Anticipation of the Light was inspired by and directly uses ideas devised with pupils at Sgoil Lionacleit, Benbecula, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. I spent nearly 2 weeks working with a total of about 50 pupils, including singers and instrumentalists of all year groups and the full pipe band, all of whom contributed to the decisions on melody, mode, rhythm, structure, lyrics, textures and instrumentation of the key material of this piece. I was commissioned with the exciting challenge to write a piece for National Youth Orchestra of Scotland’s pre-professional orchestra, Camerata Scotland, celebrating and using the young people’s ideas and also including some of their talented performers within the orchestra. I aimed to create a piece that was theirs, but yet my own too; with such strong musical ideas to work with it was a joy to create this work and I hope I have done justice to the music we made together.

The title, alongside the reflective and in a sense rather primal nature of the  first movement reflects discussions of the ancient and wise stature of trees and the parallels of elements of nature to our own life and development. It was drawn to my attention that perhaps as a result of trees being relatively rare on Uist, many people commented that they held a special quality, like our friends and family. This movement features the pupils’ lyric writing and vocal skills. The second movement features a rather striking melody composed by the pipe band, initially heard by a solo piper at the beginning of a piece, now on flutes and whistle, alongside another interesting melody played by the strings, but written by the pupils using an Arabic influenced mode used in Bartok’s Romanian Dances and an Indian tala (rhythm) I brought to Uist! It features the wonderful quasi-improvised and ornamented soloistic layering of instruments the pupils played so beautifully themselves during our workshops. Of course there is always a dark side, which rears its head in the third and final movement, for me finding a way to express the sheer strength and power of nature through playing music together. The piece closes having found solace (or at least a party!) in the now lighter, catchy (and pupil-composed) version of the same melody.


Anticipation of the Light is dedicated to Sgoil Lionacleit and commissioned by NYOS Camerata for performance during their residency on Uist in September ’12.

Anticipation of the Light

Electro Brass is a playful and daring collaboration between performing composers Caro C (experimental electronic) and Eve Harrison (contemporary classical). Expect an immersive, spatially-aware world of electronics with lush acoustic harmonies, driving brass riffs and emotive fanfares.

Brass players work for years to disguise or refine the physical processes of playing their instruments to allow nothing but the purity of the musical sounds to speak. Electro-Brass unpacks the physicality, the gurgles, the breaths, the strain of muscle and the spit with the goal of allowing audiences to further appreciate the purity of the music they enjoy. 

We aim to take the audience on a journey from non-musical inner mechanical sounds of the brass instruments through pure, lyrical brass melodies and harmonies culminating in uplifting, beat-led classical and electronic music. Naturally great projectors, brass instruments were initially used in contexts that required sound to travel long distances and arouse listeners. Using contemporary tools and techniques we are able to explore this quality from a fresh and exciting perspective. 

There are three sections to Electro-Brass which lasts about 15 minutes making the most of these composers’ distinctive and usually separate skillset. Most of the electronic sounds you hear are recordings taken from the brass instruments - for example the valve action, the nice resonant ping of the bell and the ‘helicopter’ tonguing. These raw sounds were then creatively manipulated by Caro C and mixed with live playing by the brass trio - Eve Harrison (trumpet), Helen Beauchamp (French horn) and Matt Krenning (Euphonium). Section A draws us into the Electro-Brass sound world with a music concrète (found sound) ambient soundscape gently introducing the brass instruments. Eve Harrison composed Section B which develops rhythmic and melodic fragments from the opening into a soaring and unified virtuosic acoustic brass sound. The final section was devised as a collaboration between the two composers, employing traditional electronic dance music formulae such as 'the drop' into a rather unique context and producing what we hazard to exclaim is the first Electro-Brass fanfare! 

Electro Brass was commissioned by Durham Brass Festival as part of Brass Pitch and was premiered in July 2014.

Electro Brass

This isn't light, only its
Simulacrum - a shadowless, bleached out glare, 
Its forced reproduction in the
Scoured out lie of the everpresent, a light to 
Obscure the darkness of a time without
Vision; a world blinded by the
Persistent absence of hope and the
Audacity of lies and a species left

Crawling in the rubble, groping and clutching 
For comfort, for solace...

Perhaps it’s the collaboration of it 
All: the softly
Crashing waves, clattering gulls, 
Salty air,
Lapping breeze and clouds -
Drifting chunks of torn fresh bread, or, 
A ruffled veil, the
Backlit negative of
Furrows in the sands.
Breath in deeply.

Tautening, bones
Crack and over a coolness 
Washes as though 
Surfacing from the sea,

Grains of sand left on shining 
skin like toxin
Forced through its
Pores.

We even think we've welcomed
The enshrouding darkness: cloaked by

A thick, suffocating whisper of poisonous words we can't
Locate, we mistake these words for our nature. What can take root here except 
Desperate mutations, strange and defiant forms? [of deformed
Hope?] Yet, maybe something gestates in this

Long pause of darkness. Sudden
Flares ignite the sky, and, for
Frozen seconds, as they fall, illuminate our pounded but unbroken 
Humanity, and we see, clearly, the

Perpetual light obscuring its own darkness 
Trying to hide our humanity from ourselves.

———

This isn’t light, consists of two poems by Bruce Arthur. And now, exhale represents the light, airy relief found on a beach in the North East. The second text, Lucubrations attempts to unpack what one might need this respite from.

Bruce put into words the darkness that enshrouds us; the relentless reiteration of 'now' as the best and only possible world, blinding us from our choices. He describes light as a metaphor for hyper technology and the idea of the everpresent. These things are part of the same insane lie, and serve to conceal (or justify) all manner of horrors. The atrocities being committed across the globe this Summer were at the front of my mind as I wrote, and the timing of the WWI centenary cannot be ignored. The work carries the subtitle a call to humanity.

Towards the conclusion of this rather sombre contemplation there is hope that through the tragedy what is missing from the world can only become clearer and a true light may emerge. 

“Life is always surprising us, not by its rich seething layer of bestial refuse - but by the bright, healthy and creative powers of goodness that are for ever forcing their way up through it. It is those powers that awaken our indestructible hope that a brighter, better and more humane life will once again be reborn.” [Gorky, Maxim, trans. Wilks, Ronald, My Childhood, Middlesex: Penguin, 1983]

When I was in Malawi in 2008 I was woken early every morning by the Adhan or Call to Prayer; the enchanting song from each of the many mosques created a powerful polyphony. To an outsider the loud and emotional solo vocal instructions to its followers were impossible to ignore. I was attracted by such a stirring and direct call to the entire neighbourhood and that seemed to resonate with elements of this work: something of collective responsibility and cutting through the ‘noise’.

The work has a clear ternary structure, the opening and closing sections set the ‘dark’ text described above and explore Maqam Saba, described as the ‘sad and tragic’ Arabic mode. I decided that, for the purposes of expression in this choral context, the microtonal inflections of the mode would not be used. Initially the solo vocal entries build according to the traditional rules of pitch order and progression for this Maqam then gradually the music finds a more personal interpretation of this sound world. The central section sets And now, exhale: a breath of fresh air and solace of nature. We are inevitably dragged back into the darkness: we cannot and should not avoid it.

This isn’t light was commissioned by Late Music and was premiered in York on the 4th October ’14.


This Isn't Light

A film has been made which describes the compositional process here: https://youtu.be/5Oo7b2BRVP4

Instrumentation:

3 sound samples - conductor triggers live via qLab or similar

Oboe
2 Violins
Viola
Cello

Children’s choir (2 parts)

Young players: 

Piccolo
2 Flutes
Violin
Acoustic Guitar

Duration:
c. 10 mins

￼Programme note:
It was a real honour to be commissioned by The Atkinson, Southport to write a piece entitled Chorus of the Coast. My music is often concerned with transcribing and exploring sounds of birdsong so the chance to get to know the Sefton coastline with its community groups, supported by the specialist knowledge of Sefton Coast Landscape Partnership Scheme and RSPB, was a wonderful opportunity.

I worked with community groups to explore the local coastline, find sounds and sights that would inspire motifs, rhythms, lyrics and ideas for the piece. We looked at the textures, shapes, smells, sounds and how these might be turned into a piece of music. We wrote song lyrics, adverts for our coastline and postcards from the Iron Men to their creator Anthony Gormly! We chose the notes that would represent the surprisingly vicious robin and the spectacular flocks of Pink footed geese. We found the chords that would create the atmosphere for the pine forest, the melody that represents the huge ships and the Klezmer mode that best suited the dramatic rise and fall of the waves. We found fascinating juxtaposition of real urban life and noise up close with nature: the Elvis karaoke cafe and the evocative plop of water washing up on the decking. I consolidated the lyrics all the groups composed:

Terns turn, everything is moving
Rush of wings, rush of wings, splash of water Singing birds, thrashing waves
Marram grass, marram grass, clutches the golden dunes
The sea batters them smooth.
Changing colour, multi-coloured ocean Dark, dark on storm, bright with light
￼Cold Irish waves, heavy, grind and crash Ancient ships, ancient ships, on the sand bank
Air on your face, feels like a lovely breeze. Huge ships, mistook for clouds. Climb on Iron men!
The sea batters them smooth...

Having gathered this wealth of inspiration I set to work developing and constructing the completed piece. Sounds captured at the take-away vans at Crosby Beach open the work then an oboe solo accompanied by sustained strings bring the audience to a more reflective perspective of the coast. The children’s choir then celebrate the joy and excitement of visiting the beach and bird calls and songs are played by the ensemble.
Sounds captured at Formby pine forest launch the second half of the piece and a dramatic climbing and falling canon show the movement of the waves and dunes. A humorous misunderstanding brought us all to joyful giggles and Curlews will forever be know as Curly Whirlies at St Elizabeth’s. The closing lyrics depict the variety and stories formulated on this glorious coastline.
“Boats, curly whirlies, rats with tails. Pink footed geese, squelchy sand. Bootle organs, squirrels in the attic. This is nature, chorus of the coast”

My thanks to Danielle Clark and The Atkinson for dreaming up this project and for allowing me such creative freedom. Thank you to St Elizabeth’s RC Primary, Formby High School, Music and Wellbeing, Southport (Alzeimer’s Society) and Friends of Kings Gardens - you have been a wonderful inspiration!


Chorus Of The Coast

Interference was commissioned by House of Bedlam/Larry Goves for North West New Music festival 2016 and premiered by Carl Raven on 28th January at Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. It was a real pleasure to work with such an incredible player. His album is just out if you want to hear more - http://www.carlraven.com

Programme note:

Clara Smith’s (1894 - 1935) Deep Blue Sea struck me as a great starting point for exploring the interaction between musicians and technology given the scratchy recording quality paired with gutsy singing and saxophone solo. Noises that could interfere with music making in my day to day life become a positive force and accompany and drive the live saxophone solo as it takes over from the recording. The other samples are a gamelan. According to Javanese mythology, the god who ruled as king of all Java from a palace on the Maendra mountain (c.AD 230) invented the gong to communicate with the other gods. Two other gongs were invented for more complex messages, completing the original gamelan set and also happening to be very close to the sound of my email alert.

Eve Harrison, Jan ‘16

Interference

Ear to the track was commissioned as a culmination to Manchester Camerata's Science of Sound project and invites children to sing and play resonant metal (junk) percussion as part of an interactive piece which explores the science behind sound and music.
The work represents the three states that sound travels through - liquid, gas and solid - where smooth chains of ringing instruments, pointillistic atmospheric sounds and finally a 'solid' bass line encourage imagination and interaction.
These three sections are interspersed with a short song, the lyrics of which where written by the school children during the workshops leading to this performance.
Thank you to Sarah Nixon who delivered the workshops alongside myself; Lucy Geddes, Jasmine Evans and Nick Ponsillo from Manchester Camerata for suggesting and supporting this ambitious project; the musicians performing and to all the school staff and children who have welcomed us and contributed to this piece!

Ear To The Track

This work was commissioned by Light Night Leeds to be performed on 6th and 7th October 2016 in Trinity Shopping Centre. It was a collaborative work responding to theme of The Elements. Together with BREAD art we created a performance integrating the lights of the building so that the live singers and soundscape are accompanied by a skyscape created with the thousands of lights embedded within Trinity’s vast roof.

Many thanks to the wonderful live singers:

Jenny Stafford
Lotte Betts Dean
Arthur Bruce
Phil Wilcox

Today - Light Night Leeds

Besses o’ th’ Barn was commissioned by Tram Tracks, a celebration of the anniversaries of The Bridgewater Hall and Metrolink. The new brass quartet forms one of the 93 new pieces of music for each of the tram stops on the network. The work is 3 minutes in duration and hopes to represent and reflect the area of Besses o’ th’ Barn and the Besses Boys Band who kindly premiere the work. 

Besses o’ th’ Barn has fascinating stories and history behind both the area and the brass band as each has developed and changed over the years. I felt there was an analogy between this and the feeling of a tram ride, excitement, gaining momentum, sharing adventures, reflective moments gazing out of the window and some potential disruption and challenges on the journey before safely arriving at your destination. Much of the musical material for the piece originates from transcriptions of speaking the names of the tram stops on the route from Victoria to Bury Interchange!

My thanks to Besses Boys Band and their Musical Director James Holt. The work was  premiered on 9th July 2017 at The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester.

Besses O' Th' Barn Brass Quartet

Anticipation of the Light, I

Anticipation of the Light, II

Anticipation of the Light, III

Programme note:

Alveolar Ridge has two strands to its identity. Firstly it explores the synergy of voice and clarinet, magnifying their common physical qualities: air-based sound production and articulators - lips, teeth, throat, tongue. Secondly, the idea for the material for this piece is founded on bols, the mneumonic words associated with often complex rhythm patterns in Indian Classical music.

The alveolar ridge is an area in the mouth, just behind the teeth, where your tongue hits to articulate many consonants - in English these are [t], [d], [s], [z], [n], [l]. Formants are the characteristic frequencies of human speech and singing. This work explores the equivalent fields for clarinet and vocal sculptor alternating focus on articulation (Alveolar Ridge) and breath (Formants). There are three sets of these pairs, though the pairs proceed without break.

After transcribing a Taal demonstration by tabla player Alla Rakha, in response to words intoned by Ravi Shankar, and subsequently finding which of these syllables, pitches and percussive effects suited the clarinets, I was led away from attempting authentic replication and instead devised my own heavily influenced language to use as a foundation to the piece, which celebrates both this magnificent and complicated musical tradition whilst giving space to the musical voices of both myself and the wonderful musicians I have collaborated with. 

Alveolar Ridge was commissioned by Phoenix Clarinet Quartet and kindly funded by PRSF Women Make Music scheme. It was premièred by Jason Singh and Phoenix Clarinet Quartet at The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Manchester on 8th February 2013. The work is dedicated to Jason Singh and Phoenix Clarinet Quartet, with my sincerest thanks for their enthusiasm, virtuosity and inspiring creative generosity.

Eve Harrison

Pinned to spotlight

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