Quatuor Bozzini
Musicon, Durham, UK
20 November 2018 (world premiere)

recording and mixing: Mike Worboys

Leafleoht (the title means 'leaf-light' in Anglo-Saxon) arose from a memory-image of wind in the leaves of a hedge near the sea, the intricate and supple motions of the leaves, and bright (morning) sunlight refracting through the plant and reflecting off the leaf surfaces. This image is the focus of the first part of the piece; the second part is more serene and still (perhaps airier, or more concerned with the light alone) and the last is an extremely soft trembling, as of grass. The musical materials are elemental: different lengths and types of bowstroke creating different rhythmic lines and textures; Just Intonation harmony founded on the open strings of the instruments; whistling and murmured speech alongside the playing. As with other recent pieces I am interested in our relationship to what we call the natural world, specifically our embeddedness or indwelling within it. Each part is a single image; as the critic Adrian Searle wrote about an exhibition of Bridget Riley (quoted in the spoken text of the third part), the music attempts 'just to be here, in this light'.

Leafleoht

Staircase Wit (2017/18) by Lise Morrison

Performed by The Freesound Ensemble:

Paolo Griffin – Conductor/Artistic Director, Tristan Durie – Alto flute, Olivia Shortt – Bass clarinet, Kevin Harris – Bassoon, Rachel Côté – Horn in F, Brayden Friesen – Trombone, Todd Yaniw – Piano, Aysel Taghi-Zada – Violin I, Adrian Irvine – Violin II, Matthew Antal – Viola, Evan Lamberton – Violoncello. Dave Riedstra – Contrabass

Performed on March 27, 2019 at Arrayspace in Toronto.

Lise Morrison - Staircase Wit (Ensemble Version)

a study of gentle and lilting arpeggiation, through repetition and subtle variation. Working with this material, I was drawn to treating it with delicate care and an intuitive sense of humanity. The kindness and patience of others toward their art became a stimulus for my approach in this music.

Performed by Mira Benjamin and Philip Thomas at Music We'd Like to Hear in London on Friday 5th July 2019. 

Mixed by Adam Webster.

kindly, softly

Ensemble contemporain de Montréal (ECM+)
Véronique Lacroix, cond.

le contrat social (2000)

Please, use headphones or good loudspeakers.

They left us grief-trees wailing at the wall (2020), for 9 amplified instruments
Commissioned by Ars Nova Ensemble Instrumental, The Riot Ensemble, and Wien Modern

Live Recording, Riot Ensemble, 12 November 2020, London

They left us grief-trees wailing at the wall (2020), for 9 amplified instruments

Israel Castillo - Viola da Gamba
Holger Kaasik - Cello
Jan Foote - Electric Guitar

Ubald's Dream

Freesound is a concert series based in Toronto, Canada.

Dedicated to ambitious, experimental, and innovative programming, Freesound presents concerts focusing on contemporary music for large ensemble as well as hosting and curating guest artists and ensembles from across Canada and around the world.

Aristic/Music Director: Paolo Griffin

Lise Morrison - Staircase Wit (Ensemble Version)

Freesound

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