SONGS FROM THE INVISIBLE

Prelude: Give yourself a moment
Inspired by the first few minutes of a weekend of improvised dance with Sibrig Dokter, this is a simple piece about giving yourself time to explore new surroundings. Its melody is taken from Hildegard of Bingen’s Aer enim volat, and its rhythmic structure is derived from the words below. The poetic form is known as a tetractys.

Give
yourself
a moment
to arrive here,
step slowly from the train of thought and stand.

Feel
the ground
beneath you,
the connection:
from earth to heart to mind to eye to hand.

© Heather Wastie

Cantor’s Paradise (Response No 2 to O Virgo Spendens)
Alchemy specialises in linking medieval music with mathematics. This piece takes an anonymous 14thC Spanish canon, heard near the beginning, and reassembles it to create a motet-like trio. The original text is replaced, tongue-in-cheek, with a new one: “From his paradise no-one shall ever evict us”, a reference by D Hilbert to Set Theory.

In Nomine In memory of Graham Powell
It was fashionable in the sixteenth century to write instrumental pieces based on a piece of plainchant first used by John Taverner. This piece was composed using mathematical and medieval devices and is in five short episodes, the first two identical except for a change of instrumentation.

It was not intended to reflect Graham’s life or personality, although the piece was composed as closely as possible for the 3 instruments he played (cello replaces bass viol). The Celtic elements reflect a treasured holiday in Ireland and the ending expresses loss at his sudden death at the age of 40 in 1992.

A Snowflake Passes
A poem with a concise Japanese form, the haiku, set to an angular melody suggested by the outline of a snowflake.

The Manipulation of Mario Net
A dark movement piece for Soundbeam2 devised and composed using ideas generated during 10 weekly workshops. Mario is under the spell of Mastery, Mystery, Money and the seductive Musetta.Will he escape?

Two improvised pieces using ideas generated during 5 weekly workshops
Watch Out, There’s a Thief About
Oyster Catchers
Another tetractys, combining song with a movement seascape.

Behind the Laughter
The Song of the Agora
Idol (Response No 1 to O Virgo Splendens)
Song for Marge (for Marge Simpson)
The Heart’s Pantomime