Seven Face Pictures – 14th January 2011

I am delighted that the gloriously talented Trio Atem will be performing the premiere of ‘Seven Face Pictures‘, my new work for mezzo-soprano, flute and cello. An ensemble with strong ties to Manchester, they are justifiably described by the Kings Place website as ‘gaining a growing reputation as one of the most exciting & versatile new music ensembles recently to have appeared in the UK’ – so what a treat to have my piece played!

The work itself sets the poetry of Caroline Bird, a British poet currently (and for the second time) nominated for the Dylan Thomas Prize. She also happens to be my cousin – collaboration’s always a family affair…

‘Facial’, Caroline’s set of small poems each dealing with a different part of the face, forms the spine of a miniature song-cyle – essentially seven songs in around ten minutes. Each is highly differentiated and characterised, with a range of instrumental combinations and effects. Trio Atem will be performing ‘Seven Face Pictures’ at Manchester’s Martin Harris Centre in a lunchtime concert on the 14th January, as part of the Royal Musicological Association’s Postgraduate conference. They will also be workshopping and discussing the work on the 13th.

P.S. – below you can see a different application of music to Caroline’s poetry, as she does a reading of one of her poems over a jazz band at London’s Rich Mix: