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CCA Composer of the Month – APRIL 2015
YOUR FEATURED COMPOSITION OF THE MONTH:
Gloria from Communion Service The Bells of St Martin’s
INSTRUMENTAL AND/OR VOCAL RESOURCES USED:
Mixed voice choir (brief solos in Gloria) and organ
FIRST PERFORMANCE DETAILS – IF RELEVANT:
Sunday 8th May 1997, Leicester Cathedral: Leicester Cathedral Choir with David Cowen (organ), conducted by Jonathan Gregory
PERFORMERS ON YOUR RECORDING – IF RELEVANT:
St Michael’s Singers with John Wright (organ), conducted by the composer
OF THE WORK(S) YOU HAVE SELECTED FOR THE COMPOSER OF THE MONTH FEATURE, WHAT WAS THE SOURCE/INSPIRATION/COMMISSION WHICH SET THIS PIECE OR THESE PIECES IN MOTION?
(Included in programme note)
WHAT WOULD BE A GOOD PROGRAMME NOTE FOR THIS WORK (OR THESE WORKS) WHICH EXPLAINS THE STRUCTURE, USE OF MELODY AND HARMONY AND ANY TECHNICAL POINTS RELATED TO THE PERFORMERS?
This setting was written as part of the celebration in 1997 both of the 70th anniversary of the hallowing of Leicester Cathedral and of the 1600th anniversary of the death of St Martin, to whom the Cathedral is dedicated. The full setting incorporates Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei, using what was then the ASB texts, now those of Common Worship Order 1. Most of the harmonies and some of the vocal lines are based on the interval of a fourth, and the overall bell-like texture was directly inspired by hearing the bells of Leicester Cathedral echoing around the buildings which surround it one Sunday morning. The Kyrie (not included in the Southwell recording) was sung recently in the Service of the Reveal of the Tomb of King Richard III at Leicester Cathedral.
Photos on the right [copyright David Fisher] feature:
[top] the spire of Leicester Cathedral with the bell tower containing 13 bells including a magnificent peal of 12. These can be heard on Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings, with peals being rung on special occasions.
[bottom] King Richard III’s tombstone is deeply incised with a cross, and consists of a rectangular block of white Swaledale fossil stone, quarried in North Yorkshire. It sits on a low plinth made of dark Kilkenny marble. The “Kyrie” from The Bells of St Martin’s was sung at this tomb’s reveal on 27th March 2015.
WHEN DID YOU FIRST START COMPOSING AND WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST PIECE?
My earliest efforts at composition came when I was still at primary school, but the first which show any real competence were some songs and a setting of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis written when I was in my mid-teens. A setting of John Clare’s poem ‘Noon’ was published in the school magazine.
WHO WAS IT THAT FIRST ENCOURAGED YOU TO DEVELOP YOUR INTEREST IN COMPOSING AND HOW DID THEY HELP?
My two music teachers at Ipswich School, Keith Griffiths and Geoff Lavery, who gave me both encouragement and opportunities for performance, and the Head of Maths, Bruce Andrews, for whom I wrote songs.
WHO DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR GREATEST INSPIRATIONS IN TERMS OF THE MAJOR COMPOSERS AND WHICH OF THEIR WORKS HAS INFLUENCED YOU THE MOST AND WHY?
Vaughan Williams was an overwhelming influence on my early works, and he is still a major inspiration, if no longer so much in terms of style. My choral and church music background means that composers such as Kenneth Leighton and William Mathias are in the mix, and growing up in Suffolk in the prime of Benjamin Britten’s career has had its effect, too: singing his War Requiem in King’s College Chapel in 1974 was an unforgettable experience.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE TO SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER HEARD YOUR MUSIC BEFORE?
A very hard question! The style is admittedly a conservative one, influenced by various composers of the 20th Century. Rhythm is important (I like asymmetric time signatures), lines are generally melodic, harmony is basically diatonic with the use of added notes, and sometimes quartal.
WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS ORIGINAL IN YOUR MUSIC?
It is always difficult to know how truly original any particular piece is, but I hope each is an honest attempt to say something different either about a text or an instrumental genre.
HOW DO YOU WORK? WHAT METHODS OF CREATIVITY AND WORK ETHIC DO YOU HAVE? DO YOU SOLELY USE MUSICAL TECHNOLOGY OR DO PAPER AND PENCIL STILL FORM A PART OF YOUR PROCESS?
I don’t have a routine, particularly as until recently composition has had to be fitted around family, work and other commitments. Usually I am writing for a specific occasion and specific performers, and indeed a deadline is a very useful spur to creativity, but occasionally an unassociated idea will come out of the blue and demand to be followed through. I work things out using paper, pencil and a piano, and only use music technology for making fair copies.
WHAT PROJECTS ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
I am putting the finishing touches to a set of five partsongs entitled Come, Spring!, to words by various poets. A few sketches have been made for the next priority, what I hope will be a substantial piece for organ base on the hymn-tune Martyrdom and its usually associated metrical version of Psalm 42.
To finish, who or what is your favourite:
Genre of Music?
Choral music from medieval to modern, British symphonies (especially Vaughan Williams and Bax), jazz vocalists, folk music.
Instrumentalist?
The late, much missed David Munrow.
Singer?
Claire Martin for jazz
and Ian Partridge (now of course retired) for classical.
Chamber Ensemble? The Sixteen.
Orchestra?
The Philharmonia come regularly to Leicester, so I hear them live more often than any other.
Concert Venue?
Leicester’s De Montfort Hall.
Piece of Music*
Tallis’ motet in forty parts Spem in alium.