Atavice – 17th February

The brilliant Quatuor Danel are workshopping three pieces by University of Manchester Masters composers on Thursday. My piece is called ‘Atavice‘, and is a short piece for string quartet conceived as a study for a larger work. Its six sections are related by a four-note chord and an isorhythm that is explored in various ways, before ending in a continuous downwards glissando that imitates the auditory illusion of Shepard Tones.

The workshop is at Manchester’s Cosmo Rodewald Hall at 2.30, where the Danels will also be workshopping Jasmin Rodgman’s String Quartet No. 2 and Hannah Taylor’s ‘Mutatio’. Before that, the Danels are doing a lunchtime concert featuring Lachenmann’s second quartet, ‘Reigen seliger Geister’, and the premiere of Nina Whiteman‘s ‘Waggle Dances’ for viola, cello and electronics. Incidentally, the Danels are also appearing on Friday night at Manchester Grammar school, playing amongst other things the second quartet by one of my composition tutors, Camden Reeves. The piece is called ‘Dactylozooid Complex’, and I may have had a hand in proofreading the parts…let’s hope everything’s in order…details here.

The University of Manchester Chamber Orchestra with soloists Keith McAlister and Hanne Ely premiered my Ex Machinis ten days ago, under the baton of Tom Jarvis. Here’s the recording:

[audio:https://www.tomcoult.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Ex Machinis.mp3|titles=Tom Coult – Ex Machinis]