A Quote Just Before February 2011

Xenakis and Messiaen: Because I couldn't find a picture of Messiaen and Varèse (it was always going to be a long shot). Taken from a 'Q & A' with James Dillon on The Arts Desk.

Varèse, whom I heard him [Messiaen] describe as 'my brother, who does for the urban landscape what I try to do with nature'.

Alexander Goehr: Finding The Key ('The Messiaen Class').

Also do check out this Varèse documentary extract on YouTube. Best thing I've seen on him so far but I can't find out where to get the full length film. Don't think it's the new Frank Schaeffer film Varese: The One All Alone (which I haven't seen, yet). Looks too dated but it's hard to tell with all the stock footage and YouTube compression etc.

Listening/Reading Recently

Eötvös: writing on a score, see? (image courtesy of his site.)

Listening to and reading recently (apart from the Eötvös score and Kurtág Op2 score which I have ordered from EMB and the Feldman and the Dutilleux which I don't have access to, the Feldman isn't published anyway I don't think)

Eötvös - Sequences of the Wind ('flute and other instruments')
Scelsi - Ko Lho (flute and clarinet)
Kurtág - Officium Breve Op28 (string quartet), Wind Quintet Op2 (have a guess)
Dillon - Sgothan (flute)
Ferneyhough - Superscriptio (piccolo)
Lachenmann - Air (percussion and orchestra)
Berio - Allelujah II (for five groups of instruments), Points on a Curve to Find (for piano and 22 instruments)
Messiaen - Trois Petites Liturgies De La Presence Divine (women's choir, piano, onde Martenot, celesta, percussion, and strings)
Takemitsu - Garden Rain (brass ensemble)
Feldman - Trio for Flutes (erm)
Dusapin - I Pesci (flute)
Dutilleux - Ainsi La Nuit (string quartet)

Calling All Contemporary Woodwind Ensembles

James Dillon, image courtesy of the Guardian, this interview as it happens.

I recently started looking at James Dillon's pieces, starting with Sgothan for flute (which you can hear performed for free by Richard Craig via the great Avant-Garde-Project, Sgothan really stands out on that album as per my ears).

Then the other day I spotted the score for a woodwind quintet called 'Le Rivage' by Dillon in my library's 'basement stock' and I took it out (you have to find the secret PDF file of their non-catalogued contemporary music and ask for stuff 24 hours in advance, it's quite exciting.)

It looks really interesting (only had it since yesterday, not studied it properly yet.) I started looking around for a decent recording of it, no luck, apparently there is no commerically available recording of the piece (I googled, quite a lot), but you can hear an extract of the Ensemble Intercontemporain performing it via the French archive search engine/site/thing I posted about recently.

It sounds good to me, I would like to hear the rest and emailed the archive but unfortunately they can't sell or distribute the recording (legal stuff.). They suggested I contact Mr Dillon himself, which I did, he confirmed that there isn't a recording available to buy anywhere (but did give me a line on an 80s recording to follow up), so I am suggesting that someone make one, immediately!.

Some exciting and talented woodwind ensemble should take it on, I would buy it, so would others presumably. If you are in a woodwind ensemble or know someone who is, get on it.