Three violins and optional ‘cello (2016) This suite of modest miniatures was written in early 2016 as a gift for the dedicatees Pete, Fred and Clara Miln to play together at home. The optional ‘cello part was then added in 2019 for use at a weekend string group for youngsters hosted by the Milns. Baileau […]
Category Archives: Chamber Ensemble
Piano, harp, violin, flute, alto saxophone, cornet, tenor horn, guitar (2020) Chameleana is an eclectic set of 21 miniatures, written for my piano pupils during the first UK lockdown in 2020. As the title suggests they largely imitate different styles/composers and are each personalised to some degree. They were intended for practice, recreation, and as […]
Two violins (2011) Written for two fellow masters students at the Royal Academy of Music, the first study features a fast web of intertwined harmonic arpeggiations, where the second involves a slower, more sinewy contrapuntal dialogue. Preview/buy score here
Oboe, bassoon and piano (2019) – Avian Study no.1 Listen to an excerpt: This ‘miniature epic’ was inspired by the impressive aerial displays of Swifts flying over our house during the summer. Circles and cycles permeate the music, where the single 6-minute movement is divided into two contrasts sections. The first part is energetic and […]
Chamber orchestra (2007) Three Dancing Movements was written for the student-formed chamber orchestra The New Fangled Consort at Birmingham Conservatoire in 2007. I often imagined dancers when writing, and it was conceived as a dance/ballet score as much as a purely instrumental work. The first movement is an energetic and eccentric dance featuring sporadic rhythms […]
Violin, ‘cello and piano (2018) Stone Study no.2 – Cave and Cliff takes the form of a ‘theme and variations’. The theme consists of a chaconne-like harmonic progression which contains only a few fragments of melodic material; the seven dovetailed variations then take a more harmonic than melodic approach accordingly, often alternating between interior and exterior […]
Clarinet/bass clarinet, harp, viola, ‘cello (2011) Listen to an excerpt: Written for Chroma, the generally dark, grotesque and sometimes farcical character of this piece was partly inspired by the old parlour game of casting silhouettes using a large sheet and a candle. Shadow Play was first performed in the David Josefovitz Recital Hall at the […]
Oboe, violin, viola, ‘cello and piano (2009-10) Listen to an excerpt: A set of tableaux (or freeze-frames) offered an appropriate model for this music, which depicts a series of typically winter moods/scenes. Although the five tableaux run directly into one another, they are devoid of much transition. The different movements are however strongly related harmonically, […]
Violin and harp (2012) Listen to an excerpt: Commissioned by cheese and spirit makers Charles Martell and Sons, these three movements depict three pastoral impressions: I. – a babbling brook in summer; II. – a song sang on a hill; III. – a lively dance and a dark procession. Three Idylls was recorded by Catriona […]
Oboe and harp (2012) The first of a number of ‘Pearls’, the music is written in the same character as the anonymous medieval text from which it takes its name, recounting a fathers grief for his lost daughter. It was written for the oboe and harp duo ‘Orfea’. ‘…Yea, many a thought in mind did […]
Four horns (2011) Listen to an excerpt: Incidental music for a child’s make-believe drama. Pantomime! was first performed at Duke’s Hall, June 2012, by Carys Evans, Oliver Hickie, Edmund Morgan and Adam Howcroft, conducted by the composer. Preview/buy score here
Four horns (2011) Listen to an excerpt: Exploring a dialogue between the principle and the three remaining members of the section, the music was characterised by the often contrasting associations surrounding 2012; a dichotomy that could be seen between the aspirational hype accompanying events such as the Olympics and Queen’s Jubilee, and the foreboding doomsday […]
Basset horn and four double basses (2011/12) Listen to an excerpt: Apart from the basset horn’s distinctively plaintive and melancholy character, the main influence on this piece came from observing different kinds of vortices, such as watching whirlpools on the surface of a river, or being caught in sudden strong winds. The double bass quartet […]
Counter tenor, baroque oboe, violin, viola, ‘cello, harpsichord (2012) Commissioned by the London Bach Society, this music is a response to one of the most famous parts of Bach’s St Matthew Passion, the violent chorus of ‘Laß ihn kreuzigen!’ (Let him be crucified!), followed by the chorale ‘Wie wunderbarlich ist doch diese Strafe!’ (How wondrous […]
Mezzo-soprano and chamber orchestra (2009) Listen to an excerpt: In the spirit of Anglo Saxon riddles and storytelling, these two songs are very much ‘round the campfire’ settings. The first (Cuckoo) imitates the birds behaviour and includes features such as removing and replacing notes at the beginning at the beginning of the piece, as the […]
Alto sax, viola, piano, percussion (2009) Listen to an excerpt: Written for the ensemble Decibel, the music takes the form of an introductory ‘meditation’ which then springs into two fast ‘reflections’, before returning to a concluding slow ‘meditation’. The roles between the two duos of Piano/Viola and Saxophone/Percussion gradually exchange as the piece progresses. As […]
String quartet (2016) Written largely for fun between 2008 and 2016, these two volumes of folksongs arranged for string quartet are generally straightforward in approach, with an attempt to preserve the meaning and cultural origin of each song. Volume 1: The Blacksmith Noël Nouvelet (New Christmas) Bachgen Bach O Dincer (The Little Tinker Boy) Bugeilio’r […]
‘cello and piano (2016) Listen to an excerpt: The imposing and characterful viaduct that towers over the village of Knucklas in Powys was the model for this three-movement work for ‘cello and piano. On a visit to Knucklas in spring 2016, the sight of this 13-arch viaduct (which seems almost to grow out of the […]
Flute, viola and harp (2016) Written for the Aurora Trio, the title Three Diversions refers to a somewhat playful approach (Diversions being the anglicized version of Divertimenti) as well as to the genesis of these three very much self-contained miniatures. At the time, these pieces served either as smaller studies or sketches for material I […]
Flute, viola and harp (2016) Listen to an excerpt: Commissioned by the Aurora Trio with funds from the RVW Trust, Six takes on Tosca is a set of six variations on a theme from Puccini’s Tosca (Act II, Scene I), where a trio of flute, viola and harp provide the impression of a nearby orchestra […]
Flute/piccolo, oboe/cor a/cabasa, clarinet, horn, harp, violin I, violin II, viola, ‘cello (2011) After collecting a disparate collection of musical fragments or ‘images’ through certain ‘field research’, I selected five poems by four poets included in an anthology of ‘Imagist Poetry’ to help give form to these sketches. The poems are set to music but […]
Oboe/cor A, horn, contrabassoon, harp, violin, ‘cello (2010) This piece is a response to the poem of the same name by Edward Thomas. After I had made a number of unsuccessful attempts to set the poem vocally, I eventually settled on the idea of writing a purely instrumental response to the text. In the poem […]
One to Six Trumpets (2015) – including some variable instrumentation These four fanfares are arranged in order of length, difficulty and ensemble size. Commissioned by Wraysbury Parish Council for the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta, they are designed to incorporate a range of abilities and instrumentations as might be appropriate for […]
Violin, ‘cello and piano (2015) This piece is about remembrance, and above all explores various approaches to memory and grief. The music moves between an objective, meditative, even ceremonial character on the one hand; and a more personal, heart-on-sleeve expressiveness on the other. Further retrospection can be heard in musical references to memorial-like pieces such […]