James Clarke (composer)
Encyclopedia
James Clarke is an English
composer sometimes associated with the New Complexity
school.
composer and music scholar Christopher Fox, in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "After studying at Southampton University and City University, London
, [Clarke] was awarded a Finnish
Government Scholarship to study composition with Usko Meriläinen
in Helsinki
."
, Clarke co-founded the new music
ensemble
, Suoraan, "a small band of outstanding specialist performers" based in London "which dedicatedly promoted the music of, centrally, Iannis Xenakis
but also younger British and European composers such as Michael Finnissy
and James Dillon
." Yet, as Christopher Fox points out, "for much of his career [Clarke's] work has attracted most attention beyond the British Isles
, including significant performances at the International Gaudeamus Music Week
and the ISCM World Music Days."
Fox relates further:
According to his official biography, Clarke has been "a visiting professor at universities in various countries, including Azerbaijan
, where he was appointed an honorary Professor of Music at the Baku Music Academy; Russia
, at the Moscow Conservatoire[;] and Sweden
, at the University of Malmö." In addition, he "has led composition courses at the Time of Music Festival in Viitasaari
, Finland
, where he was featured composer in 2000, and at the Festival junger Künstler Bayreuth." He was also "a featured composer at the 2004 Ars Musica
festival in Brussels
, where ten works were performed in the largest survey of Clarke’s music to date [2007]."
Collaboration with Harold Pinter commissioned by the BBC:
Other commissions from, among others:
Portrait concerts given by:
Recent works, all untitled, including:
, The Globe and Mail
states: "James Clarke's 'String Quartet' was obsessive chiefly in its manner, which was that of someone determined to break through to a new sound, a new feeling, a new zone in the psyche. The piece seethed and glittered, bursting from silence with pungent tutti respirations, arraying its speedy surface melodies (whether heard as tune, ornament or symptom) like broken glass. It was rock music by other means...."
Concerning the same work, The Toronto Star observes: "The music pulsed with fabulous rhythmic and tonal effects that the Ardittis
shaped into palpable 3-D soundscapes. Clarke's mastery of dissonance and overtone, aided by the Ardittis' playing, created sound waves that are not usually heard in a quartet program."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
composer sometimes associated with the New Complexity
New Complexity
In music, the New Complexity is a term dating from the 1980s, principally applied to composers seeking a "complex, multi-layered interplay of evolutionary processes occurring simultaneously within every dimension of the musical material" ....
school.
Education
According to fellow EnglishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
composer and music scholar Christopher Fox, in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "After studying at Southampton University and City University, London
City University, London
City University London , is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute and became a university in 1966, when it adopted its present name....
, [Clarke] was awarded a Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
Government Scholarship to study composition with Usko Meriläinen
Usko Meriläinen
Usko Meriläinen was a Finnish composer. He was born in Tampere.In 1954 his Partita for Brass won the Thor Johnson composition competition in Cincinnati, Ohio.His works include:* Symphony No. 1...
in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
."
Career
In 1979, with his colleague Richard EmsleyRichard Emsley
Richard Emsley is a British composer, sometimes associated with the New Complexity school.Emsley initially studied with Arnold Whittall at University College, Cardiff, after which he moved to London, where he still lives...
, Clarke co-founded the new music
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
ensemble
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, Suoraan, "a small band of outstanding specialist performers" based in London "which dedicatedly promoted the music of, centrally, Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek ethnic, naturalized French composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...
but also younger British and European composers such as Michael Finnissy
Michael Finnissy
Michael Finnissy is an English composer and pianist. His music is characterised by the range of extremes often found in his work; opposing binary structures are found commonly, often seen as juxtaposing textures, register and tempi...
and James Dillon
James Dillon (composer)
James Dillon, born October 29, 1950 in Glasgow, Scotland, is a Scottish composer often regarded as belonging to the New Complexity school. Dillon studied art and design, linguistics, piano, acoustics, Indian rhythm, mathematics and computer music, but is self-taught in composition.Honors include...
." Yet, as Christopher Fox points out, "for much of his career [Clarke's] work has attracted most attention beyond the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, including significant performances at the International Gaudeamus Music Week
Gaudeamus Foundation
The Gaudeamus Foundation and Contemporary Music Center is a renowned center for contemporary music. The Gaudeamus Foundation organizes and promotes contemporary musical activities and concerts both in the Netherlands and abroad...
and the ISCM World Music Days."
Fox relates further:
According to his official biography, Clarke has been "a visiting professor at universities in various countries, including Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, where he was appointed an honorary Professor of Music at the Baku Music Academy; Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, at the Moscow Conservatoire[;] and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, at the University of Malmö." In addition, he "has led composition courses at the Time of Music Festival in Viitasaari
Viitasaari
Viitasaari is a town and municipality of Finland.It is located in the Central Finland region. The town has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, where he was featured composer in 2000, and at the Festival junger Künstler Bayreuth." He was also "a featured composer at the 2004 Ars Musica
Ars musica
Founded in 1989, Ars Musica is an annual contemporary music international festival that takes place in Brussels during several weeks, usually in March. Nowadays, Ars musica is one of the biggest world festival for contemporary music...
festival in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, where ten works were performed in the largest survey of Clarke’s music to date [2007]."
Works
"Over ninety works for symphony orchestra, ensembles, voices or solo musicians", including:- "String Quartet" (2003), written for the Arditti QuartetArditti QuartetThe Arditti Quartet is a string quartet founded in 1974. The quartet is associated particularly with contemporary music.-Early history:The quartet was founded in 1974 by violinist Irvine Arditti together with John Senter, Levine Andrade and Lenox Mackenzie...
, commissioned jointly by the Huddersfield Festival and Ars MusicaArs musicaFounded in 1989, Ars Musica is an annual contemporary music international festival that takes place in Brussels during several weeks, usually in March. Nowadays, Ars musica is one of the biggest world festival for contemporary music...
, BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union... - "Final Dance" (2003), written for Klangforum WienKlangforum WienThe Klangforum Wien is an Austrian chamber orchestra, based in Vienna at the Konzerthaus, which specialises in contemporary classical music.Founded by composer and conductor Beat Furrer in 1985, it is run on collective principles, having no official principal conductor. Sylvain Cambreling is...
, commissioned by Southwest German RadioSüdwestrundfunkThe Südwestrundfunk is a public broadcasting company for the southwest of Germany, specifically the states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The company has main offices in three cities: Stuttgart, Baden-Baden and Mainz, with the director's office being in Stuttgart. It is an...
for the Donaueschinger Musiktage; - "Landschaft mit Glockenturm II" (2003), for seventeen European and Chinese instruments, commissioned by the Viennese organisation Asian Culture Link.
Collaboration with Harold Pinter commissioned by the BBC:
- Voices (2005), "a large-scale work for nine actors, solo musicians and orchestra, with a text specially written by Harold PinterHarold PinterHarold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
," first broadcast on BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
, in honor of Pinter's 75th birthday, on October 10, 2005.
Other commissions from, among others:
- French Ministry of Culture
- Beethovenfest Bonn
- Gaudeamus FoundationGaudeamus FoundationThe Gaudeamus Foundation and Contemporary Music Center is a renowned center for contemporary music. The Gaudeamus Foundation organizes and promotes contemporary musical activities and concerts both in the Netherlands and abroad...
- Dresdner Zentrum für zeitgenössische Musik
- Musik i Skåne
- University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
Portrait concerts given by:
- MusikFabrik NRW
- Apartment House
- Ensemble SurPlus
- Prometheus Ensemble
Recent works, all untitled, including:
- "Untitled No.1", a work for eighteen instruments written for Klangforum WienKlangforum WienThe Klangforum Wien is an Austrian chamber orchestra, based in Vienna at the Konzerthaus, which specialises in contemporary classical music.Founded by composer and conductor Beat Furrer in 1985, it is run on collective principles, having no official principal conductor. Sylvain Cambreling is...
and premiered in ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in early 2007; - "Untitled No.3" for solo piano, written for Nicolas HodgesNicolas HodgesNicolas Hodges is a British pianist and composer. He specializes in avant garde music. He was educated at Christ Church Cathedral School, Oxford, Winchester College, and the University of Cambridge....
and premiered at the Huddersfield Festival in 2006; - "Untitled No.4" for the Hilliard EnsembleHilliard EnsembleThe Hilliard Ensemble is a British male vocal quartet originally devoted to the performance of early music. Founded in 1974, the group is named after the Elizabethan miniaturist painter Nicholas Hilliard....
and the Arditti QuartetArditti QuartetThe Arditti Quartet is a string quartet founded in 1974. The quartet is associated particularly with contemporary music.-Early history:The quartet was founded in 1974 by violinist Irvine Arditti together with John Senter, Levine Andrade and Lenox Mackenzie...
, commissioned by the Beethovenfest Bonn, in 2007; - "2006-K" for 21 instruments, also written for Klangforum WienKlangforum WienThe Klangforum Wien is an Austrian chamber orchestra, based in Vienna at the Konzerthaus, which specialises in contemporary classical music.Founded by composer and conductor Beat Furrer in 1985, it is run on collective principles, having no official principal conductor. Sylvain Cambreling is...
and premiered at the Venice BiennaleVenice BiennaleThe Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
in 2006; - "2007-R" for two percussionists, premiered at the Transit Festival in LeuvenLeuvenLeuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
, BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, in 2007.
Recordings
- James Clarke (CDCompact DiscThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
) from Zeitklang. - Trio Fibonacci - Independence Quadrilles (CDCompact DiscThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
and downloadable MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
) from NMC RecordingsNMC RecordingsNMC Recordings is a British recording label which specialises in recording works by living British composers.-History:The composer Colin Matthews founded NMC in 1988, with financial assistance from the Holst Foundation. NMC is an abbreviation for "New Music Cassettes", which refers to the intended...
(UK). NMC D107.
Critical reception
Describing his "String Quartet" commissioned for the Arditti QuartetArditti Quartet
The Arditti Quartet is a string quartet founded in 1974. The quartet is associated particularly with contemporary music.-Early history:The quartet was founded in 1974 by violinist Irvine Arditti together with John Senter, Levine Andrade and Lenox Mackenzie...
, The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
states: "James Clarke's 'String Quartet' was obsessive chiefly in its manner, which was that of someone determined to break through to a new sound, a new feeling, a new zone in the psyche. The piece seethed and glittered, bursting from silence with pungent tutti respirations, arraying its speedy surface melodies (whether heard as tune, ornament or symptom) like broken glass. It was rock music by other means...."
Concerning the same work, The Toronto Star observes: "The music pulsed with fabulous rhythmic and tonal effects that the Ardittis
Arditti Quartet
The Arditti Quartet is a string quartet founded in 1974. The quartet is associated particularly with contemporary music.-Early history:The quartet was founded in 1974 by violinist Irvine Arditti together with John Senter, Levine Andrade and Lenox Mackenzie...
shaped into palpable 3-D soundscapes. Clarke's mastery of dissonance and overtone, aided by the Ardittis' playing, created sound waves that are not usually heard in a quartet program."
Awards
- 1992 – Kranichsteiner Musikpreis for composition at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse für Neue Musik.
Further reading
- Clarke, James. "Essay: On My Work"; "On Teaching"; "On New Complexity"; and "On Minimalism". Saarbrücken, October 2006. Rpt. in james-clarke.org. 2007. Accessed May 10, 2008.
- Rovner, AntonAnton RovnerAnton Rovner is a Russian-American composer, music critic and theorist.- Life :Rovner comes from a Jewish intellectual family. His father is the famous Russian philosopher Arkady Rovner. 1974 they emigrated to the United States...
. "Interview with James Clarke". Musica Ukrainica: An Online Magazine, musica-ukrainica.odessa.ua, n.d. Accessed May 10, 2008.
External links
- "Composer: James Clarke" at NMC RecordingsNMC RecordingsNMC Recordings is a British recording label which specialises in recording works by living British composers.-History:The composer Colin Matthews founded NMC in 1988, with financial assistance from the Holst Foundation. NMC is an abbreviation for "New Music Cassettes", which refers to the intended...
, nmcrec.co.uk. (Drawn mostly from other sites listed below.) - James Clarke – Official website.
- "James Clarke: Biography" on james-clarke.com, Clarke's official website. (Includes substantial excerpt from entry on Clarke by Christopher Fox in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, as cited above in text.)