Five Pieces

Jester's Jig, feat. Daniela Kohnen (viola) & Tilmann Albrecht (piano)

My Soul is Yearning For You, feat. Daniela Kohnen (viola) & Tilmann Albrecht (piano)

This piece explores the colours of the electric guitar through using Jeff Beck's technique of striking a chord, and then increasing the volume dial.  Performed here by the wonderful Martin John Milner.

Beck's Dream perf. by Martin John Milner

A quartet from Potsdam Music School performed this piece at the MBS Competition in Potsdam in 2008 and won the first prize (Justus Boehncke  (viola), Johannes Fröhlich (violin), another violinist and Lucas Grey (cello). 
The rhythmic drive shifting between 6/8 and 3/4 helps to push the music forwards. On writing it, I imagined an old steam train speeding through the countryside.

String Quartet: Vigoroso

One of the main compositional concerns regarding Shishmaref was to find a suitable melancholic text that reflected common people’s fears about climate change and their disillusionment with the steps world governments are taking. I finally settled on a poem
by Martin John Milner that describes the startling effects of climate change on the village of Shishmaref in Alaska, where, due to the melting of the permafrost and the increase
in sea levels causing an increase in the tidal surges, the coastline has been eroding at an alarming rate. Even the name of the village, ‘Shishmaref’, suggested the sea to me and I found the lyrics to be a source of musical inspiration. The challenge was to create images
and feelings through the music: the unsettling, unnerving sense of imminent doom, the feeling of the sea gradually submerging the land. 
This recording features Angela Baier-Banthien (soprano) and Susan Handy (piano). The cover art is by Maggie Organ.

Shishmaref feat. Angela Baier-Banthien (soprano) & Susan Handy (piano)

Dark eyes may see is the last song of the triptych. I wanted this final song, in spite of the bleak news regarding climate change, to somehow be a beacon of hope and also a call for individual reflection and action. In the first line of the text ‘Turn to grow dark eyes may see,’ the words are chosen for their vowel sounds, the varied, ever changing vowel sounds bring out the different qualities of the singer’s voice. This lyric from Martin John Milner gave me a starting point for my further lyrics and provided the inspiration I needed to write the rest of the text. This recording features Angela Baier-Banthien (soprano) and Susan Handy (piano). The cover art is by Maggie Organ.

Dark Eyes May See feat. Angela Baier-Banthien (soprano) and Susan Handy (piano)

Icicles was written after a discussion with my son, Theo, about climate change and whether or not we would see an icicle again, although if the gulf stream permanently moves, we may well see a lot of them. I composed the piece for Connie Xu  for her 'Oberstufenabschluss' which is the equivalent of violin grade 8 in the UK, it is the middle movement of a group of three pieces called 'Caputher Colours'. The use harmonics represents the ghost of the icicle. The sheet music can be bought from Hofmeister Verlag:
https://www.hofmeister-musikverlag.com/caputher-colours.html?___store=english&___from_store=german#

Icicles as performed by Connie Xu and Cornelia Silber

'Purple Groove' was inspired by the interplay between the major and minor 3rd in the opening chord of Jimi Hendrix's 'Purple Haze'. It is the first of three pieces called Caputher Colours and is motivically linked to the last piece in the series 'Gotta Catch it'. The sheet music can be bought from Hofmeister Verlag:
https://www.hofmeister-musikverlag.com/caputher-colours.html?___store=english&___from_store=german

Caputher Colours

Purple Groove as performed by Connie Xu and Cornelia Silber

Gotta Catch it is the third piece in the series 'Caputher Colours.  It is clearly linked to 'Purple Groove' through its motifs, hemiola rhythms and free quote from Purple Groove towards the end.  The piece was written in a frenzy to finish it for a tight deadline, I think you can hear the adrenaline in the music!

Gotta Catch It performed by Connie Xu and Cornelia Silber

Composed for a choir exchange between Igualada and the Junge Kantorei choir of the Evangelisches Gymnasium Hermannswerder, performed here together with the professional quartet Bb major with help from the youth choir in the rhythm section.  The piece combines original material with the interweaving of different Catalonian folk songs. The cover art work is by Margaret Organ.

Catalonian Playground -Junge Kantorei, Bb major Quartet, Igualada Comm.Choir.Cond. Matthias Salge

Martin Milner wrote the text for 'No-one wants to go by foot' and it is inspired by Greta Thunberg, the Fridays for Future school strikes and the German aphorist, Werner Mitsch -
 https://nachhaltig4future.de/alle-wollen-zurueck-zur-natur-aber-keiner-zu-fuss-werner-mitsch/
The chorus: 'Everyone I know wants to get back to nature, but no-one wants to go by foot' is a translation of the German aphorist's text. 
It was written especially for the big band 'Jazzy Insula' of the German school Ev.Gym Hermannswerder, Potsdam -DE, a school which has regularly won Potsdam's climate prize for its efforts in dealing with the climate crisis. It is a challenge to all of us, are we prepared to go by foot and cut out the luxuries which we have got so used to in order to save our planet from environmental catastrophe?

No-one wants to go by Foot

I composed this piece for my daughter's confirmation mass. Parents and friends made up the choir and ensemble.

Gloria

I am posting some of my compositions on this page.  Many thanks to all of the performers who have allowed me to post these recordings and to Margaret Organ for the cover art!

If anyone would like to contact me for more information about obtaining scores/parts, please write to:  
r.gramann.composer@gmail.com

I studied my Bachelors in Music and French and Goldsmiths College, University of London and my Masters in Composition at Birmingham University.  My composition mentors for my Masters were Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Thiel and Michael Zev Gordon.

ruth gramann

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