LENDBREEN ISBRE AVSLØRER EN ANTIKK KJORTEL NÅR DEN SMELTER - Will Handysides (2013)

Recording from Premiere Performance by Trondheim Sinfonietta, conducted by Torodd Wigum at Trondheim Kunstmuseum

In late August I read an article about the Lendbreen Glacier, parts of which have been melting. A large patch of snow had melted to reveal an Iron Age tunic and several arrowheads which were about 6000 years old. This seemed a beautiful subject for a piece of music. We think of glaciers as ancient and unchanging but this story reveals that they grow and shrink; that they are, in a way, alive. My piece consists of two main elements - a cantus firmus, representing the ancient tunic and played only by bassoon, horn and viola; and the rest of ensemble who represent the glacier. I took chemical data about the change in density of water as it melts and used these numbers to inform the textural 'density' of the portion of the ensemble representing the glacier. As the piece progresses, it changes from icy to fluid, high energy to low, fast to slow, loud to quiet. The cantus firmus is only revealed at the very end when the rest of the ensemble has finally died away.
Sept. 2013

Lendbreen Isbre

During the sinking of the RMS Titanic on 15th April 1912, a string quartet was rumoured to have played the hymn 'Nearer, My God, to Thee'. Although this rumour has since been disproven by firsthand accounts, the popular tune was nonetheless included in James Cameron's 1997 film 'Titanic' as the ship sinks into the North Atlantic Ocean. The scene shows heartbreaking clips of some passengers accepting their fate whilst others try frantically to struggle into lifeboats or cling on to the vessel as she sinks. An infamous story from the event is that of Captain Edward John Smith, who bravely remained on the bridge during the evacuation. 

The cheery disposition of the piece is a reference to Hollywood and the media's sometimes careless exploitation of tragic events such as this. 

The piece uses the hexatonic scale heard in 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' (C, D, E, G, A, B in C major) and applies an alphanumeric code to the notes as they first appear in the tune/ The sequence becomes E(1), D(2), C(3), A(4), G(5), B(6). An alphanumeric code is then applied to the notes against the name E. Smith (ESMITH) dependent on the letters' place in the alphabet comparative to the rest of the letters, as shown below. 

E S M I T H 
1 5 4 3 6 2

This number code is then matched to the code created earlier detailing which notes appear in what order in the original hymn. The outcome of this is:

1 5 4 3 6 2
E G A C B D

This sequence of notes, derived from both the original hymn and the name 'E. Smith', is the sequence around which the entirety of the pitch material is based. 

Thanks to the Piatti Quartet for performing this revised/finished version of this piece in King Charles Court, 2015.

Captain E. Smith

Chronos (Orchestra)

This music was written for a trailer for JA Hayman's debut novel, the Siren Wakes.

The Siren Wakes: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Siren-Wakes-James-Hayman/dp/162135573X

The Siren Wakes

This piece is based on four paintings in the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull.

December, Work Suspended - Richard Eurich
Dorset Cove - Richard Eurich
Bamburgh Castle - Henry Redmore
Ulysses and The Sirens - Herbert James Draper

Program note to the listener:

Take a journey across seas exploring	sea towns, stormy	seas, as	well	as	
mythological	ideas surrounding	the seas.	This	communication and	exploration between the cello and piano should help tell a chronological	story and keep you captivated with different techniques. Be warned that	the sea isn’t always a calm place; it can also be very unforgiving…

Piano - Sam Mavor
Cello - Bethany Nicholson

Eternal Sea

Recording from the 'Far Far Away' concert with the Aurora Orchestra. Broadcast live on Radio 3. Performed in complete darkness.
Ensemble: Violin - Thomas Gould, Viola - Max Bailie, (solo) Cello - Oliver Coates

Echoes Through Sunken Forests: Aurora Orchestra concert 13/3/12 [With BBC Radio 3 Interview]

1 hour raw mix without spoken word of this month's radio show on 199.

MEACH May Radio Show - 199Radio

FLIGHT

This track was made for a re-score university assignment of My Cousin Rachel (2017)

The Beach (My Cousin Rachel) Re-score

Music commissioned by the Illuminated River Project for Cannon Street Bridge

Illuminated River Music

Alight - Cannon Street Bridge

Piano: Graziana Presicce
University of Hull

Rachmaninoff Etude - Tableaux Op.33 N.4 - G Presicce

Sandy Clark, born in Sheffield in 1993, is a British composer currently studying for a PhD in Composition at the University of Hull. Last year, he undertook an MMus in Composition at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance under the supervision of Stephen Montague. Having graduated from the University of Hull in 2014 with First Class (Hons) degree in Music, Sandy has returned to Hull to undertake his PhD. Past performance venues of Sandy's work have been the University of Leeds, the University of Hull, Blackheath Halls, Trinity College of Music and the University of China, HK. Sandy's musical influences include Benjamin Britten, Dario Marianelli, John Adams and many others.

Captain E. Smith

Sandy Clark

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