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 Town Hall to present the first 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 seven composers chosen for this showcase have worked at various Distil events with musicians as diverse as Judith Weir, Dave Heath, and David Bedford; Keith Tippett, Paul Dunmall and Paul Rogers; Finnish master-arranger Timo Alakotila, Mihaly Borbely from Hungary and Kuljit Bhamra from Southall. 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

Sonia Slany

The Roundabout Tree

I wanted to write a piece that would reflect the performers in some way as individuals, and I also wanted to create a synthesis, particularly a rhythmic one of folk music and other world musics. So my piece is based on a North African 6/8 time, from which the melodic rhythms are also derived. I wrote several tunes and developed them in a more classical way, but using the linear structure of folk music. Then towards the end of the piece I bring two of the main tunes together, although in different keys and using different instrument groupings, in such a way that it makes sense. These are in two bar chunks that gradually merge together ending triumphantly.

Fiona Rutherford

Mosaic Music

I wrote this piece with the idea in mind that melody is always the key point of interest in traditional music. The project was a great chance for me to play around with melody through different voices, overlapping fragments to create new textures. As well as traditional music I have also been influenced by minimalist and impressionist styles, and I hope you can find images in the music.

Jo Freya

Voices of my island

I was recently supported by Arts Council England, which allowed me to further develop my compositional skills, but predominantly with choirs and school orchestras. An unintended but welcome consequence of this grant was that it allowed me space to expand my musical imagination. This led me to incorporate unique harmonic passages into my work through the application of new communication technologies. All the sounds you hear in 'Voices of my Island' are solely produced by my voice. Some have been electronically manipulated and some will be produced live. This piece includes fixed pre-recorded sections as well as live performance enhanced by the addition of a loop facility.
The vocal sounds in this piece are inspired by what I hear around me. I would like to acknowledge the support of Judith Weir in helping me to realise this piece of music.

Dave Townsend

Upland Tracks (Concerto Grosso in D, for strings, oboe, clarinet and bassoon)

Pathways from the earliest human travellers cross the high places of the world and are still in use. They have carried music and cultural knowledge to distant places and from distant times; now they are used mostly by the disposessed, the refugees and travellers of our own time. The underlying mood draws on the emotional darkness found in the music of East Clare, English travellers and early American hymnody, the world of the wanderers of Thomas Hardy's landscapes. This piece is a network of musical fragments brought together by a specific sense of modality and developed according to forms drawn from European Baroque music. It is in three sections, played without a break:

The Air - A memory of the old-style psalm and hymn tunes of English and Early American tradition, treated in the manner of the classic chorale settings of the German Baroque.

The Trip - A headlong rush in 9/8 time, rolling over on itself in fugal counterpoint.

The Ground - A Chaconne, something of a "loose" canon, progressing from solemnity through intricacy to simplicity.

It is dedicated to the memory of my grandfather, Thomas Harling, who guided my first steps in music.

INTERVAL

Laurel Swift

Pocket Garden

My housemates recently commented that it is surprising someone can spend their tea-breaks poking around an 8 by 10 back yard in Tottenham, and find the inspiration to write a breezy, sun-loving piece of music, teeming with wildlife and all that is great about quiet, hazy summer days. I love London for its little pockets of nature; from great parks (Finsbury Park is my favourite), to the canal paths and random patches of green wasteland. Originally this piece explored that fact that, as a kid, folk music was my escape; and now folk music is my full-time world, our garden is my place for escape. The music is punctuated by snippets of song. Some of the words were inspired by the garden, which never really gets dark due to light pollution. More ideas came from reading 'The Folklore of Plants'. There are three main tunes; the first, dominating the first half of the piece, is heard in most instruments. It is from a transcription of a twenty minute improvisation following half an hour sitting in the garden listening to south Tottenham going about its Friday evening business. The second tune, a fragment of which you'll also hear at the very beginning, is a total re-write of an old 3/2 hornpipe named 'Jack Franklan's’. I wrote the third, closing, tune for my Grandma, a brilliant woman and able gardener, who passed away in January this year.

Luke Daniels

Aspidella with Bells on

Leicestershire contains a diversity of rock types and fossils that are the envy of the world. It has some of the oldest rocks in the British Isles. The Ediacaran fauna and Vendian fossils comprise marine life forms that first appeared in late Precambrian times placing them among the oldest multi-cellular fossils known. ‘Aspidella with Bells On’ is a short piece based on the exquisite images of local Ediacaran fauna dating back to the so-called ‘Cambrian Explosion’ when ‘modern’ multi-cellular life began to diversify rapidly. The music uses a combination of composition, improvisation and electro-acoustic samples. The hand-bell samples were recorded at Loughborough’s famous John Taylor Bellfounders which boasts an unbroken line of bellfounding dating back to the middle of the 14th Century. Their handbell sets, although somewhat smaller, are still regarded as the finest in the world and are prepared to customer order. This tradition continues and thrives to the present day making each bell unique from conception to completion. They are currently able to provide chromatic sets of handbells ranging over 5 octaves.

Shona Mooney

Unsung Heroes of the Borders

Whilst drinking at the local pub in my home town of Lauder in the Scottish Borders, I was surprised to discover that beneath my drink was a beer mat informing me of about the inventor of the Kaleidoscope. I was stunned to find that it originated in the region I lived in. His name was David Brewster (1781-1868) from Nisbet near Jedburgh. Not only was he the inventor of the fascinating children's toy, but he had given his life to scientific research and developed the lighthouse, fluorescence and early photographic and three dimensional imaging techniques.

My friends all had different 'unsung heroes' under their own drinks and we found it fascinating to hear about people from the area who'd made a considerable historic and creative impact on society in the Borders and nationally. Catherine Spence (1825-1910) 'The Grand Old Lady of Australasia', was born in Melrose but emigrated to South Australia. She was the first woman to stand as a political candidate in Australia. 'The King Fisher', Willie Spears, led a local rebellion against the established church. A tithe (10%) of each boat’s catch was imposed by the church and local thugs were employed to intimidate the people of Eyemouth. Spears marched with 2000 people to Ayton from Eyemouth in protest against the trial of 28 skippers. Poet, Lizzie Sinclair (1855-early 20th Century), worked in the Tweed mills in Selkirk and published her work in a number of periodicals. Her poems were included in the 1882 volume 'Modern Scots Poets'. Another poet and songwriter of great note is Alicia Spotiswoode from Berwickshire. A widely educated woman, she was best known for her lyric 'Ettrick'.

I wanted to pay my respect to these inventors, poets and political heroes by composing a piece of music inspired by their courage and inventiveness. I picked the string quartet to explore fiddling techniques that I have listened to in Borders fiddling and also in other modern quartets i.e. Ethel, Kronos Quartet, Fiddlers 4 and Darrol Anger's Republic of Strings. These groups can effectively use their instruments to accompany each other or solo instruments, but they also have distinct styles which I wanted the string quartet in this piece to use. I decided not to include any ornamentation or bowing directions as I'd like the string players to play the music in their own style. The Border Pipes play a double hornpipe (3/4 tune found in many manuscripts relating to the Borders region) and a reel in this piece, which are influenced by the older traditional tunes. In this piece, however, I wanted to alter the 'part' lengths for the tunes and also compose a reel with many parts (variations). The percussion instruments include drum kit and found natural and unnatural objects from the towns of the heroes. I have even been lucky enough to use anchors and buoys kindly donated from the fish market in Eyemouth!

Musicians

Violin John Dipper
Violin Emma Reid
Viola Miranda Rutter
Cello Lucy Deakin
Clarinet Oliver Matthews
Oboe Ann Allcock
Bassoon Rob Harbron
Bagpipes Michael Beeke
Accordion Karen Tweed
Piano/ Keyboard Laura Zobel
Double bass (Pocket Garden) Laurel Swift
Double bass (Aspidella, Roundabout) Graham Tomkinson
Percussion Paul Clarvis
Voice Michael Beeke

Musical Director Rick Taylor

Produced for Distil by Simon Thoumire and David Francis

Thanks to: Joan Crump, Sarah Bailey, Kevin Cutts and all at Loughborough Town Hall; All Distil participants and mentors; Sam Proctor; John Taylor Bellfounders Ltd; Nod Knowles and David Francis (the other one); Ben Lane at Performing Rights Society Foundation; Moragh Brooksbank at Arts Council England; Ian Smith and Tamsin Mendelsohn at Scottish Arts Council.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TAKE PART IN DISTIL PLEASE CONTACT US AT THE
ADDRESS BELOW.
Distil, The Sheiling, Lamington, Biggar, South Lanarkshire, ML12 6HW
Tel: 0131 208 3089 Email: info@distil.org.uk Web: www.distil.org.uk