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
Growing Space for Artefact
For scordatura violin. Commissioned by Psappha as part of their 'Coming for Violin' scheme. This piece attempts to find a new space for a found object to exist within. The object is a fragmented version of Josquin's motet Salve Regina for five voices. The new space, the geometrical structure of the nautilus shell, takes the form of a logarithmic spiral. As this space expands exponentially, the capacity for the motet fragments to resonate and become fixated also grows. This marries explorations in both ruinous musical constructs and naturally formed structures, the latter providing an organic and infinite habitat for the former.
Premiered by Benedict Holland at St Michael's Churhc, Ancoats, Manchester, Mar 2015.
Benedict Holland, Holy Name Church, Manchester, Feb 2018.