Composers: Tom Armstrong and Madeleine Shapiro. Performer: Madeleine Shapiro (cello/improvisation). The Gramophone Played for cello, spoken word and fixed media electronics was inspired by the works of the British poet Edward Thomas (1878-1917) and by the writings about him in Robert Macfarlane’s book ‘The Old Ways’, in particular a fictionalised account of his final months at the Western Front where Thomas, serving as an artillery officer, was killed during the battle of Arras. Macfarlane writes of the gramophone records heard in the officers’ billets and we have woven some of these, alongside two of Thomas’ poems, into the fabric of the piece. The cello part is improvised in response to them using melodic skeletons from the songs. The recordings and the singers who perform on them - ‘Wait Till I’m As Old As Father’ (Billy Williams), ‘D’Ye Ken John Peel’ (Peter Dawson), ‘On The Banks of Allan Water’ (Adelina Patti) - are auditory windows onto a time long distant; these and Madeleine’s improvised responses lend our piece something of the character of a threnody so if our piece has a message it is a decidedly anti-war one - a threnody for Edward Thomas himself and for the victims of all wars, both military and civilian.

The Gramophone Played

2nd Year Composition Project OK-C12?
i. O- Oxygen
ii. K- Potassium
iii. C12- Carbon (Diamond)
by River Edis-Smith

OK-C12?

Remix of a Bossa Nova tune about the fibonacci series, obviously.

Phibonacci Nova

This is one configuration of my mobile form work, Albumleaves, for trumpet and string quartet. There are 12 pages in the piece (although only eight were recorded for this session) and the trumpet and quartet can play them in any order they choose, i.e. they need not play the pages in the same order (although the quartet have to agree on theirs). In this session trumpet and quartet were recorded separately and then various orderings were tried during the mixing stage. This ordering is not quite as effective as configuration 1 but gives an opportunity to hear the pronounced changes a different ordering creates. The performers are Simon Desbruslais (trumpet) with the Ligeti Quartet.

Albumleaves (2013, configuration 2)

A piece for multiple keyboards that re-works Schubert's '36 Original Dances' for solo piano through a process of erasure and indeterminate superimposition. The performers on this occasion are: Rossella Rubini (piano), Rebecca Mok, Anqi Wang and Tom Armstrong (keyboards).

Tanze (2018) @ Surrey 13 Feb 2019

A collaboration with Dr Enzo De Sena, the mutations of the Covid-19 virus over 500 generations are sonified. Every motif is formed by the mutation of successive Covid-19 strains. Although 'musical' decisions are made, they are done so not to cloak the data with familiar emotional signs, but to reveal the hidden music of the mutations - as such motivic similarity and variation are the shared language of music and biology.  Despite the remarkable amount of change it should be appreciated that Covid-19 is in fact relatively stable, so the hope for an effective vaccine remains.

- Milton

This project tries to sonify the genetic mutations of COVID-19 as they are observed over time. The main aim of the project is to satisfy a personal curiosity and for artistic purposes. However, it is hoped that sonifying the mutations could highlight patterns that would not be picked up otherwise.

The current sonification methodology associates notes' timing to the position of the mutation within the DNA and pitch to the type of nucleotide mutation (e.g. G->A, or C->T etc). This means that the position of the mutation results in different rhythmic placement, and the type of nucleotide mutation results in different melodies.

- Enzo

To follow the project visit: miltonline.com/covid-sonify

Chorus of Changes

This is a solo performance by Samantha Muir recorded at the University of Surrey in February 2020. Sam interleaves certain pieces from Shadow Variations with her own Theme and Variations on the Dowie Dens of Yarrow. This is one of many ways that the two pieces may be performed - it is also possible, for example, to perform them simultaneously. The structure that Sam devised is as follows: Two Curves 1 - Theme - Var 1 - Var 2 - Vanishing Points 1 - Var 3 - Var 4 - Ups and Downs - Var 5 - Var 6 - Running After Riley - Var 7 - Var 8 - Var 9 - Two Curves 2.

Shadow Variations/The Dowie Dens Of Yarrow (2019)

This piece explores the modes Lydian, Ionian, Mixolydian and Dorian by using probability and Markov chains to determine the chord progression, the melody and its rhythm.

Mark Of Markov

My most recent (experimental) composition, composed for the individual project of my music project portfolio during my 3rd year at the University of Surrey. 

It engages with the norm of meta music, translation systems, morse code, MIDI letters spelling out words on the piano roll, diegetic and non-diegetic music, and the 4th wall of sound. 

Enjoy xx

OK-C12?

River Edis-Smith

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