The Scottish Arts Council (soon to become Creative Scotland) have granted funds to commission four new works  (two for contrabass flute and electronics, one for bass flute and sound objects and lastly one for contrabass flute and voice), in parternship with the SOUND festival, Kingston University London and Aberdeen University. The aim for the commissions is to develop the repertoire for the lower instruments in both the acoustic and electroacoustic mediums. The first part of the project will be realised in 2010, SOUND festival, Aberdeen, in which the works by Diana Salazar and Pete Stollery (both for contrabass flute and electronics), will be  premiered. Other performances of these works include Kingston University, London. The remaining two works (Malin Bång, Bass flute and sound objects) and Esaias Järnegard (Contrabass flute and voice ((Cora Schmeiser)) will be premiered in Gothenburg in May 2011, and also in SOUND 2011.

Not often found on the concert platform, the bassflute and contrabass flute are valuable additions to the instrumentarium and these commissions afford the time to collaborate on the untapped potential of the instruments, as well as presenting the composer, the audience and the musicians with exciting new combinations and directions.

In this edition of the festival, Richard initiates a flute workshop workshop on contemporary flute and intepretation. This is open to all ages and levels and there will be a performance of Ken Dempster’s new work at the end of the course. Other concerts include the UK premiere of Ramon Lazkano’s ERROBI 1 for flute and piano, accompanied by Laura Baxter, and an inaguaral concert at the Clashnettie centre for arts.

ORDER del I for flute and percussion is a large scale project initiated by Esaias Järnegard, Richard Craig and Pontus Langendorf (rùin). What follows is a brief introduction of the work, and excerpts of the concert are appended below. As yet, it is the largest project I have undertaken, which looks likely to continue into several other works. The musical excerpts are quite brief in comparison to the length of the work (circa 30 minutes), but they offer an insight into the writing and immediacy of the music.

It was Pontus Langendorf (now a member of KROUMATA) who came across Järnegard and commissioned a solo percussion work “UTTAL”. The latter was premiered in CAPITOL, February, 2009, under the auspices of Samtida Musik alongside works by Barrett and Sköld, and it was clear then that the somewhat brutal (in the sense of economy of means and resources) UTTAL was the gestation of a language that Pontus and I would engage with and extend, thus it was decided that we would collaborate on a duo work.

Language

Over the weeks after the concert, an author by the name of Lars Norén (pictured above) became a focus of this new work. As a stranger to Swedish literature, the enigmatic ( obstinate?), nature of Lorén and his work was certainly something that I felt drawn to, more so since it was the first meeting of Swedish culture which seemed to resonate, or had in some way a synergy in what I wanted to achieve in my own work.

The dialogue during the preliminary development, which was from around March until July 2009, was mainly concerned with texts in Swedish and the collection of works under the title “ORDER” by Norén. The architecture and reduced style of Norén in ORDER was to be the binding material, as well as our reactions/perceptions of Norén’s prose. From a perspective of an foreigner who had taken Swedish as his working language, it proved difficult to share the meanings and rhythms that are inherent in poetry that mother tongue speakers would detect. In the end, it was in fact the disconnection and alienation which was already inherent in the texts which eventually yielded meaning and purpose,  in tandem with the rhythmically terse poems. I learned anew, or uncovered a language within a language, which one can apply to the unfolding of ORDER the duo and the syntax it forces the listener to absorb during the 30mins. Norén’s deprivation of the familiar and the monolithic, stélé-like texts which proliferate the pages of ORDER offer a path, albeit an unknown one. One could say that my separation, my remoteness to the language, was the catalyst to understanding the import of ORDER the duo, and the resultant instrumental writing.

Öland

The first rehearsals of ORDER took place on Öland, August 2009: a thin strip of land, off the southern east coast of Sweden, in a small cottage that had just been renovated. The solemn stone grey of the new plaster of the room was a propitious beginning for the piece and undoubtedly an influence on the eventual staging of the premiere, notwithstanding the bleached limestone and barren nature of the coastline facing out to the Baltic. The most enduring recollection of that time is the silence, or muteness of the island- a weight that intensified the scraping and whistling of ORDER del 1.

Excavation

Sonically, the limitations which are imposed upon the palette of sounds are in themselves a feat if one thinks of the various possibilities and temptations that a composer faces when writing for flute. The question is then, why is there such a rigorous, almost maniacal control over sonority in both instruments? As the performer my answer would be that ORDER erodes away any hope and security of a familiar language or signpost en route; instead there is a conscious forging of a new syntax: focused, sharp and uncompromising. The musicians are left to carve away the structures both physically and mentally, etching a shape with incessant tapping gestures – one could say that it was akin to an excavation or uncovering of an archaeological find; the form of which became encrusted and contorted over time, slowly being returned to something resembling the original object.

Languages of the course can be in Swedish, French or English. All levels considered . The location of these classes will either be in Sweden or the U.K. please register for more information!

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New Music for Scotland, Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh

Conrad Wilson, The Glasgow Herald.

Star Rating: ****

Published on 27 Oct 2009

The ever-adventurous Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust celebrated its 30th birthday with a big concert, bulging with interesting commissions and first performances, delivered free to a large, intent audience by an expert trio of Scottish or Scottish-based instrumentalists.

Simon Smith, virtuoso of the extremities (and innards) of the piano, and every timbre a modern composer might desire to draw from it, strung the evening together. Richard Craig (flute) and cellist Sua Lee were his expressive partners. Lots of tiny piano pieces and other odds and ends – Howard Skempton’s Six Figures sounded like a Bach cello suite compressed into almost nothing – kept the action moving. Edward Harper’s Nocturne, dreamy, sometimes troubled music played in his memory by the flutist and pianist, had more substance.

Chris Lyons’s Rhythmismus was all sharp shards of piano tone. Jane Stanley’s Gathering went through the motions of a spectral, abstract dance, drifting into silence. Helen Grime’s Ten Miniatures emerged like a trail of clues, or fragments of a jigsaw which, along with contributions from Maeve Gilchrist, David Fennessy and James Clapperton, gained shape as George Crumb’s Voice of the Whale, the main (and long established) work in the programme.

Performing in blue semi-darkness, and depersonalising themselves behind masks, the players evoked the songs of the humpbacked whale through softly mewing cello tone, the stroking of piano strings and the voice of the flutist gently moaning into his instrument. Crumb, an American master of strange and magical sounds, was here at his early best, as atmospheric now as 40 years ago.

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New Music for Scotland ****
Queens Hall

New musicians a hit with skilled displays

By Josie Balfour, The Scotsman

Published on 27 Oct 2009

NEW Music for Scotland is perhaps one of the best introductions to contemporary classical music there is. Entry is free, the audience is relaxed and friendly, and the pieces are short and engaging. It’s a chance for people to experience the flavour of emerging trends in musical composition and discover new, up and coming artists.

And, as much of the music is commissioned specifically for the event by organiser ECAT (formerly known as the Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust), many of the composers are on hand to discuss the inspiration behind their works. With seasoned compere and journalist Janice Forsyth drawing information out of them on behalf of the audience, there was an air of informality and intimacy about last night’s event.

Opening the proceedings with works by two new Edinburgh composers barely into their 20s, Chris Lyons and Maeve Gilchrist, pianist Simon Smith tackled the demands of each score with confident nonchalance.

Lyons’ Rhythmismus was an enticing juxtaposition of Cuban Jazz accents within the framework of serialism.

Gilchrist’s work, Sail, by contrast had a more wistful air, embracing her firm folk roots and exploring a strong sea theme.

Performing James Dillon’s 1984 flute solo Sgothan, or cloud, a last minute replacement for Carceri D’Invenzione 2c, flautist Richard Craig brought an energetic dynamism to the piece. Working in conjunction with Dillon over several years, Craig has imbued the fleeting, conversational riffs that make up the piece’s 24 parts with an ambitious physical vitality. His choice of utilising six music stands to play the work rather than employing a page-turner adding an aspect of movement that aided the composition’s airy momentum.

Completing the evening’s trio of musicians was cellist Su-A Lee, performing Howard Skempton’s Six Figures for cello suite. Ably marrying the piece’s technical demands, Skempton designed the suite to lay out the elements of cello technique. With Bach-like interludes Lee, brought a spunky, charismatic quality to the work.

Following Lee, Simon Smith returned to the stage to perform two more new piano solos. The first of which, a 4-minute work by David Fennessy, has been created as a tribute to the poet and playwright Tom McGrath, who died earlier this year. Based on Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Fennessy’s The First Thing, The Last Thing and Everything In Between attempts to capture the intangible essence of McGrath’s life through one of the writer’s own muses.

Contrasting nicely, Helen Grime’s 10 miniatures for solo piano returned attention to the themes of evolution and musical exploration. It was a theme also picked up by Jane Stanley’s post interval work, Gathering, crafted by the composer as a diverting, sprightly contribution.

James Clapperton’s Koshki, or Cats, departed from this idea, however, with a contemplative, abstract effort to trap the essence of a capricious feline.

Ending the evening George Crumb’s equally ethereal Vox Balaenae, the musicians formed a trio getting to grips with the challenging task of mimicking the sound of humpback whale song.

Star rating: ****

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Alongside this he will also give a class in Washington University on contemporary performance practice and the implications of writing for the flute, with reference to the substantial contributions my major composers to the repertoire.

Thursday, Oct. 15 @ 8pm

Chapel Performance Space

Good Shepherd Center
4649 Sunnyside Ave. N, 4th Floor, Seattle, USA.

Co-presented by Jack Straw Productions and Nonsequitur, the series is co-sponsored by 4Culture.

Musical Pointers
“Just a few notes of Dillon’s Sgothan, suffused with ground-breaking multiple techniques, instilled confidence that this was a musician who would give an exemplary account of the standard flute repertoire too…. Craig is a worthy heir to UK’s Nancy Ruffer of the older generation and Mario Caroli of the younger flute virtuosi on the continent.”
27/01/2005 Peter Grahame Woolf