Premiered 7th December 2015 by Tom Goddard, double bass, at Cardiff University School of Music.

Lost Museum I: Lamentation

'Llyn' for C flute, viola, and electronics, performed at Reardon Smith Theatre, National Museum Wales in Cardiff on 4 March 2016. Sebastian Walker, flute, Thomas Wilkinson, viola, Julia E. Howell, electronics

This duet for flute and viola is the third in an ongoing series of works exploring themes of preservation versus decay in art and collective memory. Loosely inspired by Ivor Davies’ collages reflecting on the destructive political forces which have been faced by Welsh culture, the piece follows a process of imitation, evolution, and entropy as small motifs change, fragment, disappear, or are echoed by each instrument and electronics, evoking thoughts of vanished or hidden history. 

Lost Museum III: Llyn

Performed at National Museum Wales, Cardiff, 3 March 2017
Louise Chartron, violin
Julia Howell, viola
Elin Hâf Taylor, cello

‘And am I born to die?’ is based upon the Sacred Harp hymn of the same name, with words by Charles Wesley and tune accredited to Ananias Davisson. The Sacred Harp tradition is a very old one in the Southern United States, preserving very distinctive tendencies of harmony, ornamentation, and vocal style. It is an experiential tradition, with the music often sung in long, high-intensity sessions as a feat of devotional endurance, where the singing of the music itself, and the communal experience thereof, becomes an expression of faith and emotion rather than functioning as an addition to worship. This particular song speaks of the struggle to accept without fear the inevitability of mortality, and an apocalyptic vision of judgment in the afterlife. My piece is a play of eerie echoes and shadows, with the interruption of the trumpet blasts signaling a reckoning.

And am I born to die?

Triskelion (2016) for solo harp

Performed by Alethea Grant at Bowdoin International Music Festival, July 2017

Programme Note
A triskelion is a triple-spiral symbol with an ancient history-- first appearing in megalithic artworks, it crops up ubiquitously in many ancient and modern cultures. My piece is constructed from interlocking, tripartite pitch and rhythmic motifs based upon Archimedean spirals. As the piece unfolds, these motifs form blocks of sound-- perhaps reminiscent of something ancient and monolithic-- as well as helical patterns of unwinding- echoing the coiled energy of the conjoined spirals.

Triskelion

Suspended Migration

Born in New York City, Julia Howell holds a BMus in composition and viola performance from Loyola University New Orleans, an MMus from Cardiff University, and a PhD from Cardiff University under the supervision of Arlene Sierra. Julia’s research and work explores the relationships between memories and listening experiences, and how these are altered by the technology we use to preserve music and memory. Recent performances include works for Lontano, BBC NOW, Bruckner Orchestra Linz, rarescale, the Magnard Ensemble, a collaborative multimedia installation at the National Museum Wales in Cardiff, and two upcoming film scores. www.juliaehowell.com