Output details

spinning and weaving (final version)

This work for bass clarinet solo and small ensemble was commissioned by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra for Katherine Lacy and the RLPO’s contemporary music ensemble, 10/10. The second section (… weaving) was performed in a concert at the Wigmore Hall, 5 March 2010, and the complete work at the Cornerstone, Liverpool, 25 January 2012. It was recorded later that year for online release. Shortlisted in the Chamber Music category of the British Composer Awards 2012. Recording: Katherine Lacy, Ensemble 10/10, conductor Clark Rundell.

The research for this composition entailed the investigation of derivations and permutations out of tiny scraps of compositional material, and the exploration of crossweaving in musical patterns. The work mobilises an intricate postminimal style and builds a musical narrative through ‘panels’ constructed through rehearsal with the soloist and ensemble.

The piece is in two sections built exclusively around three elements:

a) a minimalist ostinato pattern heard in the first bar of the …weaving section;

b) an ensuing cross-weaving rhythmic permutation pattern that runs (in groups of semiquavers):

4 3 2 3

3 4 2 3

3 2 4 3

3 2 3 4

2 3 3 4

2 3 3 4

2 3 4 3

3 2 4 3

3 4 2 3

3 4 3 2

4 3 3 2

4 3 3 2

c) a five note harmonic aggregate which is spun invariantly across the whole piece, heard at the outset and in two freeze-frame moments in the second half of the piece.

The first section gradually assembles the ostinato pattern in a set of accelerating panels, while the second half releases a flow of variations created out of these materials.