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CCA Composer of the Month: MAY 2016-SEPTEMBER 2016
The photographs on the right are [top] Roger Tempest ´in action´ and [bottom] the view from the Citadel at Entrevaux.
YOUR FEATURED COMPOSITIONS OF THE MONTH:
INSTRUMENTAL AND/OR VOCAL RESOURCES USED:
Times Squared – tenor sax and piano
Hieronymus – tenor sax and Logic Audio
FIRST PERFORMANCE DETAILS – IF RELEVANT:
Alto Sax Concerto first performed 15th May 2010 in Sutton Town Hall
PERFORMERS ON YOUR RECORDING – IF RELEVANT
Sutton Coldfield Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Goldring, myself as soloist.
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?
Having spent most of my life as a clarinet player/teacher, and few years ago I heard Claude Delangle and thought I would have a go at a concerto for alto sax, which I performed it in 2010. Soon after I became interested in the possibilities of the tenor sax as a ‘serious’ instrument, and have been working on a ‘jazz’ album – note the inverted commas, nothing is quite as it seems! Mostly I have used Logic to create jazz/latin backings, but for ‘Times Squared’ I decided on a piano accompaniment. Gershwin has always been an inspiration for me, and the nightmare world of Hieronymus Bosch certainly stirs the imagination!
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?
Times Squared starts with a short atmospheric intro, followed by the vigorously strutting main theme in F which soon takes us into the stratosphere propelled by Mannheim Skyrockets! The main theme is repeated on the piano in C, then a pedal section on G leads to a 2nd theme in C. A series of modulations leads to a pedal section in C, thence back to the 1st theme in F. A short series of modulatory sequences leads to the coda and some perilously high notes to finish.
The Concerto is in C major and follows the classical 3-movement form. The first movement (Allegro non troppo) starts at an easygoing 2-in-a-bar tempo, with the second theme changing to 4/4. A cadenza leads in to the coda, and (for the technically minded) a repeated chord of F#7-5 near the end moves up to G7-5 which resolves on the tonic! The second movement (Andante con moto) is a more sombre affair in F minor. We go back to Allegro non troppo for the third movement, but this time in 6/8. The second theme is a complete contrast, being a sardonic woodwind passage in 3/4. After a virtuosic coda the responsibility for a successful and humorous ending rests with the bassoon.
Hieronymus is an evocation of the nightmare world of Hieronymus Bosch, following the classic jazz theme-and –variation format with backing programmed in Logic X.
WHEN DID YOU FIRST START COMPOSING AND WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST PIECE?
I remember trying to compose at the age of 9 or 10 – the first effort I can recall was a celebratory hymn commemorating the victory of the valiant inhabitants of Northfield over alien invaders - I had just read ‘The War of the Worlds’. Thankfully this has not survived. (By the way it never happened).
WHO WAS IT THAT FIRST ENCOURAGED YOU TO DEVELOP YOUR INTEREST IN COMPOSING AND HOW DID THEY HELP?
Taking O – level at school with teacher Walter Jennings first aroused a serious passion for Beethoven and Schubert et al and a desire to compose. I had not heard any classical music till then and it was a time of great excitement, inspiration and I’m afraid quite unjustified egotism. The long-suffering Mr. Jennings deserves an OBE for his patience with a difficult adolescent!
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?
A question which manages to be simultaneously obvious and impossible to answer! I think Beethoven was my first inspiration, followed by Schubert and Mozart – I remember listening to Mozart’s Eb symphony no. 39 on the radio as a Road-to-Damascus moment! More recently Bach has taken over, I love to play my favourite bits of the 48. But of course there is no point trying to copy the greats of the past, and I have tried to construct a musical vocabulary based on the music of our time – after all, there was not always the gulf between ‘serious’ and ‘popular’ music which exists today. Gershwin and maybe Hendrix come to mind as more contemporary influences.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE TO SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER HEARD YOUR MUSIC BEFORE?
Challenging yet accessible, harmonically stimulating, tuneful, complex but avoiding complexity for its own sake, elements of wicked humour. Might say it has elements of Finzi and Gershwin.
WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS ORIGINAL IN YOUR MUSIC?
I don’t set out to be deliberately different in any of my works, if anything I go by Newton’s quote about ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’! I aim to use the techniques, ideas and materials around today to write music that expresses myself and hopefully appeals to, interests, entertains and inspires other people – including other composers!
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 usually start with an idea(s) scribbled down in manuscript, but this soon gives way to Sibelius as the ideas – rarely as good on second viewing as in the heat of the moment – suffer many changes. The work proceeds slowly with many revisions, often I experience the dreaded brick wall, but with relaxation and avoidance of panic a way through appears. For solo works I often use Logic to produce a useable accompaniment; piano works I play myself; works for orchestra or wind orchestra I have to rely on Sibelius for performance demos, although I sometimes think the spirit of H. Bosch lurks in the instrumental balance!
WHAT PROJECTS ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
A large project is my ‘jazz’ album for tenor sax and Logic X, ‘The Blue Orange’. ‘Hieronymus’ and ‘Times Squared’ will probably be a part of it when finished, but that won’t be anytime soon! Apart from that I am working on a succession of small-scale projects, including a suite of minimalist pieces for easy alto sax on the subject of romance among robots, for younger players! I am looking for ideas for a piece for tenor sax and orchestra.
To finish, who or what is your favourite:
Genre of Music?
Instrumentalist?
Singer?
Chamber Ensemble?
No preference
Concert Venue?
No preference
Orchestra?
Piece of Music?
In the interest of brevity I will just say Schubert C major quintet!