Frank Denyer
Encyclopedia
Frank Denyer is a composer
. His music uses a combination of conventional instruments and new, unusual, and structurally modified instruments. Partly due to his studies of non-Western music, much of Denyer's music is microtonal.
Denyer left the UK for a time in 1974 to begin what he calls his "musical travels", and to undertake his first attempts at ethnomusicological fieldwork (in west Asia and the Kulu Valley in north India). In the summer of 1974 he was a Visiting lecturer at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India. Between 1974 and 1977 he was a PhD student in Ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University
in Connecticut
. Thereafter he was Research Fellow in African Music at the Institute of African Studies, University of Nairobi
, Kenya, and then Lecturer in Ethnomusicology at Kenyatta University College in Nairobi. The impact of these studies on his subsequent musical output is profound, but Denyer has never been interested in hybridization or "crossover". Upon his return to England in 1981 he began teaching at Dartington College of Arts
in Devon, where he is currently Professor of Composition. Together with James Fulkerson
co-founded the Barton Workshop in Amsterdam in 1990 to perform American experimental music and his own compositions; his recordings of the solo piano music and ensemble works of Morton Feldman
, Galina Ustvolskaya
, Christian Wolff
, John Cage
, Jerry Hunt
, James Tenney
, Alvin Lucier
and others have met with wide acclaim.
Denyer's music has remained resolutely independent of musical fashion. An early interest in melody in the 1970s has remained a feature of his work (as seen perhaps in its most extreme form in his works for shakuhachi
, collected on the 2007 CD Music for shakuhachi [see Discography]). His music shows an extraordinary ear for timbre, and for novel combinations of acoustic sounds. The first of his large-scale works, A Monkey's Paw (premiered at Darmstadt
in 1990; see Discography) displays this clearly. More recently an interest in extremely quiet sounds has characterised several works, including Prison Song, Faint Traces and Tentative Thoughts, Silenced Voices (collectively forming his Prison Trilogy (1999–2003)).
player himself, Denyer has collaborated with Yoshikazu Iwamoto
to write pieces for the instrument, including:
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. His music uses a combination of conventional instruments and new, unusual, and structurally modified instruments. Partly due to his studies of non-Western music, much of Denyer's music is microtonal.
Biography
Denyer was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral and later studied at the Guildhall in London. In 1966 he co-founded, and was director of, the Society of Hermes, an arts club for new music, painting, poetry and theatre in Shepherds Bush, London. He formed and directed Mouth of Hermes. a professional instrumental ensemble devoted to new and experimental forms of music. He toured widely with the ensemble in Europe, Scandinavia and the U.K. in the years up to 1974, presenting new compositions. During this time he was Lecturer in Composition and 20th Century Studies at Hornsey College of Art. This early period culminated in his being a featured composer/performer at the Festival d’Orleans, France, in 1973.Denyer left the UK for a time in 1974 to begin what he calls his "musical travels", and to undertake his first attempts at ethnomusicological fieldwork (in west Asia and the Kulu Valley in north India). In the summer of 1974 he was a Visiting lecturer at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India. Between 1974 and 1977 he was a PhD student in Ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. Thereafter he was Research Fellow in African Music at the Institute of African Studies, University of Nairobi
University of Nairobi
The University of Nairobi is the largest university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution goes back to 1956, it did not become an independent university until 1970 when the University of East Africa was split into three independent universities: Makerere University in...
, Kenya, and then Lecturer in Ethnomusicology at Kenyatta University College in Nairobi. The impact of these studies on his subsequent musical output is profound, but Denyer has never been interested in hybridization or "crossover". Upon his return to England in 1981 he began teaching at Dartington College of Arts
Dartington College of Arts
Dartington College of Arts was a specialist arts institution near Totnes, Devon, South West England, it specialized in post-dramatic theatre, music, choreography, Performance Writing and visual performance, focusing on a performative and multi-disciplinary approach to the arts. In addition to this,...
in Devon, where he is currently Professor of Composition. Together with James Fulkerson
James Fulkerson
James Fulkerson is an American composer, now living in the Netherlands, of mostly stage, orchestral, chamber, vocal, piano, electroacoustic, and multimedia works...
co-founded the Barton Workshop in Amsterdam in 1990 to perform American experimental music and his own compositions; his recordings of the solo piano music and ensemble works of Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman was an American composer, born in New York City.A major figure in 20th century music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School of composers also including John Cage, Christian Wolff, and Earle Brown...
, Galina Ustvolskaya
Galina Ustvolskaya
Galina Ivanovna Ustvolskaya, also Ustwolskaja or Oustvolskaia was a Russian composer of classical music.-Early years:From 1937 to 1947 she studied at the college attached to the Leningrad Conservatory . She subsequently became a postgraduate student and taught composition at the college...
, Christian Wolff
Christian Wolff (composer)
Christian G. Wolff is an American composer of experimental classical music.-Biography:Wolff was born in Nice in France to German literary publishers Helen and Kurt Wolff, who had published works by Franz Kafka, Robert Musil, and Walter Benjamin. After relocating to the U.S...
, John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
, Jerry Hunt
Jerry Hunt
Jerry Hunt was an American composer who created works using live electronics partly controlled by his ritualistic performance techniques, influenced by his interest in the occult. He committed suicide in response to terminal cancer...
, James Tenney
James Tenney
James Tenney was an American composer and influential music theorist.-Biography:Tenney was born in Silver City, New Mexico, and grew up in Arizona and Colorado. He attended the University of Denver, the Juilliard School of Music, Bennington College and the University of Illinois...
, Alvin Lucier
Alvin Lucier
Alvin Lucier is an American composer of experimental music and sound installations that explore acoustic phenomena and auditory perception. A long-time music professor at Wesleyan University, Lucier was a member of the influential Sonic Arts Union, which included Robert Ashley, David Behrman, and...
and others have met with wide acclaim.
Denyer's music has remained resolutely independent of musical fashion. An early interest in melody in the 1970s has remained a feature of his work (as seen perhaps in its most extreme form in his works for shakuhachi
Shakuhachi
The is a Japanese end-blown flute. It is traditionally made of bamboo, but versions now exist in ABS and hardwoods. It was used by the monks of the Fuke school of Zen Buddhism in the practice of...
, collected on the 2007 CD Music for shakuhachi [see Discography]). His music shows an extraordinary ear for timbre, and for novel combinations of acoustic sounds. The first of his large-scale works, A Monkey's Paw (premiered at Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
in 1990; see Discography) displays this clearly. More recently an interest in extremely quiet sounds has characterised several works, including Prison Song, Faint Traces and Tentative Thoughts, Silenced Voices (collectively forming his Prison Trilogy (1999–2003)).
Compositions for shakuhachi
Though not a shakuhachiShakuhachi
The is a Japanese end-blown flute. It is traditionally made of bamboo, but versions now exist in ABS and hardwoods. It was used by the monks of the Fuke school of Zen Buddhism in the practice of...
player himself, Denyer has collaborated with Yoshikazu Iwamoto
Yoshikazu Iwamoto
Yoshikazu Iwamoto is a Japanese-born professional shakuhachi player living in the United Kingdom.-External links:* at...
to write pieces for the instrument, including:
- After the Rain
- Wheat
- The Tender Sadness of Tyrants as They Dance
- Stalks
- Winged Play
- Unnamed
Discography
- Silenced Voices. Mode, 2008 (includes Woman, Viola and Crow; Two Beacons; Ghosts Again; Tentative Thoughts, Silenced Voices )
- Music for Shakuhachi. Another Timbre, 2007 (includes On, on - it must be so; Quite White; Wheat; Unnamed)
- Faint Traces. Mode, 2005 (includes Out of the Shattered Shadows 1; Out of the Shattered Shadows 2; Faint Traces; Music for Two Performers; Play; Passages)
- Fired City. Tzadik, 2002 (includes Towards the Darkness; Beneath the Fired City; Quick, Quick, the Tamberan is Coming; The Hanged Fiddler; Resonances of Ancient Sins; Prison Song)
- Finding Refuge in the Remains. Etcetera, 1998 (includes Finding Refuge in the Remains; Quartet; Frog; Archeology; Contained in a Strange Garden; The Tender Sadness of Tyrants as They Dance)
- The Contrabass Saxophone. Earup, 1996 (includes Resonances of Ancient Sins)
- Konink & Andriessen: Notes 94. Walpurgis, 1994 (includes Beneath the Fired City)
- A Monkey's Paw. Continuum, 1991 (includes Stalks; After the Rain; A Fragile Thread; A Monkey's Paw; Winged Play)
- Wheat: The Music of Frank Denyer. Orchid Records, 1984 (includes On, On, it must be so; I Await the Sea’s Red Hibiscus; Wheat; Quick, Quick, the Tamberan is Coming; Quite White; Voices)
Writings and interviews
- Interview with Frank Denyer (2007) by Dan Warburton in Paris Transatlantic Magazine
- Denyer, Frank (ed.) & Landy, Leigh (ed.). Leaving the Twentieth Century: Ideas & Visions of New Musics. Harwood Academic Pub., 1997. ISBN 90-5702-104-8.
- Denyer, Frank. Finding a Voice in an Age of Migration (1994) in Contemporary Music Review, 1996, vol. 15, nos 3-4.
- Denyer, Frank. The Shakuhachi and the Contemporary Music Instrumentarium: a Personal View (1991) in Contemporary Music Review, 1994, vol. 6, no. 2.
External links
- FrankDenyer.eu
- Frank Denyer at 60: Butterfly effect (article from Musical Times, 2003)