Blog Archives
Dressing up as a white bear…
It has been a pleasure to work with the Welsh writer Rachel Trezise for the last project I undertook (www.racheltrezise.co.uk). I met Rachel when we both had pieces of work produced for the centenary of the Park and Dare theatre in Treorchy two years ago. The aim of the last project was to write a small collection of pieces using literature from Wales and Norway. Since I was setting a Norwegian folktale I thought it would be a nice counterpoint to work with a contemporary Welsh writer: and it was. Rachel took inspiration from a Norwegian folktale ‘The Cat on the Dovrefjell’, which in its simplest form is about trolls being scared away from a family home by a polar bear. What is beautiful and clever about the story that Rachel produced is the interweaving of this idea with a touching and intriguing snapshot of a scene in the life of a Welsh family. I recorded Rachel reading the text and then started working on a piece of music that would paint the scenes within it. The piece that was written was for solo vibraphone and electronics, performed at last week’s concert in the Norwegian Church, Cardiff Bay. If you click on the picture above, you will be taken directly to a recording of the piece on Soundcloud.
“God kveld du” said the white bear…
I have just returned from a productive trip to Norway, workshopping and recording samples for my new piece ‘East Of The Sun And West Of The Moon’. This piece will be premiered by Norwegian percussion group ‘The Pinquins’ in an upcoming concert in March next year – more details to follow. I will be announcing details of another exciting collaboration planned for this concert very soon!
Working with the Pinquins
I have recently returned from Oslo, working with the Pinquins percussion trio. We spent our time working out instrumentation for my new piece ‘East of the Sun and West of the Moon’. The piece will be developed around a Norwegian folk tale of the same title. The Pinquins’ workshop was a treasure chest of percussive toys, including a really cool ‘Waldteufel’ and a set of tuned goblets (top, above). We also experimented with synchronising hits from coins being thrown onto a snare drum. This action will have metaphorical significance in the piece, so keep updated for how all these strands will be worked together! The Pinquins were fantastic company and I am very excited about the piece we will create together.
Norwegian Wood (and metal, and plastic, and balloons, and….)
I am very excited to get the opportunity to travel to Norway to work with the percussion trio ‘The Pinquins’. We will be working on a piece taking influence from the Norwegian folk tale ‘East of the Sun and West of the Moon’. This exchange will be part of a wider set of connections facilitated through Curated Place. I would like to try and incorporate some of the recordings I made in Iceland last year into the electronic sections of this piece. I will also be working with the trio to incorporate some of their more experimental ensemble work. If you click on the picture you can visit their website to check out their latest concert recordings.
Jack White 