See the score at: https://issuu.com/utsyochakraborty/docs/chakraborty_three_instances


Three Instances for Orchestra (2021)
by Utsyo Chakraborty

1. Duos and Trios (0:00)
2. Calls (3:37)
3. Shadows (6:54)

My "Three Instances for Orchestra" were composed rather quickly, between late March and early May of 2021. A suite of three miniature tone poems (one of the reasons I call them "Instances"), it is scored for a relatively small orchestra, having single winds, two horns, trumpet, trombone, 4 percussionists (playing marimba, vibraphone and a variety of unpitched percussion instruments) and a small contingent of strings. 

"Duos and Trios" consists of a single melody fractured into a number of fragments, which are then layered one on top of the other. The texture is characterized by duos and Trios of winds, brass and percussion playing at a time with a halo of string playing. 

"Calls" is a triptych in itself. The first section features some bird like figurations from the individual wind players. The second section has two layers: duos of solo strings with brass and winds along with a steady, yet slightly offset rhythmic pattern played by the percussion. The third section brings back material from the preceding music and ties them together into a short coda. 

"Shadows" is a slow, meditative piece with a focus on textures which can be created by various combinations of instruments in the orchestra. Although one can find many similarities in gesture with the previous movements, there is an individual voice in this piece which makes it serve as an apotheosis to the suite. It looks back reflectively on what has elapsed before. 



Three Instances for Orchestra (2021)

The Beginning

"Textures Turbulentes, Formes Emergentes (String Quartet N° 4)", was commissioned by the Sonar Quartet with funds provided by the Ernst Von Siemens Foundation.  Here is the world premiere performance by the Sonar Quartett played on December 11th, 2016 at the Kunst Akademie in Berlin as part of the quartet's UPTOPIE series of 7 concerts. Live electronics were programmed by Stefan Tiedje with performance by Stefan Tiedje, Daniel Weinstein and Gerard Pape.

"Textures Turbulentes, Formes Emergentes (String Quartet N°4)"

Ash
for multi-channel fixed media (2019)
On being invited to present a work at this convention, my initial thought was to remix one of my earlier electronic works for the 12.1 surround system available. However, the amount of work this would entail led me to consider that an entirely new piece—conceived from the start for the expanded spatial possibilities—would be a more fruitful approach. Faced with the completely blank canvas that a purely electronic work presents, as I searched for a “way in”, I noticed the name of this event: AESC, which is also the usual transliteration of the aesc rune, which takes its name from the ash tree.
At once, I was struck by the wealth of symbolism and meaning in that one word. One thinks immediately of the world ash tree, Yggdrasil, of Norse mythology, from which Odin cut the haft of his spear, on which were carved the runes which gave him his power and authority. Analysis of ash residue is an important technique in chemistry. The ash from bush fires in the Australian outback is both a result of the destruction and the stimulus for new growth. The growing threat from fungal ash dieback was also in my mind.
The recurring image of destruction and rebirth led me to sounds that are in a constant state of “becoming”, dissolving then recombining in new configurations which are in their turn torn apart and reassembled, and so on in a continuous process. Overall, the trajectory—as in nature—is towards increasing entropy. The pitched bell sounds at the beginning are variously stretched, reversed, inverted, delayed and processed by means of granular synthesis, gradually disintegrating into the noise that closes the piece.
Gráinne Mulvey, 2019

Ash (revised) Stereo — Mix2 (master1)

On 2 August 2012, British pianist Matthew Schellhorn presented an evening recital of Irish contemporary piano music at the Walled City Music Festival, Derry, Northern Ireland. 

Exploring a huge range of idioms, the recital gave a survey of Irish music from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and included two world premieres of newly commissioned works by Gráinne Mulvey and Nicola LeFanu (daughter of Dame Elizabeth Maconchy). 

The programme included several pieces commissioned for the (AXA) Dublin International Piano Competition, and also made a special feature of the the music of Ian Wilson, with whom Schellhorn has developed a close working relationship over the last decade. 

Ian Wilson - Lim

Instrumentation:

3 Flutes, Eb Clarinet, 2 Bb Clarinets, 3 Oboes, 2 doubling Cor Anglais, 2 Trumpets in Bb, Tenor Trombone, Bass Trombone, Piano, Harp, Percussion (1 player)* STRINGS: 7, 5, 5, 6, 2. 

41 players spatially organised as:

Group 1: Clarinet in Eb, Flute 3, Violin, Violoncello, Guitar, Piano and Percussion 
Group 2: Oboe 1, Clarinet 1, Clarinet 2, Violin solo, String Quartet

Group 3: 4 Violin 1, 4 Violin 2, 4 Viola, 4 Violoncello and 2 Double Basses

Group 4: Flute 1, Flute 2  

Group 5: Two Trumpets in Bb, Tenor Trombone, Bass Trombone

Group 6: Oboe 2 doubling Cor Anglais, Oboe 3, Harp

Duration 20’36”

Performers include:
Group 1: Gleb Kanasevich (clarinet in Eb)Christian Smith (percussion) Lisa Cella (flute), Tristan McKay (piano) Jeremy Bass (guitar), Mark Fewer (violin) and James Burch (cello); Group 2 and 6: Zero Theorem string quartet, Players from the Bristol Ensemble including Roger Heaton (clarinets) and Chris Redgate (oboe/cor)Group 3: the Karski Quartet and Viridis Quartets, Group 4: (additional flutes) from Chamber Cartel, Group 5: Meridian Brass, Dirk Amrein (trombones). 

Performance instructions:  
1) This piece is unconducted. 
2) There is no score. All notated material is within each performer’s part. 
3) It is anticipated that the orchestra will be positioned in a conventional manner, but the nature of the music and performance also lends itself to new spatial configurations, should these be appropriate.  
4) All instrumentalists play independently of each other. The composer treats each performer as a uniquely independent voice.  
5) Music is cued only at the start when all stopwatches are synchronised. There are no other points of ‘fixed’ synchronisation between the instrumentalists.  
6) Whilst the relationship of each instrument is somewhat flexibly placed against its neighbour, care has been taken to calculate potential outcomes of coincidence and variability. To this end, it is vital that metronome markings and timecode are adhered to as accurately as possible throughout the performance.    

The Score and Parts: There is no score for this orchestral work. All musical material and instruction are fully notated within each player’s individual parts. Adherence to timecode ensures that the architecture of the piece remains intact, but the on-going interpretation of tempi and timecode creates contextual changes to the alignment of musical detail between all the parts. As such, there is no definitive performance; the music has to be performed or experienced to be ‘known’. 
 
Timecode: Timecode is not used to imply the use of any kind of click-track in performance or to be seen as a straitjacket to flexible performance within the orchestra and timecode framework. However, players are required to use individual mobile phone stopwatches during the performance to help structure timings, prevent long-term tempo-drift and delivery of their material to achieve an outcome that most closely matches the composer's structural intention. Continual reference to the timecode embedded in each part when read in reference to the stopwatch is particularly useful after longer pauses or where tempo has slipped due to playing under or over the metronome markings, enabling the performer to compensate by playing a little faster or slower to 'catch up' or extend or cut short pauses and rests as necessary to remain broadly on track with the timecode throughout the piece. It is important to start and also complete phrases within and as close to timecode parameters as possible. Please adjust your playing speeds continually to align with the timecode.

[...] which constantly generates a pulviscular cloud [...]

Gerard Pape "Le Fleuve Du Désir VI"

////Subscribe to our podcast at https://anchor.fm/amplify-podcast /////

The first in a new series of CMC's podcast features a special tribute to composer Eric Sweeney, who passed away in July of this year. The episode features contributions from David Adams, John Buckley, Hazel Farrell, Ronan Guilfoyle and Grainne Mulvey about the composer's life, music and sizeable contribution to music in Ireland. Presented by Jonathan Grimes and Evonne Ferguson.

Further information and show notes: https://www.cmc.ie/amplify/episode-25

amplify #25: Eric Sweeney

Dreamless (2014/15) for chamber ensemble – live performing by Ensemble “Sonorous” – Barcelona / Spain 2015 (unfortunately ensemble no longer exists) 
….When I was in Barcelona/Spain for a short time a met a enthusiastic group of professional street musicians who asked me to write them several arrangements (free of charge) to be played… to show their gratitude afterwards they asked me to write a piece for their performances at contemporary music venues giving me all rights to this piece …unfortunately they no longer exist as an ensemble…. Dear friends hope you are doing well!!!

Dreamless was inspired by the song of Henry Charles Bukowski - Dreamless 
All rights reserved by Predrag Pedja Milojkovic®

Bez snova

Stare sjedokose kelnerice
po kafeima u noći
odustale su,
i dok koračam
niz pločnike svjetlosti
i gledam u prozore
staračkih domova
vidim da toga više nema
u njima.
Gledam ljude po klupama u parku
i vidim po tome kako
sjede i gledaju
da je iščezlo.
Gledam ljude koji voze
i vidim po tome kako
voze svoja kola
da niti vole niti su voljeni
niti više mare za seks
sve je zaboravljeno kao
neki stari film.
Gledam ljude u robnim kućama
i samoposlugama
dok se kreću među rafovima
kupujući stvari
i vidim po tome
kako im stoji odjeća
i po načinu na koji hodaju
i po izrazu njihovih lica
i očiju
da im nije stalo ni do čega
i da ničemu nije stalo
do njih.
Vidim na stotine ljudi dnevno
koji su sasvim odustali.
Ako odem na hipodrom
ili na stadion
vidim hiljade
koji ne osjećaju ništa
ni za koga
i niko ne osjeća za njih.
Na sve strane vidim one koji
ne žude ni za čim osim za
hranom, krovom i
odjećom,
usredsređeni samo na to,
BEZ SNOVA.
Ne shvatam zašto ovi ljudi
ne iščeznu,
ne shvatam zašto ovi ljudi
ne izdahnu,
zašto ih oblaci
ne usmrte,
zašto ih psi
ne usmrte,
zašto ih cvjetovi i djeca
ne usmrte,
ne shvatam.
Biće da su već mrtvi
pa ipak ne mogu da se naviknem
na njihovo postojanje,
jer toliko ih je mnogo.
Svakoga dana,
svake noći,
sve ih je više,
u metrou,
u zgradama,
u parkovima.
Oni ne osjećaju užas
što ne vole
ili što nisu voljeni.
Toliko, toliko, toliko
mojih bližnjih.

Čarls Bukovski

Ash (revised) Stereo — Mix2 (master1)

Gráinne Mulvey

Related tracks