Portfolio
Bio-Transference
This piece, split up into three movements, sonically explores the discarding of one's biological human body for a non-biological one, directing the acoustic ensemble to place immense drones of whaling doom, whilst the electronic elements of the piece attempt to mimic that of the acoustic, and develop into more organic and constantly metamorphosing sounds. Sean utilised this piece in particular to further his exploration of synthesised sound that mimics acoustic instruments, as well as adapting fellow ACMG member Phil Brisseden's style of conducting to control the ensemble's level and melodic direction.
Composed by Sean Vincent-Alexander
As a recent graduate of the University of Salford, Sean developed his skills for unconventional composition within ACMG, for which he gravitated to blend his passion for music technology and unconventional synthesised timbres with the innate chaos of ACMG's unusual ensemble.
Stellar Distances
Composed by Ajay Bebop
'Stellar Distances is a temporal painting in five moments. "Standard Candles" is a theme on a single pitch - type 1a supernovae which explode with the same luminosity. Then there are "Accretion" and "Radiation" - stellar matter sticks together, and then the photons emitted make the long journey from the stars to our eyes, at the universal speed limit. "Hertzsprung-Russell" is a painting in a circular musical progression, as the stellar cycle turns. And "Quasar" is the moment of peak intensity, the biggest, oldest, most powerful and most distant phenomena that hang in the sky.'
First Dance
Composed by James Hawkins
Currently an Engineering student at Salford, who spends most of their time thinking about music. Their main instrument is the trumpet and is experimenting with sound and timbre through composition and use of instruments.
First Dance is as a piece I began writing in response to a scene from the movie Poor things (2023), In which we see a character dance for the first time. It is a rather unwieldy scene with lot's of friction between the music and movement. While the final piece deviated from this exact scene, I was fascinated by the dissonance between the two elements, and tried to convey this nature in the piece, with changing friction between instruments in the ensemble. This is the first piece I've written for the ACMG group. First Dance was originally performed on the 13th March, 2024.
Chords in Zero Gravity
Composed by Professor Alan Williams
Alan Williams is a composer and writer on contemporary music and culture, and Professor of Collaborative Composition at the University of Salford. He studied at the Universities of Edinburgh and Manchester and at the Liszt Academy, Budapest. In 2017 he wrote the world’s first ‘Northern’ opera with poet Ian McMillan, and is the originator of the ‘Listening Composer’ method of collaborative composition. He has been musical lead of ACMG since 2011.
Chords in Zero Gravity is a piece composed especially for ACMG. Its main material is written using an invented method – a ‘harmonic equilibrium’, where every major and minor triad are used only once, and while the harmony may at times sound familiar, the material avoids being in any one key. So the chords feel suspended, as if in 0-G. Alongside this composed material, our electronic musicians create clouds of noise which in rehearsal we called ‘space junk’.
Undulations
Composed by Jostine Loubser
Jostine Loubser is a South African ethnomusicologist and composer. Her compositions include work for theatre, dance, popular music, and new composition - where the music written is infused with 20th century notions and re-interpreted for the 21 st century. She frequently works with poetry, art and dance, alongside electronic soundscapes and live performances. Past compositions include works for theatre and dance companies [puppetry, dance & physical theatre] with performances at festivals (Theatre & Circus), across the
UK.
Undulations (2021) was written on a whim. A short piece it was inspired, in part, by my doodles whilst listening to an audiobook, in part by watching Japanese synchronized walking on social media and by the maze at Tatton Park - said tobe a miniature of the maze at Hampton Court. Represented in both graphic and alternative scores, the piece is democratic - with performers making all the performative decisions based on minimal instructions. It can be played by any group of instruments - and can include dancers. It was first performed in 2022.
Omukade
Composed by Sean Vincent-Alexander
As a recent graduate of the University of Salford, Sean developed his skills for unconventional composition within ACMG, for which he gravitated to blend his passion for music technology and unconventional synthesised timbres with the innate chaos of ACMG's unusual ensemble.
Based on the namesake, this is a narratively driven piece, written to portray the descent of the ancient Japanese Yokia Legend of Omukade from his home atop mountains above Lake Biwa to terrorise and destroy the human inhabitants of the lake. Influenced by Alexander Scriabin's piece "Prometheus", the piece looks to create the same sense of fanciful chaos and dread, to which the cross-rhythmic counterpoint of the piece blends to form one body composed of many similar parts.
Devised by he members of ACMG, lead by Phillip Brissenden and David Crawley
Development of the three line Raph notation system necessitated a change to screen reading, with page turns achieved through a pedal. The density of the notation renders reading from printed format difficult.
This ensemble performance was a development of this line of design thought. The ACMG experimented with cueing musical performance from screen. The range of visual cues included text, icons, traditional music notation, graphic notation combined with photography and painting. This was combined with other forms of physical cueing within the ensemble.
This experimental performance is notable for its continuity - one single 30 minute performance. The medium allowed the ensemble to concentrate purely on their performance - no printed page distraction.
Composed by Philip Brissenden
This concert was given in the New Adelphi band room in collaboration with internationally recognized double bass player Michael Cretu. Three items have been selected from the concert programme, and are discussed within the accompanying commentary. Performed in 2019.
1. The Balkan Connection (Cretu)
2. Three Verses from a Disowned Poem (Brissenden)
3. Rambi, Rambi (Cretu)
Composed by Philip Brissenden
Dr Philip Brissenden originally trained as a classical pianist, composer and music technologist. A practice-based researcher, he is currently invested in the study of musical tuning - how it manifests within culture and how we perceive it. His research extends to musical instrument innovation and he completed a PhD in 2015, having invented, patented and prototyped a novel musical instrument design. He now considers it his principal instrument - which he also plays in the ACMG ensemble. He performs, composes and conducts at the University of Salford; most notably within the Adelphi Contemporary Music Group. He is particularly interested in experimental and hybridized music and has collaborated with artists from diverse cultures including Sri Lanka and Iran.
Snow All the Way to the Cage, a study for flute and Reverse Action Piano Harp (RAPH). The RAPH part is designed to make the most of the intermediate technique developed to this point. Timbral variation and elements of counterpoint are present. This was the first public performance undertaken on prototype 5. Performed in 2019.