DISTIL ENGLAND SHOWCASE 2008
Saturday 8 March
Loughborough Town Hall
1.30

A PRS Foundation, Arts Council of England and Scottish Arts Council initiative delivered by the Scottish Traditional Music Trust.

Distil has teamed up with Loughborough Folk Festival and Charnwood District Council to present the second showcase of new music composed by musicians who have taken part in the Distil England project.

Distil was established in 2002 to give adventurous musicians, whose main musical dialect is traditional music, the opportunity to explore a wide range of other musical styles and collaborate with musicians they might not otherwise get the chance to work with. The project opens up possibilities for a new kind of composer, working out of the folk tradition but moving freely and with understanding among the forms and sounds of other cultural traditions.

The six composers chosen for this showcase have worked at various Distil events with musicians as diverse as Judith Weir, Dave Heath, and Karen Wimhurst; Billy Jenkins, Paul Dunmall and Paul Rogers; Finnish master-arranger Timo Alakotila, Mihaly Borbely from Hungary and Hossam Ramzy from Egypt. The Distil concert showcases work which has come out of those contacts. Each piece is ten to fifteen minutes long and uses the talents of some or all of the band (some of them past Distil participants themselves) specially put together for the event.

RUNNING ORDER:
Introduction from David Francis, Distil

Oli Matthews

The wrong jeans

This piece was inspired by memories of being brought up with many musical styles, from Folk to Jazz to Classical from a very early age. I’d listen to folk music at festivals, while at school I was taught clarinet and so studied classical music, and then, through swing bands, got into jazz music too. This piece will attempt to express the blurred boundaries between these diverse genres. In the folk dance world I had similar experience: being introduced to North-west Morris dancing, then discovering Cotswold, and even briefly dancing Border.

I discovered over time that when I went to festivals, I couldn’t possibly perform with all the sides that I wanted to, and consequently was always wearing “the wrong jeans” for the side I was actually with. Having to do a very quick change somewhere discrete! As a musician, the same happens when I’m involved in different genres of music. It sometimes feels like I am always in “the wrong jeans” for the gig.

This composition will reflect how quickly music can move through genres within the constraints of a single piece consisting of three contrasting movements (similar to a classical piece) varying styles between contemporary folk riffs intertwined with jazz funk rhythms.

Matt Norman

Butcher’s Row

Matt's piece is based on an eighteenth century tune from Walsh's book entitled "The Third Book of Celebrated Jiggs, Lancashire Hornpipes, Scotch and Highland Lilts, Northern Frisks, Morris and Cheshire Rounds with Hornpipes in the Bagpipe Manner, to which is added the Black Joak, the White Joak, the Brown, the Red and the Yellow Joaks with a variety of Whims and Fancies of different humours fitted to the genius and use of Publick Performers."

The unusual structure of the original tune lends itself to arrangement and exploration. The two bar repeating phrases are reminiscent of minimalist styles and the tonal ambiguities allow the music to go in many directions. String instruments were chosen for the way their timbres combine and also for the timeless sound that dates back at least to the period when the original tune was written.

Andy May

The Laird of Troughend

This piece is based on the border ballad ‘The Death of Parcy Reed’.

Parcy Reed was well liked in Redesdale where he had adopted the role of Keeper of the district from his home at Troughend. His duties led him to apprehend a member of the Crosier family from Upper Liddesdale, which angered that family greatly. Consequently the Crosiers conspired with the Halls of Girsonfield to deal with him.

The three Halls therefore invited Reed out for a day’s hunting. As evening came they rested and Reed fell asleep. While he slept the Halls set his horse free, jammed his sword into its scabbard, and filled his gun with water. He woke to see five Crosiers coming toward him.
His optimism of defeating the five Crosiers with the help of the three Halls must have quickly diminished, as each in turn rejected his appeal for help, and left. With no means of escape, or weapon, he was soon killed by the Crosiers in 33 blows.
Subsequently the Halls were driven from their home by the occupants of Redesdale for their treachery.

The Laird of Troughend/ Hunting March/ Treacherous Ha’s/ Death in 33 blows/ Lament for Parcy Reed

Karen Tweed

Goodnight, darling

As we become older, it would seem that we naturally attend more funerals than weddings; more hospitals than parties and suddenly mortality becomes unavoidable: the concept of time becomes essential.

Grief and longing are at once a paradox: combining a deep loss and the celebration of life. Music and sound are very evocative in times of sadness, and coming from an Anglo-Irish background, it's interesting to know the contrasting uses of music.

In England, a quiet, poignant funeral is usually followed by a gentle reception and reuniting of friends and family. In Ireland, a quickly arranged, lengthy and traditional mass is usually followed by a rousing wake packed with lively music and song with friends and family.

This piece explores the emotions thrown up within the grieving process: while a loved one is dying; after someone close dies. By writing the piece, I found it also stirred up all the layers of feelings that occur through lost love, broken dreams and the underlying hope that can also be found in our instinct to survive.

For John and Peter.

Jo Freya

The Beginning

This piece was inspired by a comment about the tenor sax being akin to the human voice in its tones and ability to express emotions and that's what I wanted to explore. All sound and voices are created and manipulated electronically by myself, e.g. where you think it's a man it's me etc. The only external sound to my original brief is the piano. I played this initially as a guide to the chords I wanted and then decided to keep it. Since I started composing, the piece has inevitably changed and that change and the title will be explained on the day. The performance will include pre-recorded tracks plus live playing and singing and live looping.

My heartfelt thanks go to Judith Weir who has been mentoring me one way or another for the past two years. She is a wonderful creative influence.

Laurel Swift

London Haven

A multitude of mini-havens make my London a fascinating, exotic and tranquil place to be, day or night. Any journey can take in a park or fabulous architecture; darkness brings a myriad of coloured lights; and London’s numerous inhabitants are always worth watching! London is crammed full of tiny details that add humour, life and wonder. The city’s vast form imposes heavily on those that live within its ever-evolving walls, and yet it is these individual inhabitants who constantly adapt it. London's structure results from many functions and events down the years; there is no single grand plan. Traditional music is of a similar nature: very diverse, it is born out of many functions through time and place. It allows individuals to inhabit it, often moulding it to their own needs. I have tried to explore this idea of individuals shaping a larger structure merely by going about their normal business within it.

Writing London Haven, I started with folk song lyrics and other texts referencing London. I used fragments of these songs as a narrative to punctuate the work. For those who don't know, Pop goes the Weasel's "The Eagle" is a pub on the City Road, which runs from Angel to Moorgate.

I hope the structure of the piece speaks for itself, so don't read on if you'd prefer the surprise! The substantial tune sections are: a variation on London's Burning; Trip To Brick Lane; and the Mental Schottische, written in one of the darker moments that London affords the lonely! The piece explores a day in London. From the surreal calm of early morning, it travels through this giant machine cranking into working gear and considers what built London, finally arriving at funky nightlife. We finally fall back to some kind of calm in the small hours, I was particularly charmed by T.E. Hulme's poem "The Embankment ( The fantasi of a Fallen Gentleman on a Cold, Bitter Night)", part of which finishes the work.

I hope you enjoy it, and there will be a prize for anyone who spots every single reference!

Musicians

Violin: John Dipper
Violin: Paul Sartin
Viola: Miranda Rutter
Cello: Bethany Porter
Oboe: Paul Sartin
Concertina: Rob Harbron
Bagpipes: Andy Letcher
Melodeon (Goodnight darling): Ian Stephenson
Melodeon (Wrong jeans): Martin Keates
Hurdy gurdy: Martin Keates
Piano: Andy May
Guitar: Ian Stephenson
Double bass: Ian Stephenson
Double bass (London Haven): Laurel Swift
Percussion: Dave Lawley
Voice: Jackie Oates
Voice: Paul Sartin

Musical Director Rick Taylor

Produced for Distil by Simon Thoumire and David Francis

Thanks to: Joan Crump and all at Loughborough Town Hall; Loughborough Folk Festival; All Distil participants and mentors, with mention in despatches to Karen Wimhurst, Rick Taylor and Judith Weir; Josh Meggitt at Performing Rights Society Foundation; Moragh Brooksbank at Arts Council England; Ian Smith and Tamsin Mendelsohn at Scottish Arts Council.