Valediction

A sound picture of the inventor and mathematician Charles Babbage (1791-1871), whose dreams of building a calculating engine led towards the development of the modern day computer. Few of his contemporaries saw the importance of his ideas or were able to support his vision and he lived a life of conflict and exasperation with those who should have known better. He made two attempts to create the machine of his dreams (the Difference Engine) but died with his life's work incomplete and largely ignored. The music clicks away, calculates, breaks down, surges forward and dies away, all in an attempt to mirror the external and internal world of this prophetic but  misunderstood visionary. 

Difference Engine No 1

An evocation of this exotic location to go with some title film shots for a TV series.

Galapagos Island Music

In memoriam CC

Location recordings from; John Wesley Garden near St Paul's; the Crypt of St. Mary le Bow and up in the church itself; a protest over sacked cleaners; the bell for midday mass and the clock ticks in Hawksmoor's St. Mary's, Woolworth. 

London

Put your headphones on. An analogue experience. Composed to be played with/or without "Silverthorne", a graphic score by George Self, for any number of percussion, wind and string instruments. 

Silverthorne

Something a bit different for the school orchestra to play! Can you spot the two Christmas tunes hidden in this piece? Heard here in a synthesized version - parts, backing track and score are available.

Salsa with Santa

"The principle preoccupation of the artist is with form and colour" - Vanessa Bell. My musical response to the enigmatic painting Studland Beach by Vanessa Bell. Written for soloist and flexible ensemble. Performed here with amazing skill and sensitivity by COMA Sussex.

Studland Beach

Things are rarely what they seem on the surface. This piece is about that.

No Cause for Alarm

Three poems by the Hexham born poet Wilfrid Gibson for voice, percussion and flexible ensemble. Performed by the outstanding COMA Sussex group.

Howard Cheesman

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