Extracts from first performance (10.03.19)at Sheffield Cathedral, performed by Hallam Sinfonia & Maria Do Vale Antunes (solo viola).

Conductor: Natalia Luis Bassa

Limb was commissioned by Hallam Sinfonia with funding from the British Viola Society, Classical Sheffield and Hallam Sinfonia for performance at the Classical Weekend festival 2019 finale concert, 'Ode to Joy', which included Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

Watch the whole performance here: https://youtu.be/T-Xfw0oAIdE

Limb (extract)

Limb (extract 1 - opening)

Pacemaker 

(2021)

for solo piano

Pacemaker is a musical race against time.The performer is instructed to play; 'As fast as humanly possible: under pressure, throughout'. There are metered passages for which the performer must set their own tempo. Other passages are marked 'Freely' and are dependent on a performer's ability to move from one event to the next as quickly as they are physically capable. There are numerous 'trip hazards' which are intended to make every performance challenging and to add an element of jeopardy, as everything must be performed under pressure and against the clock.

Before performing Pacemaker, the pianist must set an alarm to go off at the target time (no greater than ten minutes). Performers can choose to beat their own personal best time, or another performer's fastest time. The aim is to reach the end of the piece before the alarm goes off! (An arrested performance is equally legitimate as a piece of performance art, and is encouraged, however). More information can be found here: http://www.jennyjacksoncomposer.com/pacemaker

This recording was made at the first performance on 4th December 2021 at York Unitarian Chapel, York. 
Performed by Ian Pace (piano)
Commissioned by Late Music, York

Ian Pace was the original 'Pacemaker', setting the target time to beat on 4th December 2021 at 8:31 minutes. However, he went on to perform Pacemaker again as an encore and beat his own time, producing an astonishing 8:17 minutes! He now holds 'Top Rank' position, and second place, on The Official Pacemaker Rankings: http://www.jennyjacksoncomposer.com/the-official-pacemaker-rankings

If you would like to perform Pacemaker and fancy your chances at beating Ian Pace's time (or would like to attempt to perform the piece in under the maximum ten minutes allowed), you can obtain a a FREE pdf copy of the score by visiting the Pacemaker webpage: http://www.jennyjacksoncomposer.com/pacemaker Please note: a paper copy of the score must be used in a live performance as page turns are part of the performance. You can purchase a score by contacting Jenny via her website.

These Rules must be observed strictly in order for any performance to qualify in The Official Pacemaker Rankings. You must:

1. Reach the end of the piece before the alarm goes off. If your performance is interrupted by the alarm it may be added to the Arrested Performance Listings instead.
2. Use a paper copy of the manuscript (available to purchase from Jenny Jackson).
3. Turn pages yourself. 
4. Ensure all pitches are correct, where pitches are specified.
5. Observe the number of repeats, exactly.
6. Adhere to all specific instructions written within the piece.

You can view the video of this performance here: https://youtu.be/GipFYodyFEE You will see that the visual performance is busier than the audio suggests!

Pacemaker

(2021)

for alto flute, viola & harp

These five miniatures depict a variety of contrasting transient moods and emotions; concise streams of consciousness representing passing thoughts and responses to news and events as they occur.

The three instruments combine to respond as an ensemble with a collective 'mood', as each instrument's timbral and colourful characteristics are exploited to produce vivid slow-motion snapshots in time.

This recording was made at Birmingham Conservatoire at the Harp Extravaganza 23.02.2022

Alto Flute - Emma Holmes
Viola - Xueer Wu
Harp - Emily Hopper

Score & Parts available to purchase from Tetractys Publishing https://www.tetractys.co.uk/

Mindstreams

Hooting, not Drinking (2017) for solo C flute (doubling alto flute) with blown bottles & flutes ensemble

This piece was originally written in 2016 as a response to John White’s bottle-blowing piece Drinking & Hooting Machine (1968) which concerns itself with the gradual evolution of a continuum of sound from high to low. I wanted to write a piece that uses blown bottles in a more ‘musical’ way, by controlling combinations of high to low sounding bottles to provide a distant, harmonic backdrop for the flute solo. In this revised version, I have expanded the breathy bottle ensemble to include flutes, enabling a more colourful exploration of the sound world, and a heightened spatial experience.

Solo Flute - Rachel Shirley

Flutes- Rebecca Davenport, Abigail Ivall, Fiona Robinson, Helen Gibson, Carissa Honeywell & Laura Mella

Bottles - Martin Lightowler, Jess Jevon, Tom James, Jenny Jackson & Tom Owen

Recorded at the Platform 4 concert during the Classical Weekend 2017, Channing Hall, Sheffield 18.3.17

Hooting, Not Drinking (excerpt)

(2021) viola duo

An animated and emotionally-charged conversation between two individuals who are so thrilled to be reunited that they struggle to avoid talking over and interrupting one another. 

Motormouth & Chatty Kathy was awarded 3rd Prize in the 2021 Tallā Rouge International Composer Competition.

This recording (rough draft) is performed by Tallā Rouge (Lauren Spaulding & Aria Cheregosha).

www.TallaRouge.com

FREE sheet music available: http://www.jennyjacksoncomposer.com/motormouth-chatty-kathy

Motormouth & Chatty Kathy

for Cor Anglais, Contrabass Recorder & Double Bass (2021)

Performed by XelmYa: 

Freddi Börnchen - oboe
George Kokkinaris - double bass
Sylvia Hinz - recorder, artistic director

Description: three miniatures that explore the unique characteristics of the instruments and the timbral diversity within this unusual combination.

***Winner of XelmYa Call For Scores 2021***

Recording made at the first performance on 18.11.22 Kulturhaus Centre Bagatelle, Berlin, Germany (XelmYa)

Nugs

Passages (2022) for wind quintet

Passages was written organically, so the transient movement through the passages of musical characters is like a timeline of events, or even a self portrait, as my feelings about what should happen next are a reflection of my own state of mind at the time of writing. I like to write like this sometimes and then look back at what was going on. It can be quite telling! I enjoyed exploring the possible textures and timbres provided by the extended instrumentation.

Commissioned by the Azalea Wind Quintet as part of a collaboration with Platform 4.

Performed by the Azalea Wind Quintet:
 
Naomi Reilly Robinson - Flute (Piccolo)
Emma Yi Kiu Chan - Oboe (Cor Anglais)
Joe Clarkson - French Horn
Bia Carvalho - Bassoon (Contrabassoon)
Tom Knollys - Clarinet (Bass Clarinet)

Recorded on 24th June 2023 at the Upper Chapel, Sheffield.

Passages

Torque (extracts)

Torque (extract 1)

(2018) solo flute

This short piece for solo flute is robust and blatantly aggressive in a way that captures attention, using the voice extensively to augment and compound a breathless and relentless outpouring. It is guttural, gestural and almost animalistic: a dramatic display which expels and purifies as it flits skittishly between music that is resolute or warm, flighty or driven.

Purge is the first movement in a suite for flute, clarinet, horn and bassoon - Melodrama - commissioned by Music in the Round and performed by Ensemble 360 during the Sheffield Chamber Music Festival 2018. The suite was composed collaboratively by the four members of Platform 4: a Sheffield-based composer collective. You can hear the complete suite here: https://soundcloud.com/platform-4-composers/sets/melodrama If you are interested in performing it please email platform4@live.co.uk

This recording of Purge was made at the premiere, performed by Kathryn Williams, St Matthew's Church, Sheffield 13.5.18

Commissioned by Music in the Round for the Sheffield Chamber Music Festival 2018.

Platform 4 Melodrama

Purge

Cloudscape was commissioned by Sheffield Flute Choir and was first performed by them at the Classical Sheffield Weekend 2017. 

I am fascinated by the sound of the flute choir which can be equally sweet and brash, and is reminiscent of the flute sound on a fairground organ. In composing the piece, I chose to celebrate the sameness rather than trying to find differences between the instruments, and to treat the choir as one big instrument.

To achieve the effect of masking and clearing clouds, the flute choir is divided into three groups with four different parts in each. Each group has its own unique set of pitches which are often combined to create blocks of sustained chords that fade in and out. I wanted to capture the feeling of a drifting and evolving cloudscape.

This recording was made on Sunday 4th August 2019, performed by:

Cat Ellmore 
Catherine Whitehouse 
Fiona Robinson 
Helen Gibson 
Hisami Furuichi 
Laura Walmsley 
Laura Mella 
Marie Dowd 
Rachel Shirley 
Rebecca Davenport 
Rona Gurnhill 
Tom James

Cloudscape is published by Tetractys Publishing. Score & parts available to buy here: https://www.tetractys.co.uk/photo_16034453.html

Cloudscape (recording 04.08.19)

Cloudscape

Jenny Jackson is a composer based in Sheffield. She successfully completed a PhD in composition in 2009 having studied with Professor George Nicholson at the University of Sheffield. Subsequently, she formed Platform 4 - a composer collective - with Tom Owen, Chris Noble and Tom James and has forged a career as a composer, strongly influenced by a long-term interest in the visual and dramatic arts and the theatricality of musical performance. She has collaborated to produce multidisciplinary projects with visual artists, sculptors, writers and choreographers, often with Platform 4. Her work has been performed by Ensemble 360, Ligeti Quartet, Nieuw Ensemble, Philip Thomas, Opera on Location and Kathryn Williams.

jennyjacksoncomposer

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