Modulations of Sound
performed by Foyle Future Firsts and members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Clement Power
GRISEY Modulations
KNUSSEN Music For A Puppet Court
Plus world premieres of music by Hannah Kendall, Daniel Kidane, Peter Yarde Martin and Stephen Willey, current members of the Leverhulme Young Composers Programme
Grisey once stated, ‘I see sounds as beams of force oriented in time, infinitely mobile and fluctuating’. A leading figure in the ‘spectralism’school of composition, Grisey is known for his masterful arrangement of these ‘beams’ into intricate timbres and harmonies, creating shimmering sonic canvases full of colour and expression. The result, as heard in his 1978 work Modulations, is music that is simultaneously complex and cerebral, yet highly emotive and moving.
Knussen’s Music for a Puppet Court developed out of the composer’s 1972 arrangements of two puzzle canons, found in a court songbook dating from the early years of Henry VIII’s reign and attributed to the English composer John Lloyd. Inspired by these pieces and their style of notation, incorporating riddles and crossword-type clues, Knussen develops this material with his usual glittering touch – a ten-minute gem.
Alongside these two fascinating contemporary masterpieces we present the world premieres of works by four brilliant and very different young composers:
Hannah Kendall’s compositions have been praised as ‘… intricately and skillfully wrought’ by The Sunday Times. Her new piece, The Great Dark, focuses on the themes of cosmology explored in the poetry of 20th-century Caribbean writer Martin Carter.
Daniel Kidane’s works are packed with incident and expression, braiding together sounds and entwining groups of instruments to create a meta-instrument that deftly weaves through novel timbres.
Peter Yarde Martin’s music explores strange tonalities, where melodic lines of graceful fragility cohabit with scurrying micro-grooves and miniature musical machines.
Stephen Willey is a composer of narrative, melding elements of folk, classical and electroacoustic music in a hotpot of order and disorder, to create an immediate and direct sound world.
Members of both the Foyle Future Firsts and Leverhulme Young Composers programmes have been supported throughout the academic year to arrive at Debut Sounds. The Foyle Future Firsts programme is an annual apprenticeship programme designed to support young instrumentalists embarking on professional orchestral careers, through playing in full orchestral rehearsals, lessons and mentoring from LPO Principals and high profile performance opportunities. The four young composers have received advice and support from Composer in Residence Julian Anderson and conductor Clement Power, through a series of workshops dedicated to experimenting with their compositional ideas.
Come and hear new sound worlds and discover young talent at the highest level.
Leverhulme Young Composers is supported by an Arts Portfolio Grant from the Leverhulme Trust.
The Foyle Future Firsts Programme is generously funded by The Foyle Foundation with additional support from the Musicians Benevolent Fund, Fidelio Charitable Trust and The Tillett Trust.
Find out more about the Leverhulme Young Composers
Find out more about the Foyle Future Firsts