PROTO-SYMPHONY

In PROTO-SYMPHONY, the earnestness of a late-Romantic Austro-German symphony meets the hairpin turns of a funfair ride. Symphonic traditions are pressure-packed into a tiny four-minute space, with familiar movements, sounds and gestures compressed, combined and reordered. (View Score)

London Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Jack Sheen

Canzoni et ricercari

for 12 string players

Canzoni et ricercari is scored for onstage string ensemble of 9 players and 3 offstage violins. The fractious relationship between these two groups is at the heart of the piece. There are two movements of roughly equal length, each building to a climax in a different way, and each involving canons or ricercars on some level, hence the Frescobaldi-inspired title. The atmosphere is sometimes solemn, sometimes playful, and sometimes a bit of both. (View Score)

Recorded live by The 12 Ensemble in Gloucester Cathedral on 9th July 2021

Movements for Philip Sharp

for solo piano

Movements for Philip Sharp freely reworks material from a piece I wrote for Phil while we were both still at school, giving it a special emotional resonance for me. The three movements have three distinct characters (lullaby, scherzo, adagio) and allow the pianist to explore a full spectrum of expression and colour, from thundering bravado to utmost delicacy and intimacy.
I. Berceuse
II. Scherzo (…take a walk)
III. Adagio (“Das Lebewohl”) (View Score)

Recorded by Philip Sharp

Symphonic Message in

memory of L. R. [excerpt]

for orchestra

This piece ranges from the sombre to the exuberant, at times having the quality of a memorial or ritual, and at other times bursting out with joy and theatricality. The L. R. of the title is Lynda Ross, a drama teacher from Carleton High School, Pontefract, who had a huge impact on mine and many other students’ lives. (View Score)

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Ryan Wigglesworth

Cello Messages

for cello and piano

Cello Messages explores the spectrum between musical eloquence and ineloquence. Sometimes the piece moves fluently and symphonically, sometimes it stumbles and falters, but throughout its five movements there is always the sense that both cello and piano are attempting to communicate. (View Score)

Cello: Joe Davies
Piano: Daniel Chappell

Trio-Symphony

for clarinet, viola and piano

Trio-Symphony plays with proportion and continuity to create what could be described as a “broken structure”. To the extent that the piece is a symphony, it is a malformed one. Though it may contain some of the familiar signposts, they are in the wrong order and pointing in the wrong direction. Its compositional language is inclusive, letting in many of musical loves. (View Score)

Frammenti Ricercati

for string quartet

Frammenti Ricercati is a pure experiment in contrasting timescales, assembled from snippets of previous pieces or ideas which had been lying in my sketchbook. The longest movement is over two and a half minutes, the shortest is a mere 10 seconds. The way in which they are pieced together creates a narrative out of seemingly disconnected fragments, blurring the line between micro and macro. (View Score)

Evening Proverb

for tenors and basses

A short choral piece sets the following text from the Old Testament book of Proverbs:
When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
You will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet.
(View Score)

Five Anatomical Sketches

for solo piano

These five sketches represent the bone and sinew of my compositional thinking. Each movement has a single melodic line running through it, with other voices or chords occasionally running alongside or splitting off from this core. (View Score)

Imaginary Lover

for tenor and piano

Text compiled from poems by Vahan Terian.
I. from “Fate”
II. Little melody 1
III. from “Ararat”
IV. Little melody 2
V. from “To An Unknown Girl”
VI. Scales 1
VII. from “Ghosts”
VIII. Scales 2
IX. from “Words At Farewell”
(View Score)