Current Projects...
‘Dreams
you might not come back from’ for Continuum Sax and Clocked
Out ensembles. The resulting work will be a 60-minute piece for saxophones,
piano and percussion. The resulting new work will be developed through
composition, improvisation and recording. ‘Dreams
you might not come back’ from will explore the sound, space and timbral
possibilities of this diverse and exciting combination of instruments. We will
all be meeting up in April for a weeks residency at Bundanon.
19th October: Brisbane
performance
22nd October: Concert
at the Campbelltown Arts Centre
Frozen Words for Voice, Recorders, Clarinets and
live electronics. A collaboration with Hans-Dieter Michatz & Nadia Piave
My original inspiration for Frozen Words was from
Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel and his wonderful image of ‘Frozen Words’. Gargantua
and Pantagruel are on a sea voyage exploring the world and they when they heard
sounds faint in the air. As they listened carefully, the sounds grew louder.
They could distinguish voices: "It was terrible to see nothing, yet to
hear voices of men, women, children, and horses." (at p. 647)
Panurge hid, terrified of the battle he heard,
Pantagruel questioned the Captain-there was no signs of battle. The Captain
told him that the ship had passed through this same space the previous winter,
where a terrible battle had ensued. They were lucky to have escaped with their
lives. But now, all they were hearing were the words and sounds that had frozen
in the winter battle, melting now in the Spring. The lesson from this satirical
story is that “what you say may come back to haunt you” This train of thought
got me thinking of that image of Frozen Words and finding songs of words unsaid,
never to be said, a comical performance of text and exploring the themes re-negotiation of public and
private spheres in our contemporary society.
A ‘work in progress’ performance of my song cycle
Frozen Words took place in June 2010. This proposal is to expand and develop
the possibilities of Frozen Words into a larger work with myself performing
with Hans and Nadia, and incorporating live electronics into the performance.
