The oboe is also an important archetype, being the first instrument
to use traditional tone in the piece, and having an extended solo
at the end of the piece. To me the oboe is the most spiritual of
the instruments, evoking an image of a mythical creature playing
a shawm, weaving some kind of charm. Images of snake charmers are
also strong. This double-reeded instrument has very much a power
and intensity about it that conjures these images for me. On another
level, If the gong represents eternity, I see the oboe as a human
form with a capacity for conveying all forms of human expression,
emotion and introspective awareness, struggling with the limitations
of the mind and body and eventually accepting eternity. But having
said that it’s like all the instruments are human forms grappling
with existence. The voices at the end and the tam tam sections
to me represent eternity. Sometimes when I listen to this recording
I feel the instruments are actually speaking, and I’m not
on drugs or any thing like that. I have been fortunate that the
players in the ensemble are incredibly expressive. The character
is strong in each section thanks to such wonderful and understanding
playing.
The role of Pro Tools has been crucial in the finished result.
In the same way as perhaps editing a movie, Pro Tools has been
for me an instrument of composition, allowing me to create collage
out of parts of the composition, and perhaps look at the existing
sounds from another perspective and rearrange, extend, edit musical
sections (with the exception of bird sounds, all of the sound samples
used in the collage sections are from the original recording).
Similarly, in the poetry I have taken out certain words so as to
meditate on them, or juxtapose that word or phrase with certain
sounds. In The Waves I have taken just the resonances of the strings
and extended them to create sound scapes.
The spoken word I see as vital to the composition not only in
terms of the meaning the words carry but also the sound of the
spoken voice as an instrument in itself. I have been very lucky
in having the involvement of Helen Morse whose recitation is music
to my ears. I enjoy the sound of poetry in a musical sense as much
as reading it, and I listen to recordings of poetry in the same
way as I listen to music. To me words echo in the mind in a different
way to music. Used in the right sequence or blending they can enhance
each other.
Improvisation is also of crucial importance in my work as a composer.
As a clarinettist I have explored improvisation to reach new realms
of sound on the instrument, some of the results are heard in the
improvised solo. For the ensemble some of my instructions are quite
non specific, for example: a set of pitches with the instructions “ fast
as possible then gradually slowing down”. While improvising
on the clarinet myself I would move to different points in front
of players signalling different basic instructions: specific instruments,
total free improvisation, very slow crescendo from nothing, highest
note possible etc. By giving players in the ensemble improvisatory
freedom in some sections, I feel we were able to tap into a spontaneous
sound world and energy level that would not have been possible
by using strict notation. This section of the work (B9) is the
first real epiphany. I see it as the first real point of departure
from consciousness and a journey through space into other dimensions.
From mans world into Gods world.
“Mackerras homes in on extremes, the epiphany, the “total
energy”. His clarinet improvisation is a frenzied vault at
the physical extremes of the instrument, reaching out for a higher
consciousness”.
(Harriet Cunningham, Real time Dec 99)
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