perf. by London sinfonietta, cond. Jack Sheen. 2nd of December 2022, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank center, London (UK)

"To dream is to forget.." - Fernando Pessoa. The Book of Disquiet

"I’ve been living with the minor second all my life and I finally found a way to handle it…" Morton Feldman, 1982

Co-commissioned by and written for Ensemble Modern, London Sinfonietta and Remix Ensemble

Cyclically floating between different phases of density and intensity, minor and major, slowing or accelerating waves, the piece is woven from hypnotically repetitive patterns of 7 slightly different tempos which intertwine through 16 lines of the ensemble conceived as a complex human body with regular breathing, heart beating, eye movements, blood flow etc., all happening at the same time but not synchronised.

The title “Sleeping Patterns” refers to the brain wave oscillations through different sleep stages as well as to the Morton Feldman’s question “Why Patterns?”

Duration: 20’

Instrumentation: fl, ob, cl, bsn, tpt, hn, tbn, acc, kbd, 2 vibr, 2 vln, vla, vc, cb

© Éditions Salabert/Universal Music Publishing Classical

"Sleeping patterns" for ensemble (2022), London sinfonietta (excerpt)

The Longest Night is a queer solstice carol that follows the journey of someone who arrives at a festive party alone, and walks out onto snow-covered streets hand-in-hand with someone new. Through an evening filled with joyful singing and dancing, a new, romantic connection is forged. This is a piece about the warmth, excitement and hope of falling in love at the darkest time of the year.

The piece was commissioned by The Sunday Boys and was premiered on 21st December 2024 in Manchester Cathedral as part of A Very Queer Christmas Our Solstice Night. It was conducted by Michael Betteridge. 

The Longest Night

Crouch End Festival Chorus
BBC Concert Orchestra 
Conducted by David Temple MBE
Barbican Centre, London
24th October 2018
Recorded and broadcast by BBC Radio 3. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0001593

Text by Herman Melville, from Moby Dick (1851)
Words of the character Stubb, the ship's Second Mate.
Extracted and adapted by Ryan Latimer

I. Oh, Jolly is the Gale

STUBB: Oh! jolly is the gale,
               And a joker is the whale,
               A' flourishin' his tail, —
Such a funny, sporty, gamy, jesty, joky, hoky-poky lad,
     is the Ocean, oh!

               The scud all a flyin',
               That's his flip only foamin';
               When he stirs in the spicin', —
Such a funny, sporty, gamy, jesty, joky, hoky-poky lad,
     is the Ocean, oh!

               Thunder splits the ships,
               But he only smacks his lips,
               A tastin' of this flip, —
Such a funny, sporty, gamy, jesty, joky, hoky-poky lad,
     is the Ocean, oh!

STARBUCK: Avast Stubb! ... Let the Typhoon sing, and strike his harp here in our rigging; but if thou art a brave man thou wilt hold thy peace.

STUBB: But I am not a brave man; never said I was a brave man; I am a coward; and I sing to keep up my spirits. And I tell you what it is, Mr. Starbuck, there's no way to stop my singing in this world but to cut my throat. And when that's done, ten to one I sing ye the doxology for a wind-up.


II. In Old England

BADGER-HAIRED OLD MERMAN IN STUBB'S DREAM: 
In old England the greatest lords think it great glory to be slapped by a queen, and made garter-knights of; but, be your boast, Stubb, that ye were kicked by old Ahab, and made a wise man of. Remember what I say; be kicked by him; account his kicks honours; and on no account kick back; for you can't help yourself, wise Stubb.


III. The Final Consequence

Ha! ha! ha! ha! hem! clear my throat!
I've been thinking over it ever since, and that ha, ha's the final consequence. 
Why so? 

I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I'll go to it laughing. Fa, la! lirra, skirra!

      We'll drink to-night with hearts as light, 
      To love, as gay and fleeting 
      As bubbles that swim, on the beaker's brim, 
      And break on the lips while meeting. 


IV. Oh, Jolly is the Word for Aye

Cancer the Crab drags us back here.
Scorpio stings us in the rear.
Capricornus, full tilt, he comes rushing and headlong we are tossed.
Aquarius pours out his deluge and drowns us; and to wind up with Pisces, or the fishes, we sleep.

There’s a sermon now, writ in high heaven, and the sun goes through it every day and yet comes out of it all alive and hearty. Jollily he, aloft there, wheels through toil and trouble; and so, alow here, does jolly Stubb. Oh, jolly is the word for aye!

Frigates & Folly (Performed by BBC Concert Orchestra & Crouch End Festival Chorus)

let's be friends

rheo

'Appoggiatuba' was commissioned by Contemporary Music for All (CoMA) as part of the 2020 Summer School programme. This piece was workshopped and received its world premiere by Jack Adler-McKean in the finale concert on 1st August. It explores the range of the tuba featuring large intervals, microtones, singing, and naturally, a handful of appoggiaturas.

Sheet Music: centralpercmusic.com/product/583445
About Jack: jackadlermckean.eu

Appoggiatuba for Tuba (2020)

Inspired by a walk by the sea, Wigmore Hall's Come & Create Band created 'Sea Sounds' during online workshops. Find out more about the band at https://wigmore-hall.org.uk/learning/projects-for-young-people-with-autism

Sea Sounds

Lucy Armstrong is a London based composer who writes boldly theatrical music for the stage and concert hall. Her work has been performed across the world including in Norway, Japan, Colombia, the US and across Europe and has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

In 2022, Lucy was one of five composers who collaboratively scored Gods of the Game, an opera about football and corruption commissioned by Sky Arts. Gods of the Game was produced by Grange Park Opera and Factory Films, and broadcast live on Sky Arts. In 2017-2018, Lucy wrote a chamber opera, A Risk of Lobsters, in association with the Royal Opera House. Lucy wrote a chamber opera for Bergen National Opera and this work was subsequently performed at the Tête à Tête Opera Festival (London) and at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia) in 2015. She’s currently resident composer at Glyndebourne and recently wrote a children’s Christmas song with writer Helen Arney which was sung by over 2000 local primary school children across 8 performances. She also developed an opera for care homes with Glyndebourne which premiered in 2024 and was toured to 15 care homes across the Sussex area. 

In 2021-2022, Lucy and Rebecca Hurst were commissioned by Salford Choral society to write a 25 minute work for choir and orchestra for Salford Choral Society and Piccadilly Symphony Orchestra. Following the success of the premiere in 2022, the pair were then commissioned by Cambridge Philharmonic to write another large scale work for symphony orchestra and chorus which premiered in 2023. They were then commissioned by Glyndebourne to write “The Stone Flower” for mezzo soprano and ensemble and this piece was premiered by Jade Moffat in 2024.

In 2024 she collaborated with BCMG, Haroon Mirza, Juliet Fraser and David Spittle on “Waking from Time” a collaborative, cross genre, multi-disciplinary performance. After working with Psappha on their “Composing For” scheme, Lucy was awarded their inaugural Peter Maxwell Davies commission in 2018, to write a 15-minute chamber work. She has also been commissioned by FontanaMix, one of Italy’s leading new music ensembles. In 2021-22 she won a place on the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Composers’ Scheme where she wrote a chamber work for French horn and piano which premiered at the Wigmore Hall. She was commissioned by The Arch Sinfonia and Chloé van Soeterstède to write a 20 minute saxophone concerto which was premiered in 2023 by Gillian Blair.

Using composition as a creative tool for outreach and education is an important part of Lucy’s practice. She regularly leads participation and learning projects with the London Sinfonietta and recently conducted “We need to have a conversation” written in collaboration with secondary school students in London Sinfonietta’s 50th Anniversary concert. Lucy was commissioned by London Sinfonietta as part of their Sound Out concert series to write “Patterns and Mirrors” for Sinfonietta and youth ensemble, which was conducted by Armstrong to a full Royal Festival Hall of school children. She has also worked with Glyndebourne youth opera, Piccadilly Symphony Orchestra and RNCM Engage. Lucy’s collaborative project with Kate Pearson and RNCM Engage was nominated for a Times Higher Education Award in 2018. She has taught at the University of West London and regularly deputises at Trinity Juniors, City Young Musicians (Junior Guildhall) and Morley College. 

Lucy studied at the RNCM with Gary Carpenter and Adam Gorb and then with Julian Philips at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she went on to be a Fellow in Composition (2018-19).

For more information visit: www.lucyarmstrong.net

The Longest Night

Lucy Armstrong

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