windwaterphone, violin 17.3.2021

Words and image by Sarah Boulton. 

Written for Fenham Ensemble, director Simon Davies-Fidler and cellist Gabriel Waite and premiered 18th March, 2023 at St James' and St Basils', Newcastle.

Recorded and mixed by Jorge Boehringer.

Swan - Fenham Ensemble & Gabriel Waite

A tranquil piece I wrote.. trying to depict the night. 

Recorded at Windmill Lane mixed by Federico Truzzi

De Rerum Nocturna

Three movements played without a break, part of a collaboration with Mike Collier, Geoff Sample, and Alex Charrington, this is music for a set of 14 prints made by Mike and Alex, based on sonograms by Geoff. I have written this solo piano piece based on melodies derived from Geoff's sonograms of individual birdsongs. Rather than imitating the song of the birds, I have "translated" Geoff's visualisations (sonograms)into medieval neumatic notation, which the sonograms themselves resemble, and then translated the medieval into modern notations, and then composed freely with this material. The first section is based on transcriptions of redstarts, the first to sing in a typical dawn chorus, then a flourish leads into the main dawn chorus - blackbirds and robins, joined by wren, chaffinch, and dunnock, finally a tranquil evening chorus dominated by wood pigeons. The title, as has become normal for these collaborations with Mike Collier, is from a poem by Edward Thomas. The image is the third of Mike's images from the sequence of fourteen. Mike's exhibition of prints with my music has been seen (and heard) at National Drawing Centre, (Trowbridge, Wilts), Platform A Gallery, (Middlesboro), Allenheads Contemporary Arts, Black Swan Arts, (Frome), and Cheeseburn Grange, (Northumberland). 

The pianist here is Kate Williams.

Here's a link to Mike's artist website.
http://mikecollier.eu/
Connected to this project is a co-edited book by Mike and myself with John Strachan called "Songs of Time and Place: Birdsong and the Dawn Chorus in Natural History and the Arts", published by Gaia Project Press in collaboration with Art Editions North and Bath Spa University. ISBN: 978-0-9932192-9-0.

Out Of The Wood Of Thought That Grows By Night . . .

Rooster SingingwiththeFox: voice, matthias boss: violin
february 24, 2019

the great henhouse concerto

[See below for English]
Escrita inicialmente para el Trío Apolo de Cochabamba, esta pieza es la primera de algo que a su debido tiempo se convertirá en una serie de Beethovenianas bolivianas. 

Se trata de propiciar un diálogo entre Beethoven y las tradiciones y prácticas del folclore boliviano. 

Naturalmente que esto no estaría ocurriendo si no fuera por el precedente inspirador de las Bachianas Brasileiras de Heitor Villa-Lobos, a quien, además de a Bolivia y a Beethoven, esta serie rinde homenaje.
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Written initially for Trío Apolo of Cochabamba, this piece is the first of something that in due course is intended to become a series of Beethovenianas Bolivianas. 

The intention is to propitiate a dialogue between Beethoven and traditions and practices of Bolivian folk music. 

Naturally this would not be happening were it not for the inspirational precedent of Heitor Villa-Lobos's Bachianas Brasileiras. This new piece pays homage to him, as well as to Bolivia and to Beethoven.

Beethovenianas bolivianas No 1

Giorgio Bianchi - Fragment

Giorgio Bianchi - In A Quiet Place

An old tape from my father's collection of nature and science magazines, processed through the compass script  https://llllllll.co/t/compass/25192, running on Fates, a diy clone of monome norns.

Le voci e i canti degli uccelli

This is track one from our EP called Crossing Over - Hope you like it.

The NRC - New River Train

A different mix of our song Dragon Hills (A Wistful Reminiscence of Longed for Landscapes) on the latest volume of Cold Spring's John Barleycorn Reborn series.  The version on the CD was recorded and realised in the dark days of lockdown in April 2020; this version presents Rachel's original unedited voice & guitar take to which Sean adds an ostinato on the bass synth (taken from the Cioconna of Marcello's Sonata #12, op. 2) and glissando guitar.

All hills are Dragon Hills.  August 11th 2020

Words & Music : Venereum Arvum / Sean & Rachel. 2020

Image : Colmers Hill, Dorset, May 2017.

Out Of The Wood Of Thought That Grows By Night . . .

bennetthogg