Helmut Lachenmann's Salut Für Caudwell: an analysis
This analysis of Helmut Lachenmann's Salut für Caudwell (1977) for guitar duet is intended to add to the small amount of English literature that directly examines Lachenmann's music. A description of Salut's construction is offered, decrypting the extended techniques employed and outlining the work's formal design. The concept of ‘musical ruins’, namely degenerative yet familiar material, is deployed as a means to discuss specific moments of the music, and it will be demonstrated that moments of ‘musical ruin’ are inherently linked to aspects of instrumental technique as well as the musical form, making them critical to the reception of Salut. Other analyses of Lachenmann's work are used as methodological models and comparisons, providing a framework within which to examine unfamiliar musical territory, and placing Salut within the repertory of Lachenmann's more thoroughly documented music.
Ruin Renewal: Manchester's Upper Brook Chapel
This essay offers a reflection on the development of the Upper Brook Chapel, Manchester. Taking Robert Smithson's concept of 'ruins in reverse' as a starting point, the essay attempts to articulate how the processes of ruin restoration can lead to an aesthetic that is more ruinous. The essay draws upon existing architecture and natural formations for comparison, before reflecting upon the social implications that arise from such redevelopment projects.
Ruin Renewal: Manchester's Upper Brook Chapel
This essay offers a reflection on the development of the Upper Brook Chapel, Manchester. Taking Robert Smithson's concept of 'ruins in reverse' as a starting point, the essay attempts to articulate how the processes of ruin restoration can lead to an aesthetic that is more ruinous. The essay draws upon existing architecture and natural formations for comparison, before reflecting upon the social implications that arise from such redevelopment projects.
Ruin Renewal: Manchester's Upper Brook Chapel
This essay offers a reflection on the development of the Upper Brook Chapel, Manchester. Taking Robert Smithson's concept of 'ruins in reverse' as a starting point, the essay attempts to articulate how the processes of ruin restoration can lead to an aesthetic that is more ruinous. The essay draws upon existing architecture and natural formations for comparison, before reflecting upon the social implications that arise from such redevelopment projects.
Mark Dyer // Composer
A pursuit (or task), its arc, and the blisters traced
Performance piece for prepared cello and pre-recorded audio. Written for and with cellist Amy Jolly, this piece scrutinizes Amy’s relationship with a theme by Benjamin Britten. The established performance encourages instability, failure and personal catharsis. With two alternative endings, the piece reflects Amy’s complicated feelings toward her ongoing commissioning project.
Premiered by Amy Jolly at the Festival Musica da Casa Menotti, Spoleto, Italy, Jul 2019.
Video installed at Warrington Contemporary Arts Festival, Sep-Dec 2020.