The deep time of language
Back in 2005, I wrote a work called ‘Mother Tongue’ for soprano Piia Komsi & ensemble commissioned by the Festival d’Automne à Paris, Ensemble Intercontemporain and ...
revisiting ‘Moon Spirit Feasting’
Yuè Ling Jié (Moon Spirit Feasting), a Chinese ritual street opera This trailer is from the 2000 Adelaide Festival premiere when the opera was performed outdoors on a barge floating on the Torrens River. One of my many collaborations with, and fabulous productions of, the ELISION Ensemble. Music by Liza Lim Libretto by Beth Yahp ...
Winding bodies: 3 knots shortlisted for 2015 BASCA Award
Winding Bodies: 3 knots has been shortlisted in the large chamber music category of this year’s BASCA awards. Here’s what I wrote about the piece: A knot is the magical image of time turned back on itself – think of a knot and you start thinking of the actions and process of tying it! The ...
memento mori – assemblage #1
Svetlana Boym – on Nostalgia [Adaptation and elaboration from Svetlana Boym, The Future of Nostalgia, Basic Books, New York 2001.] the wandering scales at the end of this… …the breathing of a stone rubbed on a granite tile I played part 14, [stone-on-stone], as one of 100 percussionists in Speak Percussion’s production of Michael Pisaro’s A wave ...
September: 2 CDs and a premiere
I’m excited about September. It brings the launch of two CDs embodying the fruit of special collaborations with the musicians of the Cikada Ensemble and with the ‘cellist Séverine Ballon. Cikada will launch their disc, which was recorded live at last year’s Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, on 12 September at the Ultima Festival in Oslo. ...
the averted gaze
I was recently given a list of interview questions and was quite unable to answer them. At first I felt that this was a reluctance on my part because I would be giving too much away. Then realised that actually, I am unable to know the answers. Whatever they might be, they don’t cohere into ...
Speak, Be Silent (2015)
Just remember, when you’re in union, you don’t have to fear that you’ll be drained. The command comes to speak, and you feel the ocean moving through you. Then comes, Be silent, as when the rain stops, and the trees in the orchard begin to draw moisture up into themselves. – Jalaluddin Rumi, excerpt fr. Mathnawi V: ...
