Update: score video now available: https://youtu.be/UJQV0VUy2Kg

'Trees through the Mist' was inspired by impressionism in music, specifically the piano music of Debussy and Ravel. It aims to be descriptive and illustrative rather than programmatic. Atmosphere is suggested through unfolding modal harmonies, its tonal ambiguity reflecting the impression of a tree-covered landscape obscured by mist.

Composed 2020 by Isla Jasmine Blake
Performed and recorded by Fiona Bechmann

Trees Through The Mist (2020) for piano

This string quartet is inspired by the art of calligraphy, aiming for the physicality of the bowing to mirror the strokes and flourishes of a pen or brush when creating letters or pictoral characters. I aimed to create a sense of rhythmic flexibility, the interweaving, fluid lines reflecting layers of script. Towards the end, the lines merge into a pizzicato epilogue, reflecting how writing has gradually become more and more mechanical: from quills and brushes, to typewriters and keyboards. There can be such artistry and personality in calligraphy: it is an art well worth reviving.

Thanks to Eliza Burkitt, Natalie Alfille-Cook, and everyone else involved in this recording!

Photo by Samir Bouaked - Unsplash

Calligraphy - String Quartet

A simple, evocative piece meant to depict flurrying, swirling autumn leaves.

The little piece began its life about 6 years ago as a sequel to a duet for viola & piano I wrote about the changing seasons; I recently found the manuscript, half-finished and long abandoned, and decided to finally finish it.

Here is a recording of the piano part (sorry for poor audio quality!).
Haven’t had an opportunity to find someone to record viola as yet.
I hope people enjoy it.

Updates: see the score video here (complete with viola): https://youtu.be/PCZiqSretfw
To view or purchase the score: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/product/the-leaves-are-falling-23034045.html

The Leaves are Falling - Piano (2016,2022)

Written for & performed by RNCM Brand New Saxophones, workshops February 2024.

These three excerpts are part of a longer work, and includes some ideas inspired by film-making techniques.

For example, the fast material in very close canon overlaid with slower, fluid lines is a musical translation of a film technique called step-printing, which can create a slow-motion blurring effect produced by overlapping duplicated (or triplicated) frames; this can be used to give the impression of one character being in slow motion while a surrounding crowd is blurred and moving at double speed; the filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai was a pioneer of this technique; the effect was also more recently referenced in Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022).

Composed by Isla Jasmine Blake

Snapshots - Excerpts (2024)

This piano piece is an arrangement of the first movement of a suite for Saxophone and Guitar which I wrote a few years ago, 'For the Paintings of Leonid Afremov'. Afremov was a post-impressionist painter with a unique style, and created many vibrant and colourful works (many of which can be viewed via his website).

This movement was inspired by one of his paintings, 'Evening Harbour of Corsica', the rippling patterns in the music mirroring the flaming light of a harbour refracting on the surface of a dark ocean.

© 2021 Isla Jasmine Blake

Reflected Harbour Lights - Piano (2021)

'Footsteps of Dawn' was originally a piano piece which I wrote many years ago now. A number of weeks ago, I found myself remembering it and fancied arranging it for orchestra; so here it is!

(Just a simple demo for now using muse sounds - I may create a better mock-up in future)

© 2024 Isla Jasmine Blake

Footsteps of Dawn

Another quick orchestral arrangement of a piano piece I wrote long ago; again using muse sounds.
*****
Image: part of a photo by Jahanzeb Ahsan on Unsplash

Streetlamps & Shadows

‘Glades’ for String Octet (4 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos) is inspired by descriptions of a fictional land of climbing woodlands, streams, resinous trees and spacious glades between them. In this piece, I try to create the feeling of the gentle, fragrant landscape and whispering trees.

My wonderful piano teacher (who also plays cello,) with several of her friends and family, went from sight-reading to producing this recording in two hours from start to finish!

Written and recorded in 2018

Glades - String Octet (2018)

Update: you can now see the sheet music video on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/19SNmYB8BOc
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I wrote this piano piece to reflect fragments of ideas surrounding butterflies, and fleeting early memories of being outdoors in nature, memories as delicate to grasp as actual butterflies.

The opening gesture mirrors the shape of a butterfly’s wings with the shape of the pianist’s hands. This spread-chord gesture is explored throughout the piece. The piece has an often calming atmosphere: gentle harmony with soft sevenths chords, and delicate ostinato patterns, breaking into freer swing-rhythms towards the end.

Written and recorded in 2018
Photo: unsplash

Butterflies & Memories

This piece was originally intended for a solo dance piece, written as part of a collaboration with a student choreographer at the Northern Ballet School. It explores two moods: cautious, intuitive and fluid meter-less sections, contrasted with carefree, lively, playful and determined sections with a strong sense of rhythm. I took influences from folk music, exploring modality and rhythmic elements. I chose the title for its wide range of connotations, allowing for a range of interpretations.

Performed by Rachael Watson
Recorded in January 2020
Photo: Unsplash

Update: see the score video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/NqY6BmzTISY

Awakenings - for solo flute

Isla Jasmine Blake is a composer from the UK. She often seeks to weave depictions into her music, taking inspiration from nature, film, literature and art.

She has previously created soundtracks for short animated documentaries 'Tryweryn' (2021) youtu.be/tHljFFdQYDs and 'Rhannwch y Baich' (2022) youtu.be/EbJp_kNXZXM by animator Osian Roberts.

Isla has enjoyed writing for a variety of student and amateur ensembles including saxophone ensemble, string octet, percussion quartet, piano solo and more. Her recent projects include a new soundtrack for F. Percy Smith’s 1911 nature film 'The Strength & Agility of Insects', premiered at the RNCM in February 2024, and 'Snapshots', a current work-in-progress for 12 Saxophones which incorporates inspiration from film-making techniques.