I recently upgraded my soundcard at home and have been experimenting with multitracked recordings of various pieces. It's an interesting question to me whether a multitracked recording can really recreate the energy and verve of some live performances. The world of popular music seems to have pushed music technology on to such an extent that it is an integral part of the art form. Classical music has lagged behind in many ways, not wanting to be corrupted by the autotune aberration or similar technological treachery. Is it acceptable to use extensive audio editing to improve your work? Probably, but it feels less acceptable to release a dazzling recording which has no hope of being reproduced in a live setting. When I was young I absolutely loved a Los Angeles based band, whose recordings I listened to endlessly. I knew every nuance of the albums, but when I later heard a live broadcast, I was shocked by the clumsy, out of tune mess I experienced. Some artists such as Jacob Collier seem to have done a far better job of recreating extremely dense multitracked arrangements as a one man show. Composer Anna Clyne has an exquisite recording 'Blue Moth', which is sonically astounding, with a variety of very different pieces including the apocalyptic 'Choke' for Baritone Saxophone and tape. When performing this piece, I've found that the potency of the tape part allows one to simply float (and scream) over the top of it with ease. There's a buoyancy to the music which isn't always present in those sort of pieces. I love the Stockhausen tape pieces and their utter disorientation (perhaps there's much more logic and structure than I realise), but I also recall a piece for turntables and orchestra which failed utterly because the speakers from which all of the turntables' contribution could be heard were placed 25 feet higher than the orchestra. The piece seemed like a collection of disparate elements cobbled together and really didn't work. That and I seem to recall the most cliched saxophone multiphonic around bleating out through it all. Maybe I'll witter on about multiphonics another time. On the subject, some of the Lauba studies are entrancing as live pieces but fall utterly flat as recordings unless you're listening very intently on a good system with no distractions. Anyway, I shall continue to experiment and upload anything I feel is worth a listen.
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I am honoured and excited to begin a new job teaching at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama junior department from January 2018. Some of my most enjoyable work in recent years has been working in conservatoires and I am fascinated to get involved with the what's happening in Cardiff.
Much as I have very mixed feelings about social media, I do in fact have a neglected YouTube channel where you can hear my music. Here is one baritone improvisation piece to listen to.
You can watch the full performance of Sebastiano Dessanay's opera The Cry of the Double Bass here:
www.tete-a-tete.org.uk/event/the-cry-of-the-double-bass/ It was great to take part in this project, and was one of those happy occasions when the performance excelled all the rehearsals. It's an poignant and intense work which Seb rescored specially for this Tete a Tete performance. I play baritone saxophone in this version. I was privileged to play baritone saxophone in a performance at the 2017 Tête À Tête Festival of Sebastiano Dessanay's opera 'The Cry of the Double Bass'. We performed the last act of the opera in a new arrangement at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London. It was one of those experiences which I've only had a number of times where the full impact and power of the work only really dawned upon me as I was performing it. Fantastic ideas and really interesting content, particularly the opening narration. Hope to perform the whole opera at some point in the future.
It is with regret that I note the passing of composer American David Maslanka who died earlier this month. My saxophone quartet Syzygy, performed and recorded his work 'Songs for the Coming Day' in the last few years. The work was in fact our debut recording as a quartet, so we felt a special connection to the piece. We exchanged emails with Maslanka with regard to interpretation which was very helpful, he clearly took a great interest in ensembles performing his work, and we are grateful for the small opportunity we had to correspond with him. In performance, we've found 'Songs for the Coming Day' never failed to move audience and performer alike, so the content of this piece will feel all the more poignant the next time we perform it.
I've been very interested in Steve Coleman's music for a number of years and wanted to post a link to an article which is unusual and I feel, worth a read:
http://m-base.com/essays/why-do-i-give-away-some-of-my-music/ I've often thought that the drummers who play with Steve Coleman seem best able out of all the musicians to keep pace with his distinctive improvisations, much in the way that Elvin Jones often was left alone to provide the counterpoint for John Coltrane in much of his later work. Steve Coleman is certainly esoteric but a fascinating player and his (mostly free) music is well worth a listen, in my view. I will be performing with Ed Bennett's Decibel ensemble on Saturday 7th November in Belfast and then Tuesday 10th November in Birmingham, playing a fantastic programme of Ed's music. Do try and come along if you are free.
My quartet's debut CD of David Maslanka's 'Songs for the Coming Day' is now available, please contact me if you would like to buy a copy. It's been a long time coming, but we're very happy with the result.
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June 2022
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