Wonderful juxtaposition here.  Love the layering of musical lines and how effectively they can all be heard.

This is becomming rather evocative.  Really like the percussive line and the mixed melodies fighting for position.

Borobudur - Temple of the Secret Aspect (1987) for large orchestra

Three Old Gramophones (2005) - three movements for chamber orchestra

Don - a Cello Concerto (2006) for cello and chamber orchestra

Prambanan (1991) for three soloists and string orchestra

The Trumpet, Scattering its Terrible Cry... (2006) / Mozart 'Dies Irae' [from Requiem]

Five Illusions (2016) for symphony orchestra

Jabberwocky (1983) for symphony orchestra

Works for Orchestra

Symphony 2 - version for 2 pianos

This is a recording from the world premiere of this piece performed by Delia Stevens at the Royal College of Music Concert Hall in London as part of the BBC Proms Plus Concert Series live on BBC Radio 3.

Blue Blues for Marimba by Edward Cowie

A new piece for String Orchestra.  Thank you for listening and hope you enjoy.

For String Orchestra

Hope you enjoy this piano piece recorded on a Bosendorfer.

Now I Know

Saint Mark Passion - part 4, complete

Misericordia

Ensemble InterContemporain
Nicolò Umberto Foron, conductor

Premiere (live recording)
Friday 10th November 2023

60° Festival Nuova Consonanza 
Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone

© Ph: Cantarelli Marta
© Archivio Nuova Consonanza

Seeds of Light

Borodubur – Temple of the Secret Aspect
1987 (appx. 32’)
5.4.4.4 – 5.6.3.1 – 2hp, celeste, 5 perc, – 16.16.14.12.10
This early work is based on the architectural design and narrative carvings of the immense Javanese monument, Borobudur, which sits at the heart of the Kedu Plain in central Java.  The music takes us on a literal tour of the monument, exploring its meaning as explained by the narrative bas reliefs that adorn its galleries, and eventually experiencing the building's symbolic representation of Nirvana.
© Paul Max Edlin 2016 

The performers on this recording of the premiere are the Royal College of Music Symphony Orchestra conducted by Elgar Howarth

A film version of this work is available on You Tube via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qbkj2zHB7E&t=741s

Borobudur - Temple of the Secret Aspect (1987) Elgar Howarth/RCM Symphony Orchestra

Cello Concerto
2006 (appx. 24’)
solo cello
1(+ alt.fl).1.1.1 - 1.1.1.0, - hp, perc, - 5vv, 2vla, 1vc, 1db

Programme note:
Don continues a theme of symbolism that permeates and guides so many of my compositions.  In this instance it explores certain moral issues in a somewhat enigmatic way, while exploiting the distinct nature of the concerto medium. Indeed it is the master/servant relationship, in which the soloist both guides and follows those around it, that stimulates much of the musical argument.  The use of a semi-solo bassoon part acts as a ‘doppelganger’ as well as allowing for that ‘master/servant’ relationship to be explored (hence the title Don as in Don Giovanni and Don Quixote, etc.)  The ‘solo role’ in any concerto has dramatic connotations, but it must reach beyond ‘pure theatre’ even if it embraces it.  This cello part is hugely virtuosic, as are many of the passages the other instrumentalists have to play.

The harmonic impetus stems from the opening chord to the central movement of Bartok’s fourth string quartet – a chord built up of two whole-tone triads which together form a diatonic hexachord.  This particular chord, composer and quartet are important to me.  There is an inherent symmetry of Bartok’s chord – and the way in which it is expanded as the movement progresses.  My work expands it, and symmetrically too, but delves into the world of microtones and harmonies that allude to other cultures.  Issues of ‘convergence’ and ‘divergence’ form the basis of the concerto, with the principals of two differing groups (cello and bassoon) responding to the harmonic realms established by each other.  While the cello continually sets the pace, its own musical material evolves and adapts as a result of varying ‘influences’ from others.  Political issues can be alluded to, of course. Not least in the suggestion that interaction of seeming opposites can share common ground through debate.  Bartok’s own music is particularly apposite to use in this way.  The renowned musicologist Theodore Adorno pointed out that Bartok’s music ‘spans the gulf between, on the one hand, the ahistorical, epic ‘natural community of the pre-industrial world where the ‘individual’ is represented by the hero… and, on the other hand, the highly industrialised societies of the modern world, within which the individual … exists in a state of alienation’.  © Paul Max Edlin 2007

The solo cellist on this recording is Gabriella Swallow



Don - a Cello Concerto (2006) - Gabriella Swallow (cello)

Concerto for Oboe-d’Amore, Percussion, Trombone and 22 solo strings
1991 (appx 18’) for solo oboe d’amore, solo percussion, solo trombone, 9vv, 6vla, 5 vc, 2db 

The greatest Hindu temple complex in Indonesia is Candi Prambanan, sometimes known as Candi Rara Jonggrang.  It is a 9th century temple complex in central Java and is dedicated to Trimūrti (the trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism).  This trinity represents creation, maintenance and destruction as exemplified by the deities Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver) and Shiva (destroyer).  This triple concerto takes both the narrative of the temple and the actual physical structure and its symbolism as a source for its musical inspiration and actual construction. 

This recording was made at the world premiere in Canterbury Cathedral in 1997, given by soloists Nicholas Daniel (oboe d'amore), James Casey (trombone) and Fiona Ritchie (percussion) with the Britten Sinfonia conducted by Mark Forkgen.  This is made available on Soundcloud by kind permission of the Britten Sinfonia.

Published by Warwick Music. Music available from the publisher at http://www.warwickmusic.com/Main-Catalogue/Sheet-Music/Trombone/Tenor-Trombone/Tenor-Trombone-Orchestra/Edlin-Prambanam-TB055

Prambanan

Prambanan - Concerto for Oboe d'amore, Trombone, Percussion & 22 strings (1991) Britten Sinfonia

Live recording Teatro Grande di Brescia - Three songs on the persian poetry by Rūmī - Giulia Peri, soprano - Lamberto Curtoni, Cello

Three Persian Lyrics

Three Old Gramophones
2005 
2 (I + picc. & bass fl, II + bass fl).1.2. (I + picc. Eb cl, II + bass cl).sop sax Bb.1 – 1.2.1.0, – pno/harm, 2/3 perc. – 4.4.3.3.1 
Programme note: Three Old Gramophones examines symbolism in music, principally in two ways. Firstly, it presents music that appears ‘familiar’ in a generally unmodified way. Secondly, it envelops this music with another layer of sonorities that may appear recognisable, though not necessarily in the context in which it is heard. Three Old Gramophones uses both ‘private’ and ‘shared’ symbolism. ‘Two Gentlemen in Japan’ re-works the overture to The Mikado, manipulating it to sound rather more like genuine Japanese Gagaku court music. This ‘shared’ element examines Edlin’s personal political stance that the West has often abused its relationship with the East. Sousa’s composition El Capitan was (apparently) the last piece to be played as the Titanic sank. El Capitan’s famous demise envelops this piece with fragments of familiar ‘sea related’ pieces. The final piece has several subtexts: principally a re-enactment of a scene in a story by Gabriel García Marquez, where an old woman retells her youthful memories to her granddaughter as they listen to a quasi-Hispanic tune on an old ‘78’. On another level, it also pays a personal tribute to a life tragically cut short. The score also explores new techniques in instrumental timbres and new approaches to notation, where individual musicians ‘lead’ varying groups of instruments, while the conductor maintains an overview of proceedings. © Paul Max Edlin 2005

Three Old Gramophones (2005) - Complete Work

Orchestra Sinfonica Abruzzese
Marco Moresco, conductor

Dark Clouds, for orchestra

Please, use headphones or good loudspeakers.

MOULT (2018–19), for orchestra
commissioned by Westdeutschen Rundfunk and Wien Modern

Live Recording WDR Orchestra, 12 May 2019, Witten

MOULT (2018–19), for orchestra

A Pilgrim of Angkor 
(1997, rev 2020) for large orchestra

4 (picc./fl./alto fl./bass fl).3 (ob./ob d'am./cor-ang).3 (picc Eb./Cl in A/Bass cl).3 (bsn./2 contra bsn).sop.sax – 4. 3. bass tpt. euph. 2.- 1  hp, pno, 9 perc. – 16.14.12.10.8

Composer’s Note:
The great temple complex of Angkor was reputedly discovered by the French explorer Henri Mouhot in 1860.  The temples hadn’t been fully abandoned, but they were in serious neglect.  Angkor Wat was still home to a group of monks while other temples had been taken over by the encroaching forest.  Why the Khmers gradually left Angkor, once the greatest capital on earth, remains a matter of conjecture.  What is certain is the extraordinary impact it makes today, created by a mix of dimension, intricate detail, symbolic plans, and an environment that mixes man and nature.  

No piece of music can recreate a complex work of architecture, because one is three dimensional and another isn’t!  But the simplicity of fundamental design, combined with the most detailed and abundant imagery is how music is created.  As a result, this work uses ways to evoke, represent, symbolise and guide the listener into an other-worldly place where ritual and exoticism combine.  

The title is a direct translation of the name of Pierre Loti’s famous book about the city, Un Pèlerin d’Angkor (originally published in 1912).  But it is right, because I have been a pilgrim of Angkor for oh so many years, finally visiting the city in 2017, twenty years after this work was created.  © Paul Max Edlin 2020

This electronically created version is for study use only.

Music © Paul Max Edlin 1997

A Pilgrim Of Angkor (1997 rev 2020) - for large orchestra

Paul Max Edlin, 2016/2017 Composer in Residence for the London Chamber Orchestra, has a career that combines composing with higher education, artistic direction and performing.  

His works have been performed by many leading artists including Alison Balsom, Arditti Quartet, Britten Sinfonia, David Campbell, Cantus Ansambl, Dame Sarah Connolly, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Rolf Hind, Johannes Möller, London Chamber Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Olga Pasiecznik, Psappha, Silesian Quartet, Southbank Sinfonia and Gabriella Swallow.

He studied with Edwin Roxburgh, Richard Blackford and Joseph Horowitz (Royal College of Music) and Michael Finnissy (University of Sussex). He has won many prizes including Premio Internazionale Ancona, Harriet Cohen Memorial Award and United Music Publishers Prize. His music explores symbolism and often derives its inspiration from extra musical material. From the mid 80’s to mid 90’s many works were inspired by the art and architecture of South-East Asia, especially Indochina. From 2000 onward symbolism of a wider range of sources guided his music, from the chiastic structures of J.S. Bach to the writings of Gabriel García Márquez and Federico García Lorca and visual work of Frida Kahlo.

He is former Director of Music at Queen Mary University of London. He was Artistic Director of Deal Music & Arts (formerly Deal Festival) from 2004 to 2021, Sounds New (2007 to 2013), Director of International Composer Pyramid (2008-2023) and was Chair of the Board of of Trustees of Ora Singers. He is current Chair of China U.K. International Music Festival. He supports a range of charities and arts organisations through activities on their various boards and committees.  From 2012 to 2013 he was President of the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM), the UK's leading association for professional musicians.

Three Old Gramophones (2005) - Complete Work

Paul Max Edlin

Recent comments

Franck Douvin | Composer

Sturmen

Christopher Larkins | Composer

Christopher Larkins | Composer

Related tracks