Lands should not be considered a literal or to studying at the Paris Conservatoire with Olivier Messiaen, and with the specific landscape portrait. The ambiguity of the sonic spectres is such that Groupe de Recherches Musicales. He moved to England, completing a doc- some listeners may construct their own images or narrative, while others may torate in composition at the University of York. Until 1994 he was Senior prefer to respond to the musical discourse in a more abstract way. Lecturer in Music and Director of the Electroacoustic Music Studio at the University of East Anglia. He then moved to City University, London, as

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