What a total pleasure it has been to spend Sunday listening to Dobrinka Tabakova's forthcoming release on ECM records, the extraordinary String Paths. Dobrinka is a remarkable British/Bulgarian composer, with whom I am about to collaborate. She slipped me a wee advance copy last week...
On Friday at London's Southbank Centre, there was a press launch announcing 20 composers and commissioning organisations who will participate in the first ever UK-wide New Music Biennale, an initiative from the PRS for Music Foundation, resulting in fresh work to tie in with next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
I am beyond pleased to report that the Royal Philharmonic Society's proposal, uniting Dobrinka and I, has won a new music commission!!
We will soon begin developing our piece together, a score and film exploring the idea of PULSE; of life-blood, energy, connection, city, culture, humanity. I want to learn about Dobrinka's method and how she attacks new writing. We want to think about how we would tell the same story via each of our disciplines. We hope to influence one another's process, for the music and images to grow from one seed. Right now, is both a scary and thrilling place to be. We have very broad ideas for the path our project will take, but we share the passion and drive to create something adventurous and striking. Something banging good.
I'll be working with my cinematographer David Liddell on the movie-making side, and with Dobrinka's score planned for recording in October, we'll finish the film by the close of 2013 ready for a succession of performances and screenings throughout 2014, which is looking set to be a very exciting year indeed!
We will be documenting our development also, so I'll be sure to update interested folk.
I met Dobrinka last year, at the screening (and performance) of my first RPS commission, ROCKHAVEN, inspired by Ferneyhough's Prometheus. My introduction to Dobrinka's music that evening, was an affecting experience. Her piece, Metamorphoses, stirred remarkably rich visual and emotional landscapes, ripe for exploration. I sensed an affinity with her vision at that time.
I wouldn't have thought it possible to get more excited about our forthcoming venture, but Miss Wrong was I... Dobrinka's album String Paths, which is released in May, is beautiful and powerful. It is thrilling and heartbreaking. It's got me raring to go. GET IT. LISTEN TO IT. And in the meantime, take a taste from this:
There is a wealth of intriguing projects being commissioned for the New Music Biennale programme, including new work by the wonderful LAU, who will collaborate with the Elysian Quartet. Delighted to be in those guys' vicinity.
A massive congratulations to all of the successful proposals, and an even larger big huge thank you to Tom Hutchison, Alison Pavier and Rosemary Johnson of the Royal Philharmonic Society, to the PRS for Music Foundation and all their supporting partners, including Creative Scotland.