840 presented a programme of new music for violin and piano, performed by violinist Ruben Zilberstein and pianist Mateusz Rettner (Explore Ensemble).

Linda Catlin Smith’s piece from 1997, ’With Their Shadows Long’, provided the natural starting point for the creation of the programme with its preoccupation with the physicality of sound, and a care and natural intuition for a sense of rightness in placement and form.

The rest of the programme consisted entirely of brand-new pieces by Matteo Fargion, Georgia Rodgers, James Luff and Alex Nikiporenko, all written especially for this concert.

An exciting first for 840 is the music of Matteo Fargion. Matteo is a composer perhaps best known for his close associations with the world of dance, in particular his decades-long collaboration with Jonathan Burrows, creating and touring a series of duets which have become celebrated all over the world for their rare combination of intellectual rigour and humour.

The concert was kindly supported using public funding by Arts Council England.

http://eightforty.co.uk/events/161217/

840: New Music for Violin and Piano

The title of the piece comes from the process behind it: permutations of a number row are converted into an ascending row of intervals (e.g. A to Z), which is then folded in half (e.g. AZBYCX). The original number row (322111) is then used to determine other elements of the piece—such as the appearance of the longer held notes. The result is this resonant, minimal piece.

"Ascending, Folded" was written for Ruben Zilberstein and premiered by him at the Örebro Contemporary Music Festival. The piece was recorded live in 840: New Music for Violin and Piano on the 16 December 2017 at St James' Islington.

Ascending, Folded

This piece uses the acoustic characteristics of a real space as its basis. The impulse response of St. Andrew's church was analysed to reveal its room modes—those frequencies which it best supports. The strongest nine frequencies were extracted, along with the corresponding twelve tone equally tempered pitches and deviations in cents. The frequencies are approximated in various ways by the violin and piano, creating an abstracted (or extracted?) version of the sonic space.

St Andrew's church in Rutland is known for its 'acoustic jars' dating from the 15th century which are set into the chancel walls. These features were supposedly meant to help amplify the voice of the priest, but there is some doubt as to whether they would have worked or not.

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"St. Andrew’s Lyddington" was written for Ruben Zilberstein and Mateusz Rettner and premiered by them in 840: New Music for Violin and Piano on the 16 December 2017 at St James' Islington.

Georgia Rodgers – St. Andrew’s Lyddington

"'With Their Shadows Long' was composed in 1997 at the request of the Sabat/Clarke duo. I think of this work as a melody that is often ornamented by the presence of other notes or chords. I conceived of the two instruments as equal but different elements of the same line, two entities traveling the same path, occasionally casting shadows. There are points in the piece where the shadows get very long—the piece thins out to almost nothing."

"With Their Shadows Long" was performed by Ruben Zilberstein and Mateusz Rettner in 840: New Music for Violin and Piano on the 16 December 2017 at St James' Islington.

Linda Catlin Smith – With Their Shadows Long

"I wrote this at the request of James Luff who curated this concert. It’s the first piece of ‘concert’ music I’ve attempted for ages. I worked with the image of the two performers playing through half-forgotten tunes, in a tricky negotiation with the disembodied voice calling out possible titles, irrespective of whether they’re ready to move on or not."

"Violin & Piano Music" was written for Ruben Zilberstein and Mateusz Rettner and premiered by them in 840: New Music for Violin and Piano on the 16 December 2017 at St James' Islington.

Matteo Fargion – Violin & Piano Music

“Didn’t Even Try” is a semi-automatic reimagining of the 2014 post-R&B song “Without You” by Spooky Black, a teenager from Minnesota. INDIE Magazine writes about his music: “...it’s this beautifully dark world, the feeling of social isolation and acoustic depression that his songs bring with them. Because music makes most sense when you’re sad.” It is never clear whether Spooky’s sadness is genuine or ironic, or perhaps a mixture of the two. 

My piece attempts to translate this aesthetic into the context of a 21st-century contemporary classical piece for violin and piano. The violin’s simple, quiet melody is a lost, lone voice, whilst the piano is unsettled and fleeting, half-mimicking the violin in an unresolved, indecisive manner.

“Didn’t Even Try” was written for Ruben Zilberstein and Mateusz Rettner and premiered by them at 840: New Music for Violin and Piano on 7 April 2018.

Didn't Even Try

840 is a London-based concert series curated by composers Alex Nikiporenko and Christian Drew. The series is dedicated to providing a platform for new experimental and minimal music. Each concert focuses on a particular chamber instrumentation, showcasing a diversity of works by living composers. 

840 takes its name from Erik Satie's inscription in Vexations - "In order to play the theme 840 times in succession, it would be advisable to prepare oneself beforehand, and in the deepest silence, by serious immobilities." 

Composer Nicholas Peters co-founded and co-curated the series from 2014 until 2017. Composer James Luff co-curated the series from 2017 until 2020.