This is my first true experiment with composing graphic scores, and I was so lucky to have the amazing Joanna Ward and Bella Dalliston to perform it with me. The score varies from scatterings of notes and gestures of paint to specific textual instructions and inquiries into personal experiences and emotions. It was such a great experience to be able to put it together and actually have it performed, and I hope it can be performed in so many different ways in the future. The score can be performed as a whole, or as any combination of the movements, and by any three performers. If you want to ask more about the piece or how the score came together please just get in touch! Performed by Joanna Ward (piano, voice), Bella Dalliston (voice, amplified voice) and myself (vibraphone, voice) in Jesus College Chapel as part of the Alternative Lessons & Carols concert organised by The Mermaid Café on 26.11.18.

1. how has a person important to you made you feel today?

emagehtnurseulb is a short sound collage / soundscape, compiling and manipulating recordings made on location in Bruges, Belgium as well as different versions of pop and folk songs which I recorded with my group @themermaidcafe. Through combining recognisable with more obfuscated sounds, the piece aims to create a unique sound narrative for the listener which is simultaneously discombobulating and comforting. The work was selected for exhibition at the 2019 John Hughes Arts Festival, held in The Forum at Jesus College, Cambridge.

emagehtnurseulb

I wanted to explore the power of noise, both as an oppressive tool, and as a site of sonic resistance // I wanted to explore voices (specifically in a piece written for instrumentalists) / how voices are silenced / how silence can be powerful and defiant // I wanted to be angry // I wanted to pay tribute to one of the main influences in my life without stealing her voice to be used in some vague political statement // I wanted people to be confused // I wanted to explore how the song black is the colour of my true love’s hair has been used by different people throughout history to resist and to articulate identity // I wanted to explore how sound can overwhelm and suffocate // I wanted the performers to be challenged and empowered // I wanted to see how different voices transform the same idea // I wanted to find intimacy in a fucked up world // I wanted people to listen to Nina //


*		*	     *        are you ready to burn buildings was premiered in Jesus College Chapel, Cambridge,  on 01.03.19, conducted by Tom Edney.

are you ready to burn buildings

It was such a pleasure to be able to write this piece for AATTBarB choir to be premiered by members of my own choir whilst on a short tour at Gloucester Cathedral. The score combines more conventional notation with elements of improvisation and vocal manipulation. If you want to perform the piece do get in touch and I can send you the score!

* * * setmeasaseal was kindly commissioned by Brian and Haley Woods-Lustig, and premiered by the gentlemen of Jesus College Choir, Cambridge, on 09.07.19 at Gloucester Cathedral.

setmeasaseal

four looper songs

a series of scatterings / improvisations / sketches / wrong notes

recorded on 07.07.19 in jesus college chapel, cambridge

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looper song one - and I think you always will

'you love him so deeply
and I think you always will'
10.10.17

looper song one - and I think you always will

four looper songs

a series of scatterings / improvisations / sketches / wrong notes

recorded on 07.07.19 in jesus college chapel, cambridge

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looper song two - finding their own contradictions

(instrumental)

looper song two - finding their own contradictions

four looper songs

a series of scatterings / improvisations / sketches / wrong notes

recorded on 07.07.19 in jesus college chapel, cambridge

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looper song three - unintentional attempts to not make music

(instrumental)

looper song three - unintentional attempts to not make music

four looper songs

a series of scatterings / improvisations / sketches / wrong notes

recorded on 07.07.19 in jesus college chapel, cambridge

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looper song four - a sideways knowing glance

i do not know why or how 
you have made me feel

but in the silences between our moments together
my words of confusion and sympathy 
are scrawled across the map 
upon which i sketched your face twice
as she did before me

i do not know what it is 
which so tears and folds
at your presence in this room

a sideways 
knowing glance
of invitation and empathy
lights up your eyes and
saunters between their 
orange crinkles 
i share with you these 
fragments of knowing

i know this should not exist 
i know not why this feeling is
so hard
but find comfort in 
the songs you play in my head
late at night when we both should be sleeping

you are everything i wish
i was and more 
and yet
will never know
what i see in your eyes

and as i trace your fingertips
with my eyes
speaking volumes about
what could and couldn’t be

i realise

we are both lost
in the dreams of others 
touching our hearts

looper song four - a sideways knowing glance

come with *us*

for a walk in the woods

for a blustery day out

there are big things
there are small things
small things with big noises and big things with little tiny noises
and wonderful people

(headphones required)

A Blustery Day Out

young composer / artist from South East London 

singer - drummer / percussionist - guitarist

1/2 of https://soundcloud.com/themermaidcafe

contact: ruarilpa@gmail.com

they/them

https://ruarilpa.wordpress.com/

Tracks by Ruari Paterson-Achenbach