Being the first major piece I had written since finishing my PhD, Spiral was the most challenging piece I have created to date – knowing this piece could be and do anything after spending years composing pieces related to my research was both exciting, and, looking back, overwhelming. I was grateful for the Philhamornia Composers’ Academy workshops, which allowed me to experiment with various ideas I had throughout the months-long process of composing, but overall I had to completely restart three times (a personal record!) before finally feeling like I was composing the ‘right’ piece.
While I initially wanted to write a big rhythmic piece (probably similar to what Florence’s piece ended up being), nothing I tried seemed to work. It was only when I allowed the simplicity of my piece to speak that Spiral finally began to materialise, both in my head and on the page, with two ideas that start off calm and light, but, as they repeat, begin gradually taking on the weight of stress and anxiety. This process showed me the importance of connecting to my authentic self, emotions, and personal experience rather than what I felt I needed to prove I could do with a particular ensemble or opportunity.
I like to write music that connects to my own experience and struggles with mental health as it feels important to add visibility to this (surprisingly still) taboo topic. I aspire to create music that allows the audience to connect to ‘difficult’ emotional states (such as stress and anxiety) they might be avoiding, and, as part of the journey of the piece, release them, creating a sense of catharsis. I feel Spiral is successful in doing that, with the use of breathing and breathing-like sounds (alongside the musical materials) to amplify the audience’s connection to the emotional journey from calmness to anxiety and back, which the piece represents.
In the end, I felt my piece created a super interesting and varied balance alongside Florence’s and Mathis’ pieces, with Florence’s rhythmic and fast-developing Bare Boss, Innit? providing a perfect contrast to my minimal and repetitive Spiral, and Mathis’ Noctopolis providing an atmospheric story-like adventure into various realms, which added another completely different dimension to the programme.
Yfat Soul ZIsso, October 2024
It’s impossible to really quantify just how useful it is for a composer to have direct access to amazing musicians – not just to present them with sheets of notes to play, but to get alongside them, to speak with them, and to learn from each other. One of the true strengths of this programme is the experience and knowledge that we’ve gained from spending time with the musicians. In addition to the rehearsals leading up to the performance and recording of our actual final pieces, we were able to have extensive individual and communal workshop time with individual musicians, small groups and the ensemble as a whole. This allowed us to trial ideas, seek solutions and then have time and space to use these insights to develop our own practice as composers and creators.
Among my current compositional interests – perhaps obsessions might be a better term – are the sonorities and timbres of electronic music, particularly electronic dance music, and in finding ways to include those sounds, textures, effects and techniques in my own, almost exclusively acoustic, works. There’s lots that can be done with imagined sounds, individual explorations and with software, but in order to really explore and evaluate my ideas, it’s only possible if I can actually hear the results, played live, by real musicians. There’s no substitute for being metres away from incredible performers, and to personally experience the direct air vibrations from their instruments. In this piece, Bare Boss, Innit?, you’ll hear the results of these experiences, these experiments and insights and collaborations – but you won’t hear all of the results – there’s so much I’ve gained from this process which you’ll have to wait to hear in future compositions...
Florence Anna Maunders, October 2024
The recording process is fascinating, somehow the piece prints itself, and transitions from the score to the audio player – a way to officialise itself through sound this time. As the piece was recorded in a single take within a concert setting, it is an opportunity to embrace the spontaneity of the moment.
The experience with studio sessions, somehow, shaped me to seek full control over every aspect of the music, down to the smallest detail. In this case, though, the approach was entirely different, requiring us to accept the work as it stood at that particular moment.
I was amazed by the Royal Festival Hall sound engineer’s ability to adapt the electronic soundscapes to suit the aesthetics of the piece. to respond to the aesthetics of the piece. We tried our best to recreate this approach within the studio version. The elevated volume of the techno sections might seem controversial, but it captures the essence of Noctopolis.
The role of the mix becomes crucial as it pictures the piece for future listeners, independently from the concert. The balance between the electronics and the Philharmonia was therefore essential in capturing both the raw intensity of the techno influences, the subtle nuances of the musicians’ performances, and the stark contrasts between each sonic environment as one journey through the fictional city of the piece.
Mathis Saunier, October 2024
On 27 September 2024, NMC Recordings released the digital-only album of Philharmonia Composers’ Academy Volume 7, featuring specially commissioned works by the participants of the Philharmonia’s 2023/24 Composers’ Academy programme.
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