Informationen zu "John Alexander all the birds Double Bass & Piano"
Verlag: Recital Music
Verlagsnummer: RM777
EAN: 9790570457779
ISMN: M-57045-777-9
Beschreibung
John Alexander writes: 'This piece, 'all the birds', for double bass and
piano, was inspired by the Edward Thomas poem, 'Adelstrop'. In effect, the
double bass part is like a setting of the words to that poem, to reflect and
convey the prior quiet (if nostalgic) stillness that the impending
irreversible change and loss the war would bring to this land and to many
people within it. To the fore, the bass tries to sing and sometimes dance
through its long arch of song and aching hope. Ever present but always in the
misty background, the piano attempts to comment on both the natural world and
the easy destruction of life in time of war, whilst holding on to an
optimistic notion of survival and repair. It is dedicated to David Heyes
with much affection.' all the birds was premiered on Sunday 15 November 2015
at Wells & Mendip Museum (Wells, Somerset) by David Heyes (double bass) and
Derek Harris (piano). John Alexander was born in West Sussex in 1942 and
began to compose at the age of 20. At the time he discovered a fascination
for art, literature, dance, architecture and sculpture and these topics,
along with mathematics, have continued to have a bearing on his work. He
studied composition with Edmund Rubbra at the Guildhall School of Music in
London, and later with Jonathan Harvey and Peter Wiegold at the University of
Sussex. John Alexander has never been a prolific composer, but an impressive
and growing body of work reflects a rare eye for detail and structure - each
work beautifully crafted and reworked until every inflection, detail and
nuance is perfect. Probably best described as a miniaturist, he writes in a
fluent, independent and strongly personal style with an intense desire to
create music which communicates to both performer and audience alike. In
1999 John Alexander won the 1st BIBF Composition Contest and was invited to
be a judge for several BIBF competitions. He was a featured composer at
Bass-Fest 2001, was an spnm short-listed composer for three years, and was
Composer-in-residence at the 2004 Rotterdam Conservatoire Double Bass
Weekend, Bass-Fest 2006 and 2007 Wells Double Bass Weekend. His works have
been performed and broadcast throughout the world and he was written an
impressive and unique body of work for double bass.
