Dolphin Music
Cetacean Ensemble at Royal Northern College of Music.
April this year saw the premiere of my new composition Movement for Piano Trio: 0.2 to 150,000. The piece was commissioned by the RNCM for the Earth Day Symposium on 22nd April 2024.
I wrote the piece for Jocelyn Lau on violin, Claudia Kuner on cello and myself on piano, together making the Cetacean Ensemble (the group taking its name from the word for sea mammals such as dolphins, whales, etc.).
In Movement for Piano Trio: 0.2 to 150,000 I continue my series of nature related music, in particular that connected to our oceans, inspired this time by dolphins. These sea mammals are commonly found around the UK coast and interact frequently with humans. There is a long documented history of human relationships with dolphins, from saintly encounters to the at times bizarre scientific studies of present times, which lies in the background to the composition.
In the composition, I place the piano trio in a new sonic environment created by an electronic track inspired by sound from under the sea, in particular that connected to dolphins.
At various moments virtuosic demands are made on the performers by the individual parts and with regards to the coordination within the ensemble and between the ensemble and the electronic track. A form of collective virtuosity is produced, paralleling the relationships within dolphin cultures perhaps.
Conflicts between freedom and constraint, listening and performing, form and formlessness; and dualities of size and scale, also emerge as broader themes within the composition.
The title refers to the range of sounds dolphins make, from 0.2 Hz to 150,000 Hz. Many times larger than human hearing range, 'sounds we can’t hear’ is a further impulse to the music.
Symposium panel.
Following the performance there was a panel discussing viewpoints on how music and the arts connect to the environment and the natural ecology - Sounding the Call: Releasing Music’s Potential for Climate Action. Topics included new approaches to music touring, music’s inspirational effects, artists’ role, opportunities for community building and a sharing of the panel’s experiences. The panel was hosted by Dr Michelle Phillips and included Sarah Nicolls, Xaris Alexandratos (Trees R. Good), Ailsa Burns and myself.