Music Box
A few years back I was given an antique Victorian music box by my uncle Mike. Much like all of us, age had taken its toll on the music box, and some of the inner workings weren’t as precise as they once were, but it still worked. Once wound up, a bewitching, if slightly muddled jingle would emerge as the cylinder turned, and the bells that still worked clanged and chimed, loud and clear. The small imperfections that had appeared in the once carefully programmed mechanism of the music box actually added a certain charm to the performance.
As Artist in Residence at Sage I began to explore this idea further through the use of loops in creating new music and allowing me to combine my performance skills on clarinet, flute and singing as well as playing my first instrument the piano.
I started to think of the piano, my loop station and laptop as music boxes in their own right, with their own mechanisms, their need for careful programming in performance, and a willingness to accept the many possibilities for unexpected glitches and serendipitous sounds that might emerge.
I was fortunate to be able to work alongside Northumbrian piper and keyboard player Andy May and saxophonist Matt Anderson in realising this project. Both are extremely talented and versatile musicians I’ve performed with in different bands. I took the opportunity to reinterpret some repertoire from my sextet, the Ushaw Ensemble and from my solo performances in recent years alongside new music created using my loop station.
The amazingly talented duo of Francis Tulip and Ben Lawrence were due to play a support set for this gig. As it ended up being a continuous single set, I really wanted to get them involved within the ensemble as well as allowing them to premiere something of their own.
I would like to acknowledge the support of Sage in creating this project, and in particular Emily Jones.
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About the Music (Box)…
Inside the box begins the performance as we hear the music box itself!
Outside the box is an improvised solo piano piece reacting to the music from the box.
Shepherd from Melrose is taken from the St. Cuthbert’s Suite which I recorded with Andy May and the Ushaw Ensemble in 2018 (released in 2019). The local story of Cuthbert is really significant to the North East. In 2016 I was commissioned to write a suite to celebrate the life and story of St. Cuthbert (whose body is buried in Durham Cathedral).
Happy Song is an original song I was inspired to write after my wife suggested I write something happy! The most natural improvisers and busiest performers are the birds.
The Brunswick is composed by Francis Tulip, who has just finished studying at Birmingham Conservatoire. He performs here alongside pianist Ben Lawrence who is studying at Durham University.
Lockdown London was inspired by footage taken on trips to Central London and around Colliers Wood during the Covid-19 lockdown. There is an unsettling beauty to seeing normal life on hold.
Time Will Tell was originally part of a commission for Jambone and Young Sinfonia from 2019. It is both skeptical and hopeful.
Splendid Isolation is one of several pieces I created during lockdown using a loop station. It’s a lot of fun exploring the possibilities of layering up different sounds and thinking of ways to develop the loop.
Vignette was composed based on memories of family trips abroad in the Summer holidays to a campsite in the West of France. On the same site were a wonderful couple called Jean-Marie and Josette. Both were amazing characters, and amongst other things, in his younger days, jazz guitarist Jean-Marie had performed with Edith Piaf in Paris.
The Sound of Achill was inspired by a trip to Achill Island (off the West Coast of Ireland). There are sunken wrecks from the Spanish Armada located around the rugged coastline and some of the most daring gravity defying sheep I’ve ever seen!