Sounds New -

Posted on: 23rd Apr 2012

Sprite, by locally-born composer Patrick Nunn, appears at Sounds New in a lunchtime concert on Monday 7 May, performed by flautist Rosanna Ter-Berg.

Of the piece, Nunn himself writes: ‘Sprite was completed in November 1998 and is dedicated to my then six-month-old nephew. The piece portrays the playful and agile nature of a mythical sprite - qualities that I then associated with my wonderfully animated nephew. ‘

Here's Nunn's 21 Century Junkie, written for six pianos and tape; a whirlwind evocation of the frantic, information-consumption-driven pace of today’s lifestyle, a tapestry of samples drawn from everyday life is superimposed on a backdrop of minimalist-style piano textures. The piece was commissioned, and is here performed, by Piano Circus.

‘Earth,’ one of the movements from Music of the Spheres, combines skeletal piano textures with sounds collected by Voyager I and Voyager II distilled into sonic form: you can listen to it on YouTube here.

Shortlisted for the British Composers Awards in 2009, Nunn’s Prism is a lively, colourful piece for basset clarinet in A and piano, written in 2008 for (and here performed by) clarinettist Mark Simpson:

The concert at Sounds New next month, in which Sprite will be performed, also includes works by Jonathan Harvey, Emily Howard and Mark-Anthony Turnage; thanks to the Cavatina Ticket Scheme, the concert is free to those aged 25 and under (tickets on the door, subject to availability): a fantastic opportunity.

Details about the event online here.

Posted by Daniel Harding