Commissioned by Alex Metcalf as part of ‘Tree Listening’ for The Secret World of Plants exhibition at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

'the secret world of plants' (2021) explores the inner workings of trees and was commissioned as part of ‘Tree Listening’ for The Secret World of Plants exhibition at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Alongside the rumbling of water rushing up the tree, the piece explores the unexpected popping sounds of air bubbles being both formed and bursting inside the tree.

© Carol J Jones 2021

the secret world of plants iv. holm oak morning (2021) [extract]

the secret world of plants v. holm oak midday (2021) [extract]

the secret world of plants vi. holm oak afternoon (2021) [extract]

Supported by Humanities Cultural Programme Grant

'chrysalis' is a series of six videos exploring the idea that a particular kind of metamorphosis, transformation, and hope is only possible in a place of darkness. Each piece is a fusion of the media of dance, film, and classical music, featuring a piece of new choreography set to new compositions recorded by the Oxford Alternative Orchestra (OAO).

The project features the musicians of OAO in the UK, and six award-winning choreographers in different locations around the world: Burkina Faso, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, Russia, and New Zealand. Each choreographer explores unique interpretations of hope that have been illuminated, and even enhanced, by the darkness of the global pandemic we are all still experiencing. 

© Carol J Jones 2021

chrysalis (2021)

​Selected as part of Opera North: Minute Masterpieces

According to the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, no other tree species in the UK supports a greater diversity of life than the oak tree. In research published in 2019, oak trees were found to support 2,300 species of which 326 depend entirely on the oak tree for survival. evergreen deconstructs the sounds from inside a Holm Oak to explore one of the UK’s biggest, most exciting natural homes. The piece opens with the strings ebbing and flowing as the water rushes up the tree, while a solo cello imitates the air bubbles popping inside. As the tree comes to life, the orchestra awakens with key clicks and flourishes from the woodwind and brass while the double basses keep the orchestra grounded.

evergreen (2021)

World Premiere: 9 November 2021 - Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra (cond. Cayenna Ponnichone-Bailey) at Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, UK - Winner of Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Composition Competition

​the light thief is inspired by the work of Professor Haley Gomez of Cardiff University and Professor Paul Francis of The Australian National University and explores the world of stardust. Using deconstructed sonifications of stardust, supernova explosions and pulsars, the light thief captures the mischievous, darker nature of stardust as it slowly absorbs the surrounding light. Opening with a single flute, it is quickly joined by another flute. The two bounce off one another while the strings and woodwinds pulse in and out. As the orchestra slowly builds, a piercing clarinet cries out before the orchestra bursts out with frenzied energy.

the light thief (2019/21)

​World Premiere: 22 November 2023 - The Orchestra of Opera North (cond. Oliver Rundell)

In 2007, the UK’s National Physical Laboratory conducted a study to find the bluest sky in the world. Having developed a portable device that measured the spectrum of light in each sky and analysed the levels of red, green and blue, they found that the bluest sky in the world was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil., followed by Bays of Islands, New Zealand and Ayers Rock, Australia. a true blue sky (2023) deconstructs this data by converting the wavelengths of each blue into hertz to create a musical snapshot of this bluest of skies. A solo trumpet heralds the blue sky, with the harp and glockenspiel bouncing across the sky. Like light, the melody is scattered across the orchestra, never staying with one instrument for too long.

a true blue sky was commissioned by the Orchestra of Opera North as a companion piece to Mahler’s Symphony No.4 for Chamber Orchestra. Mahler compared the symphony to the “uniform blue of the sky”, which served as the inspiration for this piece.

a true blue sky (2023)

Recent years have seen a growing scientific interest in the sounds of fish and what these sounds can tell us about life underwater. One fish that has been studied for its acoustic properties is the Silver Croaker fish of the Amazon River. Only found in male fish, the Silver Croaker fish produces ‘pulses’ and ‘bursts’ of sound by ‘twitching’ the sonic muscles that are attached to the swim bladder. Know as the ‘contraction-relaxation’ cycle, this sound is heard most prominently during the mating season. 'croaker' (2023) deconstructs a basic transcription of these sounds to explore the physical mechanism used to produce the Silver Croaker fish sound. Utilising the percussive elements of the bass clarinet, 'croaker' is a playful reimagining of the sounds while allowing the bass clarinetist to envoice the Silver Croaker fish.

croaker: I

croaker: II

croaker: III

croaker: IV

written as part of BBC National Orchestra of Wales Composition: Wales 2016

'songs from the stars' was inspired by the Philae spacecraft that formed part of the Rossetta mission in 2014. It is based upon transcriptions of the sun, solar flares, a radio storm between Jupiter and Io and stardust and is inspired by spectralist techniques. The first of four movements, the piece follows a satellite lost in space, similar to when Philae was thought to be out of operation. Exploring the loneliness of space the first movement takes a panoramic view of space, slowly introducing each transcription throughout the orchestra, culminating into a cacophony of sound before slowly dying away.

© Carol J Jones 2021

songs from the stars (2016) [excerpt]

'here dead lie we' was written to commemorate the First World War and follows in the style of a Remembrance Day Service. The piece, based on the poem of the same name by AE Housman, is built around a roll call of students names who fought from Worcester College, Oxford. The refrain of ‘Here dead we lie’ underpins the piece as each name is read out before falling into silence.

Here dead lie we because we did not choose
To live and shame the land from which we sprung.
Life, to be sure, is nothing much to lose;
But young men think it is, and we were young.

© Carol J Jones 2021

here dead lie we (2019) [excerpt]

Composer 

Described as a “rising voice” in The Strad, Carol J Jones is a classical composer, writing chamber, vocal and orchestral music. Her unique approach to composition deconstructs sounds to uncover the hidden music in nature.

Carol J Jones

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