works
She had lost her fourteen pairs of yellow shoes
This piece was written to be the third in a series of solo pieces using the same ideas which I used for “...and go ahead!...
for: solo fluteduration: variable
first performance: 27/09/10; mmm…, Tokyo
If you really loved me, you'd stop playing that piano and listen to me
I have always loved Schultz’s Schroeder who played Beethoven on his toy piano. This is a piece to celebrate his imagination.
for: solo pianist (playing one grand piano & up to 10 toy pianos)duration: variable
first performance: 6/7/10; Claudia Molitor, Germany
Bien au chaud, bien serrés
This piece was written to be the second in a series of solo pieces using the same ideas which I used for “...and go ahead!...
for: solo tenorduration: variable
first performance: 14/10/10; EXAUDI, The Forge, London
Unloose to the Murmur
This piece was commissioned by EXAUDI for Faster than sound, Aldeburgh. I took one small extract from Monteverdi's Orfeo as the basis of the piece. To that, I added a ritualistic structure of alternating a strictly-conducted section (based upon the vocal ornaments present in Orfeo) followed by a freer section which allows for the singer’s interpretations to emerge. With each repetition of the freer sections, one element of improvisation is removed until only a type of underlying cantus firmus remains.
for: variable voicesduration: 12’
first performance: 9/5/09; EXAUDI, Aldeburgh
They are symbols which speak
This piece was a joint commission by spnm and the St Hilda’s Festival Chorus, Whitby. The concert that this piece is programmed for is to commemorate the war. I have taken this idea and interpreted it in three ways: 1) The basic harmonic structure (and even a few of the "tunes") have come from a piece of Elgar's called "For the Fallen". 2) The disjointed nature of my piece is to mirror the disjointed and uncertain nature of war on people's lives. 3) The texts I have used are all entirely to do with Ray Hamley: the part he played in the war, and the story of the circumstances which led the towns of Kleve (Germany) and Whitby to share their unique bond.
for: choir, orchestra and organduration:
first performance: 8/11/08: St Hilda’s Festival Chorus and Orchestra, Whitby
caRd
This is the music Amber wrote for the back of her business card.
instrumentation and duration variableThat I overlooked before
Filmmaker Luciano Zubillaga has been working with Amber Priestley to create this day-long interactive installation. Priestley has created a space in which the human voice is mediated through tape recorders and manipulated by the visitor, slowly entwining with the sounds of the ambient world. Zubillaga releases the visual reference of the voice by playing with time and space. This installation was commissioned by the Soundwaves Festival.
for: as many cassette players as possibleduration: variable
first performance: 5/08; Soundwaves Festival
"…And Go Ahead! Dare To Be irrational!"
This piece was commissioned by Michael Hooper. I have used the idea of children's flipbooks (i.e. where there are four pictures, and the child can decide which head goes with which torso, etc.) as a way of introducing a chance element into the music.
for: solo mandolinduration: variable
first performance: 13/5/09; Michael Hooper at Spring Festival of New Music, University of York
If The Sun And Moon Should Doubt, They'd Immediately Go Out
The text for this piece is by William Blake; the work was to be performed as part of a concert to end a literary conference about Blake.
for: 5 speaking voices and 1 instrument that can sustain pitchduration: 5'
first performance: 31/7/07; Tom Appleton, Hilary Campbell, Michelle O’Rourke, Chris O’Gorman, Penelope Walcott (voices), Alan Hacker (clarinet) at Bootham School, York
The Spider Woman's Magic Formula
This work was commissioned by spnm. The entire event was titled "Jai Hind", which means "Long Live India". We spent nine months working together with the ensemble to produce new compositions that explored the traditions of the East and the West. I asked the sarangi and cello players to improvise around a written English text, while the other members of the ensemble provided a stable rhythmic foundation.
for: harp, piano, vibraphone, tabla, sarangi, celloduration: 3'
first performance: 22/5/07; Aruna Narayan (sarangi), Hanif Khan (tabla), and Endymion at the Turner Sims Concert Hall, Southampton
Such Nights I Get All The Free Margins
I was commissioned by spnm to compose a work for Damien Harron. The subject matter is a sensitive individual enduring the tedium of the office. It is my most directly autobiographical piece; I had just finished a boring job working as a civil servant. The title is from a section of prose by Walt Whitman.
for: percussionist playing office equipmentduration: 8'15"
first performance: 27/3/07; Damien Harron at Wapping Power Station, London
And Then We Are In Clover
This was a piece commissioned by Queens' College, Cambridge (http://www.viganicabinet.co.uk/). It was the first time I was given complete freedom in instrumentation and style. The entire work is based (in harmony, pitch, theatrical movement) upon the song from the turn of last century called In The Good Old Summertime.
for: variable music theatre ensemble;duration: variable
first performance: 18/3/06; David Barnett, John Billings, Aniella Bodnar, Julius Bruch, Diana Burrell, Chris Clarke, Henry Cook, Matt Edmonds, Chris Fenwick, Christopher Fox, Harry Gibson, Jamie Hall, Dan Jalapour, David Johnson, Helen Macaulay, Claudia Molitor, Cherry Muckle, Joe Philp, Hok-Him Poon, Ellie Smith, Tom Smith, Tom Stace, Mair Thomas, Paul Tognorelli, Mary Vander Steen, Jo Willmott at three different locations at Queens’ College, Cambridge
I Do Remember One Thing
This was commissioned by klangsieben for their first performance as an ensemble. Every element of my piece is to do with time; the piano, for instance, is like a madly ticking clock.
for: variable music theatre ensembleduration: 24'
first performance: 21/5/05; klangsieben at the Turner Sims Concert Hall, Southampton
The Only See I Saw Was The Sea-Saw Sea
I was commissioned by Kirklees International Women's Festival to compose a work for brass, to be performed in Huddersfield. This is the second work whose theme I took from my work on Under Milk Wood; the title comes from Captain Cat's song.
for: brass octetduration: 4'15"
first performance: 10/3/05; Octobrassy at St Paul’s Hall, Huddersfield
Floors Are Flowers—Take A Few
The title of this piece came from a Shel Silverstein poem about an abandoned house. Premièred 14/2/05 at the Meeting House, Brighton, by klangsieben.
for: instrumentation variable;duration: variable
first performance: 14/2/05; klangsieben at the Meeting House, Brighton
The One I Loved Best Awake Or Asleep
This work is dedicated to the memory of M.I. Priestley. Its title comes from Polly Garter's song in Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood. I had just finished writing the score for the play to be performed by the University of York Drama Society when I wrote this string work.
for: 12 solo stringsduration: 7'30"
But In The End, Back She Comes
I was commissioned by Gamayun, an Oxford-based ensemble, to write a piece. At the time, I was reading Margaret Atwood's novel The Blind Assassin, and was drawn in by the structure and unravelling of the plot. The title of the piece, taken from a section of the novel, held great significance for me. Premièred 29/5/04 at the Jacqueline Du Pré Music Building, Oxford, by Gamayun.
for: soprano and piano trioduration: 7'15"
first performance: 29/5/04; Gamayun at the Jacqueline Du Pré Music Building, Oxford
Little Foxes
This is a simple, sweet lullaby with text by poet and lyricist Robert Hunter.
for: soprano, clarinet, marimba, piano, violin, celloduration: 5'
And Yet Something Shines, Something Sings In That Silence
I was influenced by my playing with the University of York Sekar Petak Gamelan group, and the tune in this piece exhibits this. It is only two pages of music—but as in my other open-form pieces, it can be performed in a variety of ways.
for: 4 instruments playing in at least 2 clefsduration: variable
first performance: 25/7/06; klangsieben at Cargo Club, London
http://www.claudiamolitor.org/performances/2006_perf.htm
Feel thinGs wAy aBout, Certainly Don't admirE
This is my shortlisted spnm piece. It is another way of my looking at open-form scores. The piece can be played reading either way up, and each performer can choose which line to play in what clef.
for: any 5 instruments or voices using at least 2 different clefsduration variable: 5'/12'
first performance: 17/10/08; 11th London New Wind Festival at Lauderdale House, London
Situation Of Leaving
I was influenced by a Mono-Ha exhibition I had seen at Kettle's Yard, Cambridge. One piece in particular, called Situation Of Leaving, was made up of a single object that could be walked around and viewed from different perspectives. I wanted to do the same thing with music; thus, each of the movements can be played in any order. Depending on where the conductor decides they will be in the piece, different text will be sung accordingly.
for: SATB (min 12 voices, max 24 voices);duration variable: 5'30/12'30"
La, Not Atonal
I use a palindrome here both structurally and harmonically.
for: orchestraduration: 11'20"
Warning: Ages 8 & Up
This piece was commissioned by Juice, and I used an instruction sheet for a mobile phone gadget as a text. It was a fascinating piece of prose, as it had been translated badly into English from Chinese. In addition to this, members of the audience were instructed to keep their mobile phones on (and audible) at the performance. The singers then improvised upon the ringtone when one of the phones rang.
for: two sopranosduration: 12'
first performance: 6/5/04; Juice at the Sir Jack Lyons’ Concert Hall, York
Why You Layin' In The Dirt?
This piece was an exploration of the similarities and differences in timbres between the two instruments, which are sometimes used as a duo and sometimes as two solo instruments.
for: guitar and violaduration: 10'
first performance: 7/5/02; Evis Sammoutis (guitar), Neil Valentine (viola) at Sir Jack Lyons’ Concert Hall, York
Twosie Beats Onesie But Nothing Beats Three
Here, I was playing with the differences and similarities between the three timbres available to me. Harmonic sections alternate with the trio playing with different timbral variations on the same pitch.
for: clarinet, trumpet, violaduration: 7'20"
first performance: 7/12/01; New Music Group (University of York) at the Sir Jack Lyons’ Concert Hall, York
Rain Rain Rainy Rain Rain
The texts used here are five haikus about the rain written by Jack Kerouac. In the year I wrote this, there was an unprecedented rainfall in York where the river rose at least 20 feet over its average. It was commissioned by the Hilliard Ensemble.
for: countertenor, two tenors, baritoneduration: 4'12"
first performance: 8/12/00; the Hilliard Ensemble at Kuoroespoo, Finland
Head Space
I attended a summer school on Movement and Music taught by Sir Harrison Birtwistle (music) and Lea Anderson (choreography). As a composer, I was paired with choreographer Gabrielle McNaughton to create a work which reflected our collaborative interests. We decided immediately on the idea of simultaneous activities chosen (with no forward planning) by the dancers and musicians from a list of options.
for: three dancers, flute, piano, two violins, two cellosduration: 6'
first performance: 11/8/00; Dartington Summer School Ensemble at Dartington Hall
A Note Sits Playing Four Slides
I derived the harmonic structure for this simple rhythmic piece from a work by Michael Finnissy. It was intended for a concert that would highlight his piece, but unfortunately, that concert did not take place.
for: vibraphone, violin, celloduration variable: 19'35"/11'20/8'15"
first performance: 8/12/00; New Music Group (University of York) at Sir Jack Lyons’ Concert Hall, York
To Raise Hell As We Roll Along
This piece is a complex elaboration of an old popular song entitled "St. James' Infirmary". By the end, the performer begins to slowly sing the tune of the original while playing the variation.
for: solo violaduration: 7'
The Psychological Thumb
For this work, I had tiny ball bearings placed into the jugglers' clubs to make a rhythmic sound as they were thrown. The jugglers passed the clubs over the head of the sitting singer, who elaborated (with extended vocal techniques) upon several old Buddhist texts.
for: singer and three jugglersduration: 9'
first performance: 2/12/99; Emma Coonan (singer), members of the Cambridge Community Circus at The Cambridge Drama Centre, Cambridge