COMPOSER
PORTRAIT Composer, conductor, pianist, artistic director, educationalist and occasional broadcaster – Alasdair Nicolson is a musical polymath. He was Composer in Association with the City of London Sinfonia from 1997 until 2005 and for two years, between 2013 and 2014, he was even Artistic Director of two major international festivals – Bath and St Magnus – at the same time. But Nicolson thrives on the pressure of this itinerant lifestyle. ‘I remind myself that the Bachs and Haydns and Mozarts of this world all had to write their music and make the concerts happen, too’, he says. ‘In a sense I’m just doing things as they used to be done.’ There is little doubt that Nicolson’s rich and varied career has had an impact on his music, with the diversity of his workload fuelling his creativity as a composer. ‘He is one of the new breed of artists whose world of influence and interest is wide and ever growing’, writes the Sunday Times. Born in Inverness and brought up on the Isle of Skye and the Black Isle, Nicolson studied at Edinburgh University before working as a musical director, conductor and repetiteur in theatres and opera houses across the UK. It was only in the early 90s that he came to widespread public attention after winning the IBM Composers’ Prize for The Tree of Strings (1993), a bold orchestral work that flits between riotous colour and shimmering, sinewy withdrawal. Much of his orchestral music of the following years – Breakdance (1996), dansmusik (2001), The Broken Symphony (2007) – has continued in this uncompromising vein, often revelling in the thrilling combination of clattering percussive rhythms, roaring brass and restrained string lines. But even as his composing career has taken flight, Nicolson has maintained his wide-ranging professional portfolio, something that marks him out from many of his contemporaries. His music reflects the miscellany of his own life – rich in colour and texture, with the ability to shape shift and surprise the listener at every turn. The grandeur of his orchestral canvases is cast into sharp relief by the delicacy of his chamber music, which includes a growing collection of songs, three string quartets, Squeeze (1995) for two accordions, and Magnus II (2014) for solo guitar. Echoes of his native Scotland ripple through his scores and colour their titles – Stramash (1999), Slainte (2002), A gift o’ Tunes (2004, for Peter Maxwell Davies’ 70th birthday) – but his style is built on much more than the reinvention of Scottish folksong. It is vibrant, energetic and full of life, glittering with ideas inspired by his collaborations outside the world of music and enlivened by a life lived between the density of London and the magnificent open vistas of the Orcadian landscape.
INDEX Biography
3
Selected works I, Pilgrim
8
The Iris Murder
10
Piano Concerto No. 2 (The Haunted Ebb)
12
String Quartet No. 3 (Slanting Rain)
14
The Twittering Machine
16
Punch!
18
Shadows on the Wall
20
The Broken Symphony
22
Trumpet Concerto (Govan Stones)
24
List of works Orchestral
28
Instrumental / Chamber
30
Keyboard
33
Vocal
33
Choral
34
Opera & Music Theatre
34
Amateur & Children
36
Film / TV / Radio
36
Theatre Music
37
Recordings
37
Press
38
Contact
41
BIOGRAPHY Alasdair Nicolson’s earliest musical experiences came from traditional music while growing up on the Isle of Skye where fiddle and pipe music and Gaelic song were more familiar than the western classical canon. A family move to the east coast of Scotland brought new opportunities and revealed a forceful talent for music. He went to Edinburgh University to study music with no clear plan to be a composer but after a year freelancing he returned there as Shaw McFie Lang Fellow and began to concentrate more seriously on composition. His professional career began as a performing musician in theatre and opera working as a musical director, repetiteur and coach whilst slowly developing his compositional voice. In 1993 his Cradle Song of the Disappeared was chosen to represent Scotland at the International Music Forum in Kiev and in the same year he was also awarded the IBM Composer’s Prize for his work The Tree of Strings which quickly established him as a richly individual talent. After winning this prize, his music was much sought after and there were commissions from the Citizens Theatre TAG company, the Chester and Canterbury Festivals and Mayfest, Glasgow. It was at this time that he started his connection with St Magnus International Festival commissioned to write the chamber work Punch!. Following the success of Punch!, he wrote works for the Royal Festival Hall’s “Boom Room” Series (The Ballad of Bulbous Sniff), for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (The Last Meeting), the BBC SSO (Breakdance), a collaboration with the novelist Janice Galloway (Five Card Trick) and a duet for Duo Danica’s two accordions (Squeeze). In 1997 he returned to his roots and brought two musical worlds together for the Highland Festival writing the opera Sgathach with a libretto in Scottish Gaelic by Aonghas MacNeacail which was given its first performance on the Isle of Skye. From 1997 to 2005 Nicolson was Composer in Association with the City of London Sinfonia for whom he wrote many works: Stramash, Stormwatching and Ghosts at the Water’s Edge. His opera Cat Man’s Tale commissioned by Opera Circus received its first performance in October 1997 and for the 1998 St Magnus Festival, he wrote the large music-theatre piece Greenvoe which became the centrepiece of the BBC Scotland’s tribute to the author George MacKay Brown. In the same year, he was featured composer at the Covent Garden Festival where Cat Man’s Tale was performed alongside three new works. In 2000 he collaborated with writer Eva Salzman and other composers on a music theatre work Shawna and Ron’s Half Moon for ENO’s Knack and he completed an opera with the writer and film-maker Philip Ridley. His community opera ICE based on the Snow Queen was performed in East London in late July 2001. The new version of an earlier work 42nd Street Stomp was premiered by Joanna MacGregor with members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House in September 2001 and was also featured in the South Bank Show. 2002 premieres included a new song cycle Backward Glances commissioned by Catherine Wyn Rogers for the Buxton Festival and The Blue Rampart commissioned by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. 3
2004 saw the premiere of a work for chorus and orchestra for the RSNO Songs and Secrets and a work for the Nash Ensemble A Gift o’ Tunes to celebrate Peter Maxwell Davies’s 70th birthday. Two Sisters, A Rose, A Flood and Snow , commissioned by the LSO in 2006, brought the orchestra together with its community chorus and the London Symphony Chorus. This hour-long piece was conducted by the composer first at LSO St Luke’s and repeated in the Barbican season after its hugely successful premiere. Over the next years, works have been commissioned by: Pure Brass (The Vanishing), the Nash Ensemble (The Stamping Ground), the Fidelio Trio (Half-Told Tales), BBC New Generation Artists (The Humble Petition of Bruar Water), the Edinburgh Festival (The Twittering Machine), St Mary’s Music School (Two Lorca Songs) and Joanna MacGregor & Kathryn Tickell (Songs and Drones for the Harp Tree). In 2013 there were premieres of Shadows on the Wall commissioned by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and a new work for harp, NOD, for the harpist Gabriella Dall’ Olio. There was also a String Quartet No.3 (Slanting Rain) for the Edinburgh Quartet and the chamber opera The Iris Murder for the Hebrides Ensemble. 4
More recently there have been many commissioned works: Piano Concerto No 2 (The Haunted Ebb) for the Academy of St Martin in the Fields with Inon Barnatan; The Ebb Variations, an organ work for Christian Wilson; I, Pilgrim, a large-scale oratorio for the BBC Singers and Trondheim Soloists; Govan Stones for trumpet and strings for the Glasgow Barons and Bring me my pipes for bass clarinettist Sarah Watts. Nicolson has a strong reputation as a programmer and is currently Festival Director of the St Magnus International Festival in Orkney and was previously director of Bath International Music Festival. From the earliest part of his career, he has been involved with community projects ranging from entire operas and pieces of theatre created from scratch to performances of concert music. In 1996 he co-hosted the composition course held by Peter Maxwell Davies on Hoy, he also created the materials and methodology for Sound Inventors, an award-winning, national project for composition with young people and has written two books on composing called Composition Kit 1 and 2. He has taught on the Britten Pears School and is Director of the St Magnus Composers’ Course. In 2014 Nicolson received an Honorary Doctorate from the Open University for his services to music and composition. Nicolson has worked extensively as a performing musician – as pianist and conductor - and was for a time on the music staff at the Opera de Monte Carlo. As conductor, he has worked with the BBC SSO, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the City of London Sinfonia, the Scottish Masking Company, Paragon Ensemble, the Chamber Group of Scotland, Sound Inventors Ensemble, the LSO and The Assembly Project.
5
6
7
I, PILGRIM Instrumentation: solo soprano / solo bass / SATB choir / string orchestra Text: Jon Fosse, the Stabat Mater and Saxon anonymous poetry Commissioned: Trondheim Soloists Duration: 70 mins First Performance: Ann-Helen Moen soprano Simon Bailey bass Ă˜yvind Gimse conductor BBC Singers Trondheim Soloists St Magnus Cathedral, Orkney Friday 16th June 2017
8
Pilgrimage has been, since the middle ages, a familiar term for religious journeys towards a special place, a spiritual process through travel and selfimposed discipline often long and hazardous and sometimes to distant lands. Alongside this idea of religious pilgrimage there is another type of pilgrimage which is one of journeys toward sanctuary: the special place where there is safety and tolerance, and there are like-minded people. We are all familiar, on a daily basis, with news stories that document the refugees, the migrants, the asylum-seekers whose “pilgrimage” is a journey towards sanctuary, a new life, safety and perhaps the hope of a better existence. Those people who are fleeing war and travelling for miles across land and sea, often in very dangerous circumstances, have a strong purpose and hope in mind: a belief in something that keeps them travelling and searching. This narrative of the work parallels the journey of the ancient exiled wanderer with that of Norwegian writer, Jon Fosse’s contemporary “pilgrims” represented by a nameless man and a woman who have to leave the place where they grew up in order to find safety and a new home as they bring a child into the world. The text is shot through with lines from the Stabat Mater.
“
There was a starkness to the dark lyricism of their lines set against the wispy strings with their shimmering harmonics. Nicolson’s vocal writing has never been better” THE SCOTSMAN
9
THE
IRIS MURDER
An opera with a gothic-horror, fairy-tale quality in which an eccentric, sociopathic character, Rawley Bawnes, lives in a shadowy world. His personal history is rather mysterious and he seems to have ‘done in’ many flowers/girls and buried them in the woods. His encounter with Iris is different, however, and she fights back enlisting the help of the Green Man. Rawley is condemned to damnation but gains respite only to be dragged back to hell. Iris, a high soprano, soars vocally above, rather serene despite her troubled world. Rawley is a high tenor in an endlessly anxious and heightened state; obsessive and lacking empathy. The Green Man is the deep-rooted bass voice whose very notes connect him to the solid earth and have authority and warmth. At times the musical setting is that of the music hall with little waltzes, jigs and marches underpinning the presentation of the story. The musical world is intricate, and so the intervals, melodic lines, rhythms and chords that form the backdrop are endlessly repeating and transforming in order to make a cyclic structure. They also to catch the obsessive and repeating nature of the events that we see. The “orchestra” too is chosen to reflect the strange, distorted and unusual nature of the drama and to take us away from any conventional instrumental lineup. The timbres of all the instruments are distinct and colourful and give the impression of a rather ramshackle theatre band. 10
Instrumentation: soprano Iris tenor Rawley Bawnes bass The Green Man clarinet / accordion / cello / percussion Libretto: John Gallas Commissioned: The Hebrides Ensemble First performance: Elizabeth Llewelyn soprano Christopher Bowen tenor Andrew Fellowes bass The Hebrides Ensemble Will Conway cello/director Martin Constantine director Cottier Theatre, Glasgow 10th June 2016 Duration: 80 mins
“
Nicolson’s magical music, however, fitted the story gloriously - quirky, jerky, it was full of little hocketing cells that bounced back and forth between the players, never quite the same, but managing to lodge themselves firmly in the memory nonetheless. He drew a remarkable range of colours from his quartet of clarinet, cello, accordion and percussion, sometimes acid-hued but always glittering with a febrile light in his nervy textures” THE ARTS DESK 11
PIANO CONCERTO NO.2
THE HAUNTED EBB Instrumentation: piano solo / trumpet solo / strings Commissioned: The Academy of St Martin in the Fields Duration: 25 mins
First performance: Inon Barnatan piano / Mark David trumpet / Tomo Keller violin/director / Strings of ASMF Knight Concert Hall, Miami, USA 18th March 2017
I ABANDONED BELLS “THE WHITE CRYING MUSIC” II DISTANT HALF-TOLD LULLABIES “TIME, THE DEER, IS IN THE WOODS OF HALLAIG” III FIDDLES, PIPES, DRUMS “THE GHOST BAND BEGINS TO DANCE” IV MOONLIGHT ON THE SEA EDGE “THE LIGHT LEVELS THE SEA FLATNESS”
“
After intermission we were treated to Piano Concerto No. 2 (“The Haunted Ebb”) by contemporary Scottish composer Alasdair Nicolson. Barnatan was a better fit for this keyboard part, a strange sea of jangly, crystalline sounds that tested his limits. It’s a demanding but ultimately impressive work that combines Messiaen-like soundscapes with snatches of traditional Scottish music and quiet, eerie drones.” ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
12
Harking back to the music of his upbringing on the Isle of Skye where, far from the string quartets and concertos, there was bagpipe music and solo song, this concerto uses some of this ancient song as well as elements of the big music of the pipes - the piobaireachd - as thematic starting points. The concerto draws musical material from The Lament of the Children and songs such as Tog orm mo phiòb and Maighdeannan na h-àirigh as raw material. But in this work musical reflections on place and culture take a literary starting point in the words of the late Sorley MacLean, a fellow Skye-man and internationally acclaimed poet, whose words are deeply connected to the atmospheres of the old music: with great ease they conjure place, memories, universal emotions and the islander’s disposition. They bring to life the woods, the seascapes, the elements, the landscapes and way of life effortlessly and succinctly. The title of this concerto is also the title of a collection of poems by MacLean imagining the ebb tide, the disappearance of things, whilst each movement has quotes from various poems around the idea of an empty landscape populated by ghost images. Many of these poems have strong descriptions of landscape and particularly memories of times past and historical events. The poems are also reflections of times of conflict and a significant period in Highland history where the people were “cleared” from the lands by force, causing the great migration of Scots during the mid 18th to mid 19th centuries. 13
STRING QUARTET NO.3
SLANTING RAIN Instrumentation: string quartet Commissioned: Glasgow University McEwen Commission Duration: 20 mins First Performance: Edinburgh Quartet Glasgow University Concert Hall 12th November 2015
1 2 3 4 5 6
A FALSE MOON SHINES THE SHADOW ENDS WITHOUT HAVING BEEN WAVING TREES, RISING SEA, EERIE STILLNESS IMPOSSIBLY DISTANT TREE-LINED PATHS I COME TO THE WINDOW TO SEE WHO’S SINGING INTO AN ABYSS MADE OF TIME
“
melodies and rhythms from the composer’s Hebridean roots sparsely but graciously met with the poetry of Portugese writer Ferdinand Pessoa to emphasise the music’s expression of loss.” SCOTSMAN
14
Like his previous quartet, some of the inspiration for this work came from a favourite writer’s poetry, namely the Portuguese author Ferdinand Pessoa; the title of the quartet is also the title of a collection of Pessoa’s poetry. The epigrammatic titles that appear for each short movement are lines from within this writer’s poetry and, though not intended to be programmatic, are evocations of mood and hints of atmospheres without a particular narrative thread. The construction of the quartet draws on another source common to Nicolson’s music, that of the Gaelic song tradition and in particular here the old song O, ‘s tu, ‘s gura tu th’air m’aire (Oh, it’s you who are on my mind) - a song of loss whose sentiments are close to those of the Pessoa. Much of the musical material for the work is taken from this Gaelic melody and on a few occasions it comes to the surface with its rising upturned triadic shape. The quartet is dedicated to the memory of the composer’s mother who passed away in late 2014 and who was no stranger to slanting rain. 15
THE
TWITTERING MACHINE Instrumentation: flute (piccolo) / oboe (cor anglais) / clarinet (bass) / cello Commissioned: The Edinburgh International Festival Duration: 20 mins First Performance: Festival Ensemble Lis Dooner flute / Julian West oboe / Angela Crispe clarinet / Alison Lawrance cello Temperate Palm House, Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh 15th August 2008 as part of the Edinburgh International Festival
1 PRELUDE 2 THE MISTY COOL BLUE OF NIGHT 3 BIRDSONG 4 FLIGHT WITH SILHOUETTED BEAKS AND FEATHERS 5 THE ROSY PINK OF DAWN 6 POSTLUDE
“
The final piece, The Twittering Machine by Alasdair Nicolson, showed why his music has won so much critical acclaim. A magical moment to round off a magical half hour.” THE SCOTSMAN
16
The music of this piece takes the picture of the same name by Paul Klee as part of its inspiration. The image is both cartoonish and menacing; several birds seem to be attached to a cranking mechanism. Have they been captured? Are they part of this strange machine willingly? Are they singing to be made free or are they contentedly serenading? Each movement explores a different aspect of the picture as described in an art catalogue listing and features different instruments from within the group. As a starting point for musical material the work investigates the idea of birdsong. But instead of trying to capture the real sound of birds, the composer uses an old Gaelic song from St Kilda (the remote and now uninhabited island far off the west coast of Scotland) whose chorus imitates the sound of sea birds. With this as a musical starting point and the mechanical nature of the image in mind the effect is a sort of birdsong musical box – a twittering machine. The choice of the instrumental group was important from a visual, theatrical point of view as we see the three wind instruments (the birds of the image) tied down by the strings of the cello.
17
Instrumentation: flute / clarinet / violin / cello / piano / percussion Commissioned: St Magnus Festival Duration: 12 mins First performance: The Chamber Group of Scotland Conducted by the composer St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Orkney 22nd June 1994 St Magnus Festival
18
One of Nicolson’s regularly performed works and an early significant commission, the title refers to the explosive quality of a `punch’ as well as the character from the seaside `Punch and Judy’ show. Although there is no narrative as such to the music, the piece has an internal drama where most of the instruments in the ensemble at some point take centre stage and battle it out with the remainder. All the music is brightly coloured, percussive and direct and takes its roots from a small musical cell of pitches and a propulsive energy. The work was written for the ensemble formed by Sally Beamish and James Macmillan in the early 90s in Scotland, a classic instrumental line-up mirroring that of the Fires of London. Following on swiftly from Nicolson’s award-winning orchestral work The Tree of Strings, this was one of the pieces that confirmed him as a significant compositional voice.
“
Punch! - a driving knockabout piece tinged with the black edge of violence.” THE HERALD
19
Five Hauntings for mezzo soprano and orchestra Instrumentation: mezzo-soprano solo / large orchestra Text: Geoffrey Chaucer, Charlotte Mew, Amy Lowell, Christina Rossetti Commissioned: The BBC Symphony Orchestra Duration: 25 mins First Performance: Rowan Hellier mezzo-soprano Alexander Vedernikov conductor BBC Symphony Orchestra Pickaquoy Centre, Kirkwall 24th June 2013 St Magnus International Festival
1 ECHO 2 THE PEDDLER 3 MERCILESS BEAUTY 4 HAUNTED 5 NUIT BLANCHE
20
“
Nicolson makes imaginative use of a varied orchestral palette: a forlorn bassoon to evoke a long-lost love, arresting brass for the “two great eyes” that pierce the heart in Chaucer’s Merciless Beauty, and a finely calibrated blend of the restless and the ethereal in Amy Lowell’s Nuit Blanche. With her excellent diction and keen response to Nicolson’s sensitive word-setting, Fontanals-Simmons brought each song vividly to life.” LONDON EVENING STANDARD
This work was written in the same period as The Iris Murder, an opera which revolved around mysterious, other-worldly and somewhat macabre characters. Rather than straightforward songs, the five pieces work as character studies (or dramatic scenas) for ghostly apparitions: each one has a unique dramatic character – there is a sense that there is a bigger story for each which surrounds this momentary outburst. The text draws from three poets of the late nineteenth century with a brief trip back to the middle ages for a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer. It is almost as if portraits from various eras on the wall of some old house are coming to life. The world that each ghostly visitor inhabits is conjured up and disappears quickly and, in some cases, only vaguely comes into focus before receding to nothing. The musical starting points for all the songs are tiny motivic fragments which expand as the mood focuses, and contract as each character evaporates. Some of the musical material later became shared with the opera The Iris Murder. 21
THE
BROKEN SYMPHONY Instrumentation: large orchestra Commissioned: BBC Symphony Orchestra Duration: 25 mins First performance: BBC Symphopny Orchestra David Zinman conductor Barbican Hall, London 23rd May 2007
ENTS M A L S S E L 1 END NCES 2 GHOST DA
“
Aside from Fischer, this concert unveiled another, less likely, star - the Scottish composer Alasdair Nicolson. His BBC commission The Broken Symphony, broken in two, launched each half of the concert. With Nicolson’s busy textures and the electric playing, much of the two ten-minute movements fizzed like a brilliant concerto for orchestra. Yet the keening note always returned; at the end we were definitely adrift in desolation. A most stimulating piece, which deserves a future” THE TIMES
22
Given that the commission for this work was for two pieces which could act as a frame in a concert or could be joined to form one piece, it is perhaps a most unlikely situation for which to choose the word “symphony”. Whether the work is played in two separate parts or as a joined whole, it has a long-distance, arching form. The piece deals with what Nicolson calls a ‘broken world’. “Conflicts, extreme ideologies and man’s inhumanity, dishonesty, destruction and intolerance seemed to be all around me and on many occasions I was left highly disillusioned with, and disturbed by, the world in which we all live. It is difficult and frustrating to watch world events, often at some distance, and to feel in equal parts remote from, and part of, the unfolding story. The war in Iraq was one of the most extreme horrors amongst many.” A poem by the 8th century Iraqi poet Abu Nuwas which, though probably about a more debauched, hedonist experience, is quoted in the composer’s programme note: The party’s over. The bursting zanies and their night have whitened away. The place is spent and still. I stopped someone: Wild, I said, wasn’t it? And only a booming silence round Sabat could tell me who we’d been. One heady day. Two. Three. Four. Five. Gone. And now softly go.... Endless Laments take their root in Nicolson’s own Highland culture where a few hundred years ago people were “cleared” off the land by those who had come from outside; unfortunately this has a strong contemporary resonance. The laments also contain an old Persian song whose patterns and contours are not dissimilar to the other music used. Transformations of these old laments - whose original single line melodies have a keening and repeating quality that makes them seem endless, timeless and highly charged - are used as a basic material for this work. In the second part, as these ancient songs continue, remnants of other musics seem to float around like ghosts as if lost and searching, trying to find resolution: remnants of the destructive music from before. Eventually the strands merge to form a unified music, and an eerie stillness which eventually evaporates. 23
CONCERTO FOR TRUMPET AND STRINGS
GOVAN STONES
Instrumentation: Solo Trumpet in C / Strings (4.4.3.3.2 minimum) Commissioned: Glasgow Barons Duration: 25 mins First Performance: Tom Poulson trumpet Paul MacAlindin conductor The Glasgow Barons Govan Old Church, Glasgow 20th June 2019
1. ENTWINED 2. THE SUN STONE
N 3. THE ROYAL HUNTSMA (AND THE CUDDY)
24
Now placed around the interior of Govan Old Church, the Govan Stones would originally have surrounded the exterior of the church. The stones are carved cross shafts, crosses, hogback tombstones and the Govan Sarcophagus all dating from the 9th to 11th Centuries. All of the stones are carved with intricate entwined knotwork and many have carvings of human figures and animals. The stones are impressive but also filled with a sense of history: a moment captured in time. Many of the images are of warriors or huntsmen on horseback hence the idea of a ‘hunting, rallying horn’ (a blown instrument) in this case a trumpet which stands in relief against intricate backdrops. The musical background to all of the three movements is material that entwines, revolves around itself or follows in imitation – a sonic representation of the detailed knotwork and interweaving lines of the carved stone faces. The first movement explores the intricate, entwined lines which interweave as patterns; some looking like blueprints of some complex labyrinth. The second movement explores the Sun Stone whose many-rayed circular image sits atop one monolith looking like an ancient propeller with strands of light appearing to radiate and turn. The final movement takes images common to many of the stones featuring warrior horsemen and huntsmen with hounds. The music sets up a wild chase with a brief appearance of ‘the cuddy’ (donkey) a less streamlined animal whose image adorns one particular stone.
“
From the opening trumpet flourishes, eerily defused by the church’s echoing acoustic, a hauntingly mystifying mood presented itself throughout the three movements." SCOTSMAN
25
26
27
ORCHESTRAL Piano Concerto No 2 THE HAUNTED EBB [2017] Instrumentation: solo piano, solo trumpet, strings Commission: Academy of St Martin in the Fields First performance: Inon Barnatan (piano), Mark David (trumpet), Academy of St Martin in the Fields directed by Tomo Keller. Knight Concert Hall, Miami, USA, 18 March 2017 (25 mins)
The Broken Symphony [2007] Part One: Endless Laments Part Two: Ghost Dances Instrumentation: symphony orchestra Commission: BBC First performance: BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Zinman. Barbican, London, 23 May 2007 (20 mins)
Magnus I [2014]
Two Sisters, A Rose, A Flood and Snow [2006]
Instrumentation: string orchestra
Instrumenation: SATB solo, chorus, children’s chorus, ensemble Text: Stewart Conn Commission: London Symphony Orchestra
First performance: Trondheim Soloists directed by Oyvind Gimse. St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, 20 June 2014, St Magnus International Festival (6 mins)
Shadows on the Wall [2013]
Five Hauntings for Mezzo Soprano and Orchestra Instrumentation: symphony orchestra, voice Commission: BBC First performance: BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexander Vedernikov, Rowan Hellier (mezzo soprano). Pickaquoy Centre, Kirkwall, 23rd June 2013, St Magnus International Festival (25 mins)
Winterings [2007] Instrumenation: solo tenor, chorus, ensemble Text: poems by the Orkney poet Robert Rendall Commission: Orkney Arts Forum
First performance: Carole Irvine, Nicole Tibbels, Gareth Malone, Tom McVeigh, LSO Community Choirs and LSO Ensemble conducted by the composer. LSO St Luke’s, June 30 2006 (75 mins)
Il Pleut [2005] Instrumentation: SATB solo, oboe, bassoon, strings Text: selected poems Guillaume Appollinaire Commission: City of London Sinfonia First performance: London Voices, City of London Sinfonia conducted by Joseph Cullen. St Andrews Holburn, London, March 2005 (20 mins)
Songs and Secrets [2004]
First performance: Orkney Camerata and St Magnus Festival Chorus, Paul Rendall (tenor) conducted by the composer. St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, 6 December 2007
Instrumentation: upper voices (3 parts), symphony orchestra Text: selected poems Emily Dickinson Commission: RSNO Junior Chorus 25th Anniversary
(25 mins)
First performance: Royal Scottish National Orchestra, RSNO Junior Chorus conducted by Christopher Bell. Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 6 June 2004
Two Sisters, A Rose, A Flood and Snow [2008] Orchestral version
Instrumentation: SATB solo, chorus, children’s chorus, chamber orchestra Text: Stewart Conn Commission: London Symphony Orchestra First performance: LSO Chorus, LSO Community Choirs, soloists from the Guildhall School of Music and LSO conducted by the composer. Barbican, London, 6 February 2008 (75 mins)
28
(25 mins)
The Blue Rampart [2002] Instrumentation: chamber orchestra Commission: Highland Festival & SCO First performance: Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jason Lai. Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, June 2002 (10 mins)
dansmusik (revised version) [2001]
The Last Meeting [1995]
Instrumentation: orchestra
Instrumentation: 2 solo horns, solo harp, chamber orchestra
First performance: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Garry Walker. Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh, February 2002 Broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Hear and Now
Commission: SCO for the “Glasgow Series”
(20mins)
First performance: Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Ivor Bolton with Laurie Booth dancer. City Halls, Glasgow, 8 December 1995
Ghosts at the Water’s Edge [1999]
(25 mins)
Instrumentation: chamber orchestra Commission: City of London Sinfonia
Street [1995]
First performance: City of London Sinfonia conducted by Marin Alsop. Barbican Hall, London, April 1999
Instrumentation: symphony orchestra Commission: BBC Scotland for the BBC SSO for a TV programme about composition.
(20 mins)
First performance: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra studio recording conducted by the composer
Stramash [1999]
(6 mins)
Instrumentation: string orchestra Commission: City of London Sinfonia
Songs of the Lost [1995]
First performance: City of London Sinfonia directed by Andrew Watkinson. Sheffield Town Hall, April 1999 (15 mins)
Stormwatching [1998] Instrumentation: string orchestra Commission: City of London Sinfonia
Instrumentation: SATB chorus and orchestra Text: Irina Ratushinskaya and Iain Crichton Smith Commission: Mayfest First performance: Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Christopher Bell. Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, May 1995 (25 mins)
Tam! [1993]
First performance: City of London Sinfonia directed by Andrew Watkinson. Corn Exchange, Kings Lynn, April 1998
Instrumentation: two actors, choir, orchestra Text: from Tam o’ Shanter by Robert Burns Commission: the Arts Council of Fife
(20mins)
First performance: Fife Sinfonia conducted by John Steer.
The Admiral’s Fanfare [1997]
(30 mins)
Instrumentation: symphony orchestra Commission: City of London Sinfonia for the Ambassador to Chile
Variation on the “Garb of Old Gaul” [1993]
First performance: City of London Sinfonia. The Opera Theatre, Santiago, Chile, March 1997 (7 mins)
Breakdance [1996] Instrumentation: symphony orchestra Commission: BBC First performance: BBC SSO conducted by Elgar Howarth. MacRobert Centre, Stirling, 23 March 1996 (20 mins)
Instrumentation: chamber orchestra Commission: Edinburgh University Music Faculty to celebrate its 150th anniversary First performance: Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Mathias Bamert. Reid Concert Hall, Edinburgh, 13 February 1994 (5 mins)
The Tree of Strings [1993] Winner of the 1993 IBM Young Composers Prize Instrumentation: large orchestra First performance: Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by David Davies. City Halls, Glasgow, September 1993 (20mins)
29
INSTRUMENTAL/CHAMBER MUSIC Banner [1992]
Magnus IV Orpheus in his Cottage [2016]
Instrumentation: childrens voices, SATB chorus, wind band, orchestra Commission: SCO Strathclyde Project
Instrumentation: piano Commission: Sound Festival, Aberdeen
First performance: Scottish Chamber Orchestra & Chorus, Thorn Choir, East Glasgow Wind Band conducted by the composer. Glasgow City Halls, November 1992 (20 mins)
rantriddlereel [1991] Instrumentation: chamber orchestra Commission: Scottish Chamber Orchestra First performance: SCO conducted by the composer. Tain Town Hall, May 1991 (10 mins)
First performance: Rolf Hind (piano). Elphinstone Hall, Aberdeen, 20th October 2016 (6 minutes)
Magnus III Distant Echoes [2016] Instrumentation: oboe, violin Written to commemorate the death of Max Davies First performance: Nicholas Daniel (oboe), Fenella Humphreys (violin). St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Orkney 18 September 2016 (5 mins)
String Quartet No.3 (Slanting Rain) [2015]
The River Sings [1987]
Instrumentation: string quartet Commission: McEwen Commission, Glasgow Uni
Instrumentation: 2 trumpets, percussion, string orchestra Commission: Scottish Chamber Orchestra
First performance: Edinburgh Quartet. Glasgow University Concert Hall, 12 November 2015
First performance: Spectrum Strings, SCO, Shaun Harrold & Peter Franks (trumpet), Caroline Garden (percussion) conducted by John Steer. Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, June 1987
String Quartet No.2 The Keeper of Sheep [2014]
(15 mins)
Piano Concerto No.1 The Rain Gathering [1986]
(20 mins)
Instrumentation: string quartet Commission: Live Music Now, Scotland First performance: Astrid Quartet. St Ninian’s Church, Orkney, June 2014
Instrumentation: solo piano, chamber orchestra Commission: Isobel Dunlop Trust
(20 mins)
First performance: Joanna Macgregor (piano), Edinburgh University Chamber Orchestra conducted by Christopher Bell. Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, November 1986
Instrumentation: guitar Commission: Glasgow Music Life to celebrate the 80th birthday of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies
Magnus II [2014]
(25 mins)
First performance: Sean Shibe. City Hall, Glasgow, 14 September 2014
Ordo Nocturnus [1984]
(6 mins)
Instrumentation: symphony orchestra Commission: Edinburgh University Music Society
Concerto for trumpet and strings Govan Stones [2019]
First performance: EUMS Orchestra conducted by Christopher Bell. MacEwan Hall, Edinburgh, November 1984
Instrumentation: Solo Trumpet in C / Strings (4.4.3.3.2 minimum) Commission: Glasgow Barons
(15 mins)
First Performance: The Glasgow Barons, Tom Poulson (trumpet), Paul MacAlindin (conductor) Govan Old Church, Glasgow, June 2019 (25 mins)
30
Half Told Tales [2011]
Slainte [2002]
Instrumentation: violin, cello, piano Commission: Fidelio Trio
Instrumentation: brass ensemble Commission: City of London Sinfonia
First performance: Fidelio Trio Marryat Hall, Dundee, 13 October 2011
First performance: City of London Sinfonia Atrium, MMC Offices, London, for the opening of the building, June 2002
(16 mins)
The Twittering Machine [2008] Instrumentation: flute, oboe, clarinet, cello Commission: Edinburgh International Festival First performance: Lis Dooner (fl), Julian West (ob), Angela Crispe (cl), Alison Lawrance (cello). Temperate Palm House, Edinburgh Botanic Gardens 15 August 2008
(10 mins)
Dansmusik [2000] Instrumentation: large mixed ensemble Commission: Paragon Ensemble First performance: Paragon Ensemble conducted by Garry Walker (20 mins)
(18 mins)
Midsummer Songs [1999]
Corryvreckan [2007]
Instrumentation: flute, violin, gongs Commission: Ken Aiso
Instrumentation: violin, cello, harp, accordion, clarinet Commission: SYD as a dance score for touring dance work First performances: Scotland, Ireland and the Edinburgh Festival. (50 mins)
First performance: Ken Aiso (violin), Junko Chiba (flute). Oji Hall, Tokyo, October 1999 (10 mins)
Keepers of the House [1997]
The Stamping Ground [2006]
Instrumentation: large mixed ensemble Commission: Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Instrumentation: flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano Commission: Nash Ensemble, St Magnus Festival
First performance: SCO conducted by Stephen Deazley, The Cottier, Glasgow, March 1997
First performance: Nash Ensemble. St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, June 2006, St Magnus Festival
(25 minutes)
(10 mins)
A Gift o’ Tunes [2004] Instrumentation: clarinet, oboe, 2 violins, viola, cello, piano Commission: St Magnus Festival to celebrate the 70th birthday of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies First performance: Nash Ensemble. 2004 St Magnus Festival (6 mins)
42nd Street Stomp [2003] Instrumentation: solo piano, jazz ensemble First performance: Joanna MacGregor, members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Sydney Opera House, February 2003 (6 mins)
Don’t Explain [1997] Instrumentation: oboe, bassoon, piano Commission: Nene College, Northampton First performance: Derngate Ensemble. Derngate Centre, Northampton, March 1997 (15 mins)
Mirror Dances [1996] Instrumentation: soprano, sax, piano, string quartet Commission: St Magnus Festival First performance: Dick Lee (sax), Joanna MacGregor (piano), Emperor Quartet conducted by the composer with Andy Howitt dancers. Phoenix Cinema, Kirkwall, June 1996 (30 mins)
….the isle is full of noises… [1996] Instrumentation: guitar Commission: Allan Neave First performance: Allan Neave. RSAMD, Glasgow and UK tour, November 1996 (10 mins)
31
String Quartet No.1 The Stormwatchers [1996] Instrumentation: string quartet Commission: St Magnus Festival for a dance work with the Andy Howitt dancers First performance: Emperor Quartet. Phoenix Cinema, Kirkwall, June 1996, St Magnus Festival
Duke [1993] Instrumentation: cello, piano Commission: Norconcert First performance: Oystein Birkeland (cello), Joanna MacGregor (piano). Oslo and Norwegian tour, 1993 (12 mins)
(20 mins)
Cradle Song of the Disappeared [1992]
Squeeze [1995]
Instrumentation: chamber ensemble
Instrumentation: 2 accordions Commission: James Crabb
First performance: Platform Ensemble conducted by the composer. ICA, London, June 1992, Platform 2 Festival
First performance: James Crabb, Geir Draugsvoll. Ijsbreker, Amsterdam, March 1995 Broadcast live on Dutch Radio (10 mins)
(20 mins)
General Reid: His Dumpe [1986]
Shadows of a Desperate Journey [1995]
Instrumentation: clarinet, cello, piano Commission: Edinburgh Uni Reid Memorial Concert
Instrumentation: flute & marimba Commission: Aequitas
First performance: Bufano Trio. Reid Concert Hall, Edinburgh, February 1986
First performance: Aequitas. Blackheath Concert Halls, London, April 1995
(15 mins)
(12 mins)
Don’t Explain [1994]
Conceites and Counterfetes [1985] Instrumentation: mixed chamber ensemble
Instrumentation: acordion Commissioned: James Crabb
First performance: Mozart Band conducted by Christopher Bell. Palmerston Place Church, Edinburgh, May 1985
First Performance: James Crabb (accordion). Chester Festival, 1994
(15 mins)
(12 mins)
Punch! [1994] Instrumentation: flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion Commission: St Magnus Festival First performance: Chamber Group of Scotland conducted by the composer. St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, June 1994 (12 mins)
Slow Airs and March [1994] Instrumentation: soprano, sax, piano Commission: Gerard MacChrystal & Kathryn Page First performance: Gerard MacChrystal, Kathryn Page. 1994 Canterbury Festival (10 mins)
32
KEYBOARD
VOCAL
The Ebb Variations [2017]
The Balfour Songbook [2015]
Instrumentation: organ Commission: New Paths Festival & Sound Festival
Instrumentation: tenor, guitar, harp Commission: Bardic Trio
First Performance: Christian Wilson. Beverley Minster, Beverley, April 2017
First performance: Bardic Trio. Balfour Castle, Shapinsay, St Magnus Festival, June 2015
(14 mins)
(12 mins)
Magnus IV Orpheus in his Cottage [2016]
Three Scots Songs [2009]
Instrumentation: piano Commission: Sound Festival, Aberdeen
Instrumentation: mezzo-soprano, flute, harp
First performance: Rolf Hind (piano). Elphinstone Hall, Aberdeen, 20 October 2016
First performance: Alison Wells (mezzo sop), Lis Dooner (flute) Gabriella dall’Olio (harp). Resolis Memorial Hall, April 2009
( 6 mins)
(12 mins)
Lullabies for Madeleine [1993]
Backward Glances [2002]
Instrumentation: piano Commission: Joanna MacGregor
Instrumentation: mezzo-soprano, piano Text: Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost Commission: Catherine Wyn-Rogers
First performance: Joanna MacGregor. BBC Concert Hall, Birmingham, November 1993 (6 mins)
Christmas Songs [1991] Instrumentation: piano Commission: Joanna MacGregor First performance: Joanna MacGregor. BBC Concert Hall, Broadcasting House, London, December 1991 (6 mins)
42nd Street Stomp/I’ll Be Seeing You [1990] Instrumentation: piano Commission: Collins Classics Records First performance: Joanna MacGregor. Snape Maltings Concert Hall, Aldeburgh, June 1990 (10 mins)
The Clockwork Nocturnes [1989] Instrumentation: clavichord Commission: John Cranmer First performance: John Cranmer. St Cecilia’s Hall, Edinburgh, April 1989 (10 mins)
First performance: Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Malcolm Martineau (piano). Buxton Festival, 2002 (20 mins)
Three Scots Songs [1999] Instrumentation: tenor, piano Text: Burns, Anon Commission: Highland Festival First performance: Harry Nicoll, Alasdair Nicolson. Foulis Castle, Invergordon, 1999 Highland Festival
Last Things [1993] Instrumentation: counter-tenor, piano Text: Craig Raine First performance: members of New Chamber Opera. New College, Oxford, October 1993 (12 mins)
Cada Cançion [1989] Instrumentation: mezzo-sopranno, chamber ensemble Text: Lorca Unperformed
33
CHORAL
OPERA/MUSIC THEATRE
I, Pilgrim [2017]
The Iris Murder [2016]
Instrumentation: soprano, baritone, choir, string orchestra Text: Jon Fosse, anon, Stabat Mater Commission: Trondheim Soloists
Instrumentation: tenor, soprano, bass, cello, accordion, clarinet, percussion Libretto: John Gallas Commission: Hebrides Ensemble
First performance: Ann-Helen Moen (soprano), Simon Bailey (bass), BBC Singers, Trondheim Soloists conducted by Øyvind Gimse. St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, 16 June 2017
First Performance: Elizabeth Llewellyn (soprano), Chrstopher Bowen (tenor), Andrew Fellowes (bass) Hebrides Ensemble directed by William Conway. Cottier Theatre, Glasgow, 10 June 2016
(70 mins)
(75 mins)
Winterings [2007]
The Tinsel Storm [2004]
Instrumentation: tenor, choir, strings, percussion Text: poems by Robert Rendall Commission: Orkney Arts Forum
Chamber Insrumentation: soprano, mezzo soprano, 2 tenors, 2 baritones, chamber ensemble Libretto: Philip Ridley Commission: Opera Theatre Scotland
First performance: Paul Rendall (tenor), Winter Choir, Orkney Camerata conducted by the composer. St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, 2 December 2007 (20mins)
Ecce Puer [1998] Instrumentation: violin, cello, bells, SATB choir [alt. version for unaccompanied SATB choir] Text: James Joyce Commission: Black Isle Singers
First performance: in preparation (80 mins)
Ice [2001] Instrumentation: 2 sopranos, tenor, baritone, chorus orchestra Libretto: Andy Rashleigh Commission: City of London Sinfonia
First performance: Black Isle Singers conducted by Aileen Fraser. St Andrews Church, Fortrose, December 1998
First performance: members of the community, Carole Irvine (soprano), Richard Morris (baritone), CLS conducted by the composer. The People’s Palace, London, June 2001
(7 mins)
(80 mins)
Lie in Grace [1982]
Shawna and Ron’s Half Moon [2000]
Instrumentation: SATB choir Text: Dylan Thomas
Instrumentation: ensemble company singers, chamber ensemble Text: Eva Salzman Commission: ENO Studio
First performance: Edinburgh Uni Music Faculty Choir. Reid Concert Hall, Edinburgh, December 1982
Songs of the Lost [1995]
First performance: members of The Knack directed by Rufus Norris. Hoxton Music Hall, London, June 2000
Instrumentation: chorus, orchestra
(25 mins)
[See orchestral listing]
The Big Issue [1998]
(6 mins)
Instrumentation: baritone, piano Text: the composer Commission: Covent Garden Festival First performance: Hatstand Opera. London Coliseum, May 1998 (7 mins)
34
Cat Man’s Tale [1997]
The Ballad of Bulbous Sniff [1994]
Chamber Instrumentation: soprano, mezzosoprano, tenor, baritone, cello, cello, percussion Libretto: David Harrower Commission: Opera Circus
Instrumentation: mime, mezzo-sop, chamber ensemble Text: Orit Azaz and the composer Commission: EOS Ensemble
First performance: Opera Circus. Garrison Theatre, Lerwick, and tour of the UK (Oct 1997 - Jun 1998)
First performance: Carole Irvine, EOS Ensemble conducted by Charles Hazlewood. Purcell Room, London, October 1994, South Bank Centre Boom Room Series
(75 mins)
Lanark [1997] Instrumentation: mezzo-soprano, baritone, 2 cellos, violin Text: Alastair Cording after Alasdair Gray Commission: TAG Theatre Company First performance: Carole Irvine, Stuart MacIntyre, TAG Theatre. Assembly Hall, Edinburgh, 1997 Edinburgh Festival (80 mins)
Greenvoe [1997] Instrumentation: 5 actors, chamber ensemble Text: Stewart Conn after George Mackay Brown Commission: BBC Radio Scotland First performance: BBC SSO conducted by Peter Jones. Stromness Academy Theatre, Orkney, 1998 St Magnus Festival. Subsequent performances at the Northlands Festival. Broadcast as Radio Scotland’s tribute to George MacKay Brown
(25 mins)
Cassandra [1989] Instrumentation: soprano, mezzo-soprano, brass quintet, percussion Text: the composer Commission: Scottish Masking Company First performance: Frances MacCafferty, Irene Drummond, members of Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by the composer. Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, August 1989 (25 mins)
Hildegard [1988] Istrumentation: chamber opera Libretto: Roger Savage Commission: Edinburgh University Opera
(70 mins)
First performance: Edinburgh University Opera conducted by the composer. George Square Theatre, Edinburgh, February 1988
Five Card Trick [1995]
(80 mins)
Instrumentation: mezzo-soprano, baritone, chamber ensemble Libretto: Janice Galloway Commission: Music Box First performance: Donald Maxwell, Linda Ormiston, Festival Ensemble conducted by Wyn Davies. Perth Theatre, May 1995 (25 mins)
35
AMATEUR/CHILDREN
FILM/TV/RADIO
Sgathach [1997]
After the Rains
Instrumentation: community opera Text in Scottish Gaelic: Aonghas Macneacail Commission: Highland Festival
Instrumentation: small ensemble
First performances: community members, Island of Skye conducted by Stephen Deazley. Portree Community Centre, Skye and Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, May 1997. With Slainte Productions (80 mins)
Springtide [1995] Instrumentation: children’s chorus, SATB choir, chamber orchestra Text: Sorley Maclean Commission: Queen Anne High School First performance: pupils of Queen Anne High School conducted by Graeme Wilson. Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline, June 1995
Soundtrack for an animated film by Jessica Langford
The Loch Instrumentation: small ensemble Soundtrack for award winning BBC TV series The Loch Winner of a Scottish Bafta
T-Dance Instrumentation: small ensemble Soundtrack for the award-winning BBC 2 Series Dance for the Camera Award winner at Bratislava and Naples Television Festivals
The Battle of Stirling Bridge Instrumentation: string quartet Soundtrack for an animated film by Siriol Scotland
(20 mins)
Scotland’s Century
Stone Ritual [1994]
Instrumentation: large ensemble
Instrumentation: flexible orchestra Commission: COMA
Radio music for a 26-part history series for BBC Radio Scotland
First performance: COMA Summer School Orchestra conducted by Simon Foxley. Sheffield University Concert Hall, July 1994
Beelines
Further performances with COMA at the 1995 Huddersfield Festival (15 mins)
Tam! [1993] [see ORCHESTRAL listings]
Banner [1992] [see ORCHESTRAL listings]
The River Sings [1987] [see ORCHESTRAL listings]
36
Instrumenation: flute, violin, harp Soundtrack for an animated film by Rachel Bevan Baker
THEATRE MUSIC Oxford Stage Company: Falstaff Testing Testing: The Queen of Spades /
King Lear / Touchstone Bedlam Theatre Company:
The Orphan of Chao Murder in the Cathedral / Macbeth RADA: Caucasian Chalk Circle Birmingham Repertory Theatre:
Wind in the Willows Trickster Mime Theatre Company:
RECORDINGS ….the isle is full of noises…..
Allan Neave – guitar
….the isle is full of noises….. BGS Records BGCD 104
42nd Street Stomp Joanna MacGregor –piano
MacGregor on Broadway Collins Classics
PLAY SoundCircus Records
Fractured Shadows
Outside In Pianist
Theatre Workshop, Edinburgh:
SoundCircus Records SC002
Sinbad / Foodstuff / The Great Push Suspense / Come to the Circus Phantom of the Opera Communicado TheatreWorkshop:
The Best of All Possible Worlds Bloomsbury Theatre: Sinbad Eden Court Theatre Company:
Sinbad / Aladdin / Red Riding Hood II New Company:
Slainte
City of London Sinfonia Brass conducted by Douglas Boyd
Fine Brass MMC
String Quaret No. 2 (The Keeper of Sheep) As part of CD Luminate
DELPHIAN RECORDS
Cloud in Trousers / Music Lessons Andrews Lane Theatre, Dublin:
Words of Pride and Passion Players Theatre: Late Joys Duchess Theatre, London:
Put some clothes on / Clarisse Arts Theatre, London:
Beauty and the Beast Hans Christian Anderstories Pinocchio TAG/Mitchell Theatre Glasgow:
Desperate Journey TAG/Edinburgh International Festival:
Lanark Meridian Theatre Company:
Love on the Dole Lego Theatre, Windsor:
Sound Sorcerers 37
PRESS “
“
One of Scotland’s finest talents of the younger generation. THE SCOTSMAN
Nicolson is not only a maker, but also a shaker. His creating of festivals, his performing, his work in the theatre and his projects enlivening others interest in music are carried out with boundless enthusiasm and tireless energy and a good deal of natural charisma. He is one of the new breed of artists whose world of influence and interest is wide and ever growing. THE SUNDAY TIMES
“ “
NEW YORK TIMES / 42nd STREET STOMP
An exciting and brutal take on Harry Warren’s 42nd Street. NEW YORK TIMES / 42nd STREET STOMP
“ 38
... an outsider whose music is exuberant, eclectic, and witty.
The music is shivery, wraithlike, suggestive of forms coalescing and fading. THE GUARDIAN / GHOSTS AT THE WATER’S EDGE
“
Nicolson is a composer who is uniquely qualified to deal with these theatrical challenges and has a distinguished pedigree as a writer of music for theatre. THE SUNDAY TIMES / LANARK
“
... dark and ironic, themes floating through it like a mist: the first quiet, anticipatory thunder of it raised the hairs on the back of my neck. THE TIMES / CAT MAN'S TALE
“
... a score full of muscular, fibrous, Scottish rhythms. Appropriately meaty, tensile music for some of the most amazing action photography that you will ever see. THE HERALD / THE LOCH
“
... beautifully crafted and written with masterly fluency for the singers. Nicolson’s ability to weave and colour is remarkable. THE SCOTSMAN / CAT MAN’S TALE
“
... a set of piano pieces that fall like shards of glass on the ears, but create the appropriate soundscape to conjure up man’s elemental struggle with the sea. SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY / STORMWATCHERS
39
“
... opulent orchestration ... completely winning, from the glittering sonorities of the ice music to the sumptuous carpet of sound he creates for the love themes. The orchestral performance, conducted with real style and flair by the composer himself, highlighted the sheer beauty of the orchestration. THE HERALD / ICE
“
Alasdair Nicolson’s score is gorgeous, alternately classical and Celtic, lyrical and playful. THE HERALD / CORRYVRECKAN
“ “
THE SCOTSMAN / CORRYVRECKAN
Nicolson creates a unique soundworld which, whilst beautiful and still, has a power to disturb. THE SCOTSMAN / LANARK
“ 40
... a superb slice of contemporary music, designed to excite and challenge in equal measure.
Lovely ideas and beautiful texturing and colouring; a riot of a piece. THE FINANCIAL TIMES / 42nd STREET STOMP
CONTACT www.alasdairnicolson.co.uk info@alasdairnicolson.co.uk alasdair.nicolson@btinternet.com + 44 (0) 7811 10 42 49
FOR SCORES AND INFORMATION: Scottish Music Centre Glasgow City Halls Candleriggs, GLASGOW info@scottishmusiccentre.com
Photography by Paul Foster Williams, Bethany Alexander and Leslie Burgher. Illustration & design by Helen Wyllie. Portrait of the composer by Jo Kirkbride.
41
www.alasdairnicolson.co.uk