Music

The MAK project :

This piece was created from the material of a music installation for ten CD loops playing simultaneously in five rooms.

MAK
total duration (on 4 CDs) 4:11:33
10 Nov.'99 - Pyhra. Dedicated to Nye Parry.
This is a stereo realisation of a 10 CD music installation created for the band Icebreaker's three day festival, in association with the Wiener Musik Galerie, at the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK), Vienna, in October 1999. The installation was originally intended to be two simultaneous CD 'loops' in each of five gallery rooms around the concert space. This became three rooms, an interior balcony and a loo.

This version is produced specifically for the download market - there are no nice overlapping cross-fades between CDs - it is a continuous 4 hour piece split into 27 parts.

The unedited orginal recording is available as a box set of 4 CDs.

The MAK project
RW-1-03-022.1/.2/ [4cd box]

CD1 : Total time 66’15“

01 MAK (part 1) 9'40"
02 MAK (part 2) 9'38"
03 MAK (part 3) 9'36"
04 MAK (part 4) 9'34"
05 MAK (part 5) 9'14"
06 MAK (part 6) 9'05"
07 MAK (part 7) 9'27"

CD2 : Total time 56’03“

01 MAK (part 8) 9'28"
02 MAK (part 9) 9'29"
03 MAK (part 10) 9'30"
04 MAK (part 11) 9'31"
05 MAK (part 12) 9'11"
06 MAK (part 13) 8'53"

The MAK project
RW-1-03-022/.3/.4 [4cd box]

CD3 : Total time 63’30“

01 MAK (part 14) 9'10"
02 MAK (part 15) 9'09"
03 MAK (part 16) 9'08"
04 MAK (part 17) 9'07"
05 MAK (part 18) 9'06"
06 MAK (part 19) 9'05"
07 MAK (part 20) 8'43"

CD4 : Total time 65’53“

01 MAK (part 21) 9'10"
02 MAK (part 22) 9'30"
03 MAK (part 23) 9'29"
04 MAK (part 24) 9'27"
05 MAK (part 25) 9'26"
06 MAK (part 26) 9'25"
07 MAK (part 27) 9'24"

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music for flesh & blood, once removed - 1 :

Tape realizations of instrumental music, with or without tape parts, composed for various ensembles or individuals.

1-2. Dentistry 31.5
(12 Sept. 2001 - Pyhra)

~ for flute & tape, in collaboration with James Poke ~

It is said that this piece has a long and winding history, but I don't know it. What I do know is that James came to me with a finished flute solo ('31 short pieces') and asked that we collaborate on a tape part for it. The result was first performed by Lewis Mitchell, flute, on 15 Dec. '02, Rookery Hill Farm, Dorking. (I don't know if this counts as a 'first performance', it was my 50th birthday concert for invited guests.)

3. (Parp) On The Rug
(4 Apr. 1990 - Chingford)

~ for harp & piano ~

Originally written for the two instruments plus white noise from a de-tuned radio, but after the first performance I quickly dropped the noise as it drowned out the nice playing and ringing after-tones.
I later re-used the runs from the opening and closing bars, but cramped, stretched and abused, in the piece Telling Fibs (1996).
It was first performed by Dominic Saunders, piano, & Hugh Webb, harp, on 10 July '90, at the British Music Information Centre, London.

4-5. Strungout Boeing
(25 Oct. 1997 - Westcott)

~ for vibraphone, piano, marimba and reverb ~

The first of three tracks on this CD based on the music of Henry Purcell.
This is from ‘In Nomine 1 - in six parts’ for Viols, Z.746, more or less simultaneously laid out backwards and forwards, messed with a bit and then ‘smeared’ across the page. It was first performed by: Elizabeth Hardy,piano; Kate Openshaw, marimba; & Alasdair Kelly, vibes, in 'The World of Mel' concert, 23 Nov. '00, Opera Studio, RSAMD, Glasgow.

6. Warm Gods
(27 Sept. 2001 - Pyhra)

~ for soprano sax, vibraphone, electric guitar, and electric bass ~

Another Purcell assisted piece, the opening chords are derived from Z.746 (again) but the solo was dice assisted, strained from a very early work of mine based on the throw of a dice (Random DC, '80). Pete Wilson asked me to write this for the band Subdivo's first concert, the brief was for 'about five minutes' and as I am not used to producing short works, I still think this sounds like the introduction to something bigger.
First performed by: Pete Wilson, bass; David Arrowsmith, guitar; Alex Neal, vibes; & Christian Forshaw, sop. sax - 'Subdivo', on 31 Jan. '02, at The Spitz, London.

7-8. vile intentions
(18 Mar. 2003 - Pyhra)

~ for saxophone quartet (soprano, alto, tenor, & baritone) ~

After seeing The Delta Saxophone Quartet near my home in Austria, I was motivated to write this for them (plus I knew one of the players - don't mock, it all helps). I have a copy of Henry Purcell's 'Fantazias and In Nomines' for Viols (Edition Eulenburg) that I am in the process of working through, to date I have reworked 6 of the 16 pieces.
This is taken from 'Fantazia #9', Z.740 and is written in the 'strungout' style. It remains unperformed but I have also produced a version for string quartet, so who knows.

9-10. Greek Princess II
(13 Feb. 1997 - Westcott)

~ for multiples of 4, any instruments, with or without the tape 'Olitsky' ~

Greek Princess (I) was written for violin, synth & tape for Jo Parker, for a violin recital (Feb. '87, Lyons Concert Hall, York, with John Godfrey, synth.) and was later performed (11 March '89, same venue) by six strings, each of the two lines played by three strings.
In '97 Bob Gilmore asked for a copy of this for a concert at Dartington and I decided to formalize the piece into this four line version. It is essentially the same thing as GPI with a few changes. Unfortunately the concert fell through and this version is as yet unperformed.

music for flesh & blood, once removed - 1
RW-1-03-023

01 Dentistry 31.5 (part 1) 5'15"
02 Dentistry 31.5 (part 2) 6'19"

03 (Parp) On The Rug 8'44"

04 Strungout Boeing (part 1) 7'20"
05 Strungout Boeing (part 2) 7'39"

06 Warm Gods 5'08"

07 vile intentions (part 1) 6'26"
08 vile intentions (part 2) 7'42"

09 Greek Princess II (part 1) 9'59"
10 Greek Princess II (part 2) 9'59"

Total time 74’16“

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Playing with Henry - 1 :

This is a micro-tonal piece (180 notes per octave) based on 'Fantazia #8, in 4 parts Z.739', by Henry Purcell.

the latest of an occasional ongoing series of works based on
the collection 'Fantazias and In Nomines, for strings' by Henry
Purcell. Started in 1988, the series so far consists of 13 pieces, including several for ’tape’ and works for various small ensembles.
This piece is based on 'Fantazia #8, in 4 parts Z.739', it uses prime numbers to determine structure and tuning (180 notes per octave).

Tuning:
There are 15 voices, each tuned to an individual setting:
0/+3 cents/-5 cents/+7/-11/+13/-17/+19/-23/+29/-31/+37/-41/+43 and -47 cents.
A new line/voice entry is written in at every bar with a prime
number. The voices are introduced one at a time. The voice tuned 0 at bar 1, the next, tuned -5 cents, at bar 2, the next, tuned +3, at bar 3, the next, tuned -11, at bar 5, the next, +7, at bar 7, the next, -17 at 11, the next at 13 etc. After the fifteenth entry additional lines are played by one of the previous voices.

Sound:
The prime numbered bars are also used as end or start points for sound changes. These are staggered across the lines/voices to create a pattern of slowly changing textures, the slowest change taking fourteen minutes or so.

Structure:
The original Purcell (48 bars) is stretched to last 73 minutes (96 bars + 1 for fade out), these bars are used as reference points for the voice entries.
These original Purcell four lines are the core of the piece, from which is generated further material to allow for the 15 individually tuned voices/lines. Four of these are simply the piece backwards, four are an inversion around D2 and the further three (four) an inversion around C3 (the sixteenth line is played by one of the fifteen voices).
The process is manipulated and the pitches are transposed up or down by octave as and when required.

With the exception of the first 4 lines (the original Purcell, with each of the string lines slightly manipulated to conform to the first 4 voice entry points), each new line is stretched to fit the allowed bar count (determined by prime numbers). i.e. the line entering at bar 7 is stretched to fit 89 bars, the line entering at bar 11 is stretched to fit 85 bars, etc. up to the required 15 voices. From then on any new lines introduced are copies from the previous fifteen, but stretched appropriately from their point of entry.
There are 25 entries/lines, determined by the 25 prime numbers between 1 and 89 (inclusive).
The pitch material is aligned to produce a chord cluster at the end of the piece that fades to bar/prime number 97 (73 minutes).

Playing with Henry - 1
RW-1-03-024

01 Primarily Henry (part 1) 8'57"
02 Primarily Henry (part 2) 9'10"
03 Primarily Henry (part 3) 9'13"
04 Primarily Henry (part 4) 9'08"
05 Primarily Henry (part 5) 9'12"
06 Primarily Henry (part 6) 9'05"
07 Primarily Henry (part 7) 9'11"
08 Primarily Henry (part 8) 9'04"

Total time 73’02“

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The Ambiotic Research Test v3.1 :

WKM: with Ernst Zettl and Wolgang Reisinger

A reincarnation of Wiener Klang Manufaktur recorded in the studio and live at the Jazz4burg Festival 2000, Austria.

WKM: The Wiener Klang Manufaktur is a project set up by Ernst Zettl for various live performances with often changing personnel. This version was for a concert at the Jazz4Burg Festival in Heunburg, Kärnten, Austria. An interesting aspect for us was that we were playing on a stage suspended from the roof by four wires, any 'violent' movement (such as walking) caused the stage to swing about.

WKM for the Ambiotic Research Test v3.1 :

Ernst Zettl : electric violin, virtual string,
electronics. http://members.tiscali.at/zettl

Wolfgang Reisinger : drums, percussion, electronics.
www.wolfgang-reisinger.com

Mel : tapes and tape-mixing.

CD 1 : recorded 3rd & 4th August 2000 at Wolfgang’s studio.
CD 2 : recorded 6th August 2000, live at the Jazz4burg festival.

The Ambiotic Research Test v3.1
RW-1-03-025.1/.2

RW-1-03-025.1: Total time 68’28“

01 ART 3.1 studio - one 9'44
02 ART 3.1 studio - two 4'34"
03 ART 3.1 studio - three 8'35"
04 ART 3.1 studio - four 5'04"
05 ART 3.1 studio - five 9'25"
06 ART 3.1 studio – six 8'13"
07 ART 3.1 studio - seven 4'07"
08 ART 3.1 studio – eight (part 1) 8'50"
09 ART 3.1 studio – eight (part 2) 9'54"

RW-1-03-025.2: Total time 79’56“

01 ART 3.1 live set 1 (part 1) 9'39"
02 ART 3.1 live set 1 (part 2) 9'36"
03 ART 3.1 live set 1 (part 3) 9'31"
04 ART 3.1 live set 1 (part 4) 9'44"
05 ART 3.1 live set 1 (part 5) 9'37"
06 ART 3.1 live set 1 (part 6) 9'39"


07 ART 3.1 live set 2 (part 1) 7'27"
08 ART 3.1 live set 2 (part 2) 7'23"
09 ART 3.1 live set 2 (part 3) 7'18"

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music for flesh & blood, 2 - tape parts :

Just the tape parts for instrumental music composed for various
ensembles or individuals.

1-2. Illumination (23 Sept. 2004 - Pyhra)
(for viola &) tape.
In the beginning of 2001 I was asked for a 30 minute
solo and tape piece which didn’t happen, but I had outlined the piece and had produced 50% of the tape part by July that year when it was shelved. Elisabeth Smalt asked me for a viola piece a year or so later and I was reminded of that unfinished work, but it was a while before I dusted-off the hard-drive and set about completing the idea and cutting it by half. The viola part is from a slowed-down Muslim ‘call to prayer’ and the shipping forecasts are from BBC Radio 4,
05.30 (GMT) broadcasts, 24th Jan. to 14th Feb. 2000. As I write this (Oct. '04) I have recently finished the work and it is more or less as I imagined it back in '01, but had I finished the original piece quickly, say by 11 September, it might have been quite topical.
That program note was written a few years ago, since which there have been versions for solo violin, ’cello and guitar - but the tape remains the same.
First performed by Elizabeth Smalt on May 13th, 2008, at De Badcuyp, Amsterdam, as part of a Trio Scordatura concert in the Karnatic Lab series.

3-5. Naked Beach (Nearly) (12 Nov. 1999 - Pyhra.)
For tape.
Originally for Beach 14 May 1985 - York)
For tape, live electronics and amplified: solo reed instrument, piano, and 2 percussionists.
To date the solo for the live piece has been played by
oboe, clarinet and tenor sax, each producing an interesting variation (the instrumental parts are semi-improvised). The percussionists play a combination of the usual percussion instruments plus a collection of any junk that the performers can collect, some of which have been hub caps (of course), bottles, boxes, springs, metal sheets and lumps, and once, a bath and a washing machine. Great noise.
This is the original tape part but with a new intro mixed in,
produced for the first (self burned) version of the MAK cd.
Beach was first performed at the Lyons Concert Hall, York, on 20th June 1985.

6-7. Zettl variations - 3 (23 Nov. 1999 - Pyhra.)
For (electric violin, the ’virtual string’ &) tape.
One of three example tape parts produced for the Wiener
Klang Manufaktur‘s The Relativ Violin Night performance with Ernst Zettl (7th Dec. 1999, Radiokulturhaus, Vienna). The version used for the concert was a live mix of the 8-track master for all three. It was produced from various recordings of Ernst and other violin bits and pieces.
The ’virtual string’ is a midi controller developed by Ernst and
information about this can be found on his web-site: http://
members.tiscali.at/zettl.

8-10. Live Arc (14 Sept. 1999 - Pyhra.)
For (WX synth, tenor sax, electric ’cello, piano, vibraphone,
electric guitar, &) tape.
This composition was developed from an earlier tape piece called Arc One (1996) which is almost twice as long, with some of the tracks being created with help of Henry Purcell‘s ’Fantazia upon One Note’, Z.745. I was asked to create a shorter instrumental piece from this for the band Icebreaker's three day festival at the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK), and the Purcell tracks became the instrumental parts for the new work. It was first performed by the Merkin Zimmer ensemble at the MAK, Vienna, on 8th October 1999. The tape part opens with a slight remix of the intro to the piece Fazed Dog/The Letter (1992) but fairly quickly grows into something else with the help of a visit to a Dundee games arcade and various other bits of material.

music for flesh & blood, 2 - tape parts
RW-1-03-026

01 Illumination (Tape part) (part 1) 6'14"
02 Illumination (Tape part) (part 2) 5'57"


03 Naked Beach (nearly) (part 1) 6'36
04 Naked Beach (nearly) (part 2) 7'40"
05 Naked Beach (nearly) (part 3) 6'34"


06 Zettl variation 3 (part 1) 9'59"
07 Zettl variation 3 (part 2) 9'59"


08 Live Arc (Tape part) (part 1) 8'24"
09 Live Arc (Tape part) (part 2) 8'56"
10 Live Arc (Tape part) (part 3) 9'02

Total time 79’27“

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