Psappha Ensemble - http://psappha.com - Dov Goldberg (Clarinet in G)

Glitch, for Clarinet in G, is inspired by Eastern European folk scales, such as the Hungarian Minor and the Ukrainian Dorian scale. It uses Balkan rhythms and metres. The title refers to the chopping-up and repeating, or 'glitching' of small fragments.

Learn more about Anna: http://www.annaappleby.com

Psappha’s ‘Composing for…’ programme is supported by: Arts Council England; Garfield Weston Foundation; Idlewild Trust; PRS Foundation Talent Development Partner scheme; Radcliffe Trust; and RVW Trust.

Anna Appleby (born 1993) - Glitch

Psappha Ensemble - http://psappha.com - Dov Goldberg (Clarinet in G)

Ost, written for the Greek Klarino (Clarinet in G) and Indian drone, explores questions of “otherness” in our understanding of “Eastern”. In various European languages, “ost” is the root of “Eastern”, and as the traditional epicenter of the West, Europe has historically been contrasted with “the East”. For me, a hard dichotomy between the two is complicated by my background in both Western classical and Carnatic (South Indian classical) music and my identity as an Indian-American. In Ost, I use both of my traditions, within the context of idiomatic Greek ornamentation, to blur the distinctions drawn between other and self. 

Learn more about Shruthi: https://www.shruthirajasekar.com/

Psappha’s ‘Composing for…’ programme is supported by: Arts Council England; Garfield Weston Foundation; Idlewild Trust; PRS Foundation Talent Development Partner scheme; Radcliffe Trust; and RVW Trust.

Shruthi Rajasekar (born 1996) - Ost

Psappha Ensemble - http://psappha.com - Benjamin Powell (piano) and Tim Williams (percussion)
!Please use headphone for the best audio quality! 

Erratics takes its inspiration from the masses of colossal rocking stones that can be found in various locations throughout the world, which are balanced in such a precarious way that they can be rocked back and forth by the application of force by a single person. These monolithic stones often look very out of place in their surroundings – such as those stones that can be found in the middle of a forest or on top of a hill – and are known as “Glacial Erratics” which, in geological terms, refers to the fact that they are thought to have been transported to their unusual locations by glaciers, which is also reflected in the original Latin word “errare”, which means “to wander”. 

This piece attempts to portray an abstract image of a vast rocking stone being pushed in various directions by two quasi-antagonistic characters, in the form of the Pianist and Percussionist, who instigate movement in the stone and agitate the musical material between them in order to influence the motion of this huge object. In this way, Erratics takes on a double-meaning in its title by acting in a capricious and unpredictable or “erratic” manner, which conveys the abnormal movements of these massive rocking stones.

Learn more about Jay: http://www.jaycapperauld.com

Psappha’s ‘Composing for…’ programme is supported by: Arts Council England; Garfield Weston Foundation; Idlewild Trust; PRS Foundation Talent Development Partner scheme; Radcliffe Trust; and RVW Trust.

Jay Capperauld (born 1989) - Erratics

Psappha Ensemble - http://psappha.com - Benjamin Powell (piano) and Tim Williams (percussion)
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Slink & Stride brings together a collection of short childlike tunes and motifs which are continuously jostling, reanimating and playfully shifting the sense of movement; often subtly entwining themselves or sometimes taking more striding leaps. 

Learn more about Ryan: https://ryanlatimer.com/

Psappha’s ‘Composing for…’ programme is supported by: Arts Council England; Garfield Weston Foundation; Idlewild Trust; PRS Foundation Talent Development Partner scheme; Radcliffe Trust; and RVW Trust.

Ryan Latimer (born 1990) - Slink & Stride

Psappha Ensemble - http://psappha.com - Lauren Scott (Harp)
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‘Glass Cathedrals’ (2019) for solo harp is inspired by the conceptual image of a grand cathedral constructed entirely of glass. The work seeks to create a delicate sound-world to emulate the fragility of the glass structure, contrasted by the use of prevailing, stronger indicatory material to emulate the large, imposing building itself. The piece aims to capture a moment of fleeting, temporary splendour before its great, and expectedly enduring, structure shatters. The melodic content is also inspired by lines from the poem ‘Adonaïs’ by Shelley:
‘Life, like a dome of many-coloured glass, Stains the white radiance of eternity’

Learn more about Grace-Evangeline: https://www.graceevangelinemason.com

Psappha’s ‘Composing for…’ programme is supported by: Arts Council England; Garfield Weston Foundation; Idlewild Trust; PRS Foundation Talent Development Partner scheme; Radcliffe Trust; and RVW Trust.

Grace - Evangeline Mason (Born 1994) - Glass Cathedrals

Psappha Ensemble - http://psappha.com - Ben Hudson (Bassoon) 
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September 1938: Under the ruse of being guests for Captain Ridley’s Shooting Party, dressed in their Sunday best and all their finery, a group of soon-to-be spies and codebreakers met together for the first time at the halfway point between Oxford and Cambridge Universities at Bletchley Park. 

The rest, as they say, is history.

Ridley’s Party is dedicated to Bampy, for everything he does. 

Learn more about Nicholas:  http://www.nicholasolsenmusic.com

Psappha’s ‘Composing for…’ programme is supported by: Arts Council England; Garfield Weston Foundation; Idlewild Trust; PRS Foundation Talent Development Partner scheme; Radcliffe Trust; and RVW Trust.

Nicholas Olsen (born 1995) - Ridley's Party

Psappha Ensemble - http://psappha.com - Ben Hudson (Bassoon) 
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wood.pulse works with limited pitch material and instead focuses on gradually evolving, propulsive rhythmic patterns, and timbral alterations to what is predominantly a repetitive stream of the pitch class: A (and the various resulting microtones at either side). The way I was thinking about treating the material for this piece is quite similar to the use of audio processes like filtering and modulation, which are often used to stimulate subtle modifications to a sustained or recurring sound source in electronic music. 

Learn more about Matthew:   http://www.matthewgrousemusic.com

Psappha’s ‘Composing for…’ programme is supported by: Arts Council England; Garfield Weston Foundation; Idlewild Trust; PRS Foundation Talent Development Partner scheme; Radcliffe Trust; and RVW Trust.

Matthew Grouse (born 1996) - wood.pulse

Psappha Ensemble - http://psappha.com - Ben Hudson (Bassoon) 
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crinkum-crankum - elaborate decoration or detail; something full of twists and turns.

A single thread slowly becomes increasingly tangled in the middle, twisting and turning, folding back on itself, knotty, matted. Only a short length remains neat, protruding from the other end of the puzzle.

Learn more about Luciano:   http://lucianowilliamson.weebly.com

Psappha’s ‘Composing for…’ programme is supported by: Arts Council England; Garfield Weston Foundation; Idlewild Trust; PRS Foundation Talent Development Partner scheme; Radcliffe Trust; and RVW Trust.

Luciano Williamson (born 1996) - Crinkum-Crankum

Psappha Ensemble - http://psappha.com - Ben Hudson (Bassoon) 
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Michilimackinac, the Great Turtle, who was said to be drawn to the strange lights in the passage between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, where the temperature dropped due to the onset of Winter and he froze to death. According to the folk tale, his skull is now Mackinac Island.

Psappha’s ‘Composing for…’ programme is supported by: Arts Council England; Garfield Weston Foundation; Idlewild Trust; PRS Foundation Talent Development Partner scheme; Radcliffe Trust; and RVW Trust.

Jordan Hirst (born 1993) - Michilimackinac

Psappha Ensemble - http://psappha.com - Ben Hudson (Bassoon) 
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Compos Mentis, the useful Latin phrase we’ve held onto, translates literally into English as ‘of sound mind’. This fast and fluid solo for bassoon primarily stems from a history of listening to bebop music and its lucid tangling phrases and wild imagination. The swing is a fundamental element to the piece as might be expected, but frequent exchanges with straight, compound and tuplet rhythms add to its developed identity, keeping the feel fresh and evolving. Dynamism in pitch and volume is also exploited, with coats of colour from timbral techniques splashed onto a melody that explores and recycles itself freely, evocatively and to a post-modal mindset. Compos Mentis was written for Ben Hudson in 2019 as part of the Psappha Composing For: Bassoon project.

Learn more about Daniel:   http://www.danielsoley.com

Psappha’s ‘Composing for…’ programme is supported by: Arts Council England; Garfield Weston Foundation; Idlewild Trust; PRS Foundation Talent Development Partner scheme; Radcliffe Trust; and RVW Trust.

Daniel Soley (born 1995) - Compos Mentis

Psappha Ensemble - http://psappha.com - Ben Hudson (Bassoon) 
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'solo' moves from minimum to maximum in every parameter (volume, density, register, agility and intensity), pushing the performer and instrument to the very limits of playability at both extremes.

Learn more about Ben:   http://www.bencottrell.com 

Psappha’s ‘Composing for…’ programme is supported by: Arts Council England; Garfield Weston Foundation; Idlewild Trust; PRS Foundation Talent Development Partner scheme; Radcliffe Trust; and RVW Trust.

Ben Cottrell (born 1985) - Solo For Bassoon

This is a recording of a live BBC Proms performance given by Psappha at the Royal Albert Hall on 8th September 2004. The concert was given for Peter Maxwell Davies on his 70th birthday.

Psappha was conducted by Nicholas Kok
Fiona Shaw - voice (Missa super l'homme armé)
Jennifer Langridge - cello (Linguae Ignis)
Peter Bronder & James Oxley - tenors (Renard)
Pavel Baransky - baritone (Renard)
Maxim Mikhailov - bass (Renard)
Tim Williams - cimbalom (Renard)

Psappha Ensemble

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