NEWS

It has been announced that Nigel has become a finalist in the international Amadeus Composition Award (Solo Concerto/Instrumental category). The Amadeus Composition Awards are based in Vienna, with adjudication by an international jury [Prof. Periklis Liakakis – University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, Prof. Brian Buch – Berklee College of Music, Prof. Brian Buch – Berklee College of Music, Prof. Roumen Dimitrov – University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, Prof. Kati Agócs – New England Conservatory of Music, Prof. Manuel Sosa – The Juilliard School of Music & Prof. Robert Davidson – School of Music, University of Queensland].

Nigel submitted the 4th Tapestry [Canute’s Wood] from `The Prophecies of Merlin’ (Symphony for Violin & Orchestra). Within the rules, Nigel could submit his recent Naxos recording (8.579127), featuring Neil Thomson (conductor), Peter Sheppard Skaerved (Violin) and the RSO Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. To qualify as finalist, a mark (over the two rounds) of 90-plus is required with Nigel receiving 98 points!! Nigel’s submission goes forward to the final round were the winner of all the categories will be announced in December. Nigel would like congratulate all of the composers and finalists, and to thank the jury and organisers of the 2023 Amadeus Composition Award.

To find out more about 2023 Amadeus Composition Awards go to: Amadeus Composition Awards

The newly formed Hong Kong Brass Band under the baton of Lai Tai Chun will  be giving the Hong Kong premiere of the brass band version of `Earthrise’ on 4 November at the Youth Square Theatre. The programme also features composers Percy Code, Steven Verhelst, Ricardo Molal Albero and Paul Lovett-Cooper.

Brussels-based composer Nigel Clarke reveals the creative mysteries behind writing a symphony using examples from early sketches through to the finished work. His latest symphony for violin and orchestra was recently recorded in Vienna

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv6yWzmPXv8

Here below is a short documentary videos on the recording and making of The Prophecies of Merlin – Symphony for Violin & Orchestra which will be released on Friday 23 June. A big shout-out to Julius Proost (film maker) and the extraordinary Neil Thomson (conductor), Peter Sheppard Skaerved (violin) and the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien – RSO Wien.

Click on link: The making of The Prophecies of Merlin

The Prophecies of Merlin –  was released on the 23 June and is  now available to download from iTunes, Amazon Music and to stream from Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music as well as other main streaming music services. CD can also be purchased from leading music outlets.

If you are in Brussels on 20 June, please support Luc Vertommen in his Doctoral defence concert at the Koninkijk Conservatorium Brussel. Luc will conduct some wonderful Belgian composers of the last century with the Hauts-De-France Brass Band [French National Brass Band Champions] and the Muziekkapel Van De Luchtmacht (Musique Royale de la Force Aérienne). Luc will also conduct the Belgian premiere of my new large-scale work, `Dairy of a Madman’. For booking details and more information: https://www.kcb.be/…/les-synthetistes-muziekkapel-vd…

Nigel with Hauts-de-France Brass Band after the Swedish Premiere of Diary of a Madman

Nigel attended the Swedish premiere of his Diary of a Madman in the Malmö Live Konserthus on Saturday, 6 May. It is the third time this year that the Hauts-de-France Brass Band, under the baton of Luc Vertommen have performed Nigel’s new work. The band’s Swedish premiere was part of the 2023 European Brass Band Championships, of which they performed Diary of a Madman as their own-choice test piece. Hauts-de-France Brass Band are the 2023 French National Brass Band Championships. As Diary of a Madman was primarily written for the band to use in competition, Nigel wrote the piece under two pseudonyms, Boris Sergeevish Kalinnikov for the French National Championships (29 January) and Christian Brant for the 2023 European Brass Band Championships (7 May).

About `DIARY OF MADMAN’ (Twenty-Fourth February)

From the beginning of history, warlords and dictators have risen up, some benign but most of them a scourge on humanity. Names that resonate to this day include Caligula, Genghis Khan, Ivan IV (The Terrible), Attila the Hun, Vlad IIII (The Impaler), Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, all of whom were responsible for wanton destruction and the torture and death of millions of victims, either citizens of invaded countries and territories and or indeed, their own peoples.

We might hope that these dark times have passed, but like the bubonic plague, a new tyrant may spring up when we are least expecting it, introducing yet another rapacious and malignant regime.

Diary of a Madman (Twenty-Fourth February) depicts a savage and brutal world – the same story of human nature that has echoed through the ages. Diary of a Madman also celebrates resistance and opposition against unjust authority and despotism.

As indicated in the score, Diary of a Madman requires a performance full of contrast, often harsh in tone evoking unadulterated violence, but its ferocious and savage articulations are periodically interspersed with moments of sublime beauty. My compositionis an 1812 Overture-style work for our times; whilst I know that real life does not always reflect art, I have chosen like Tchaikovsky to end Diary of a Madman on a victorious note.

About the Music

Nigel with conductor Luc Vertommen

Diary of a Madman starts with a light-hearted march that gives the impression of toy tin soldiers parading in a brightly–coloured ceremonial pageant from a fairy tale, conveying peace and innocence. This spectacle is abruptly interrupted by a ‘shock and awe’fanfare–like march, symbolising aggression and war. This theme grinds slowly to a halt, and an atmosphere of introspection, sadness and despair takes over. Rising above the smoky theatre of war, we then hear a distant cornet give a rendition of the Ukrainian Nation Anthem (The glory and freedom of Ukraine has not yet perished. Luck will still smile on us brother-Ukrainians). The solo cornet soon enters a fragile duet with a second cornet accompanied by dark undertones. One by one, we hear short shards of aggressive fanfare-like figures from various instruments in the band. The mood breaks – we hear strident fortissimo whole-tone scales representing pealing church bells, warning of danger. In contrast, we also hear pianissimo whole-tone scales announcing that the enemy’s troops are falling back. A counter-offensive soon takes centre stage, and battles and skirmishes are heard, with shortquotations from Mussorgsky’s `Great Gates of Kyiv’ symbolising the defenders’ heroic struggle.

All sides are victims of the Dictator’s ambition! The slow central section offer us moments of melancholic beauty and utilises Henry Purcell’s `When I am laid in earth’ (`Dido’s Lament’ from Dido and Aeneas 1688). This music represents the loss of homes, dignityand loved ones. There are occasional hints at better times as the theme of the parading toy tin soldiers is heard from afar, like a distant memory.

To announce the final push, we hear a church bell strike and an air raid siren signalling a ferocious musical counter–attack. After one final rendition of the Purcell theme, Diary of a Madman closes with a mood of triumph over tyranny. Nigel Clarke

Reaction to Diary of a Madman

Steven Mead [4barsrest live coverage coverage team] https://4barsrest.com/live/2023Europeans/default.asp wrote:

A fantastic performance of an absolutely bonkers, wonderful piece of music. I wasn’t sure if the concept would work, but boy it’s absolutely did. It deserves to be heard many times, but I somehow doubt if it’ll ever receive such a great performance as this.

The loudest siren I ever heard in a contest, in fact, anywhere! Somehow, the band bought it off and displayed its full array of technical musical skills. Bravo to Luc Vertommen for bringing this piece to us this weekend. – Steven Mead

Christopher Thomas [4barsrest live coverage coverage team] https://4barsrest.com/live/2023Europeans/default.asp wrote:

The European own choice leg has a habit of throwing up the occasional piece that is just that little bit different and this could well be one of them!

There are hints of Shostakovich in the opening paragraphs and the writing is challenging in the extreme. But what power there is in both the score and its delivery from the band. At times this brutal stuff…exactly as it should be. But there is technique on display in abundance and the constantly shifting parade of styles and savagery passes by like a garish nightmare.

The schizophrenic nature of the music is disturbing, the bizarrely twisted portrayal of the Great Gate of Kiev being perhaps the most frightening, but what is most evident is that both MD and band are feeling every note of the score. It’s terrifying but utterly compelling at the same time.

The sudden arrival of Purcell on the scene is another bizarre twist in the fabric of the music, but this is ethereally atmospheric, so beautifully played. The air raid signal that heralds ‘the calm before the storm’ whips the final passes up into a frenzy ahead of a blazing final bar.

Overall: A fascinating performance by the French of a work that well…..you could either love or hate. We loved every note of its unapologetic eccentricity but more than that, what extraordinary playing. Savage, powerful and ultimately gloriously triumphant.- Christopher Thomas

Very excited that Alhambra Records have re-released the 2001 orchestral soundtrack to the hit movie The Little Vampire (A 9068). From this month CD’s will be available, from Alhambra Records, Amazon & CD retailers. The digital release on Spotify and iTunes will  be available from June. The 92 minute score was recorded in Sofia with the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra for Cometstone Pictures. The film stared Jonathan Lipnicki (of Stuart Little fame) aswell as Jim Carter, Richard E. Grant and Alice Krige.

A soundtrack CD was released at the time of the film, but it is now out of print, so Alhambra Records are delighted to re-release this soundtrack and have added two exclusive bonus tracks in which Nigel Clarke and Michael Csányi-Wills talk about their memories and their experiences of working on this score. The running time of the CD is about 61 minutes, and the album contains a 16-page CD booklet including a text by the composers.

Here is a link to some short extracts from the new CD release of The Little Vampire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZaBogBqvBc

Alhambra Records Website:

https://alhambra-records.de

Nigel with Little Vampire actor Jonathan Lipnicki at the film premiere.

Nigel with Little Vampire actor Jim Carter in more recent times

HOW TO WRITE A SYMPHONY
With composer Nigel Clarke
Thursday 8 June / 18:30 – 20:30 at Full Circle House, Brussels

Brussels-based composer Nigel Clarke reveals the creative mysteries behind writing a symphony using examples from early sketches through to the finished work. His latest symphony `The Prophecies of Merlin’ for violin and orchestra was recently recorded by the RSO Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra for the Naxos label and will be released in June.

To Join FULL CIRCLE members for this fascinating evening go to: https://fullcircle.eu/event-5240336

FULL CIRCLE HOUSE is located at 89 Ch. de Vleurgat, 1050 Ixelles, Brussels

To find out more about Nigel’s symphony and recording project go to:
https://nigel-clarke.com/2022/09/rso-vienna-radio-symphony-orchestra-naxos-recording-project/

To find out more about FULL CIRCLE other events go to: https://fullcircle.eu/whoweare

Here is the first glimpse of the Naxos digital-release-design for `Earthrise’ (version for orchestra). 

The recording `Earthrise’ (9.70349) will be released in June this year and will be available on iTunes, Spotify and Apple Music, and other major digital music services.

Here is the first glimpse of the Naxos CD cover design for the `The Prophecies of Merlin’ – Symphony for Violin and Orchestra. The painting is by the violin soloist Peter Sheppard Skærved, also entitled `The Prophecies of Merlin’. A big thank you to Nick Stains at Naxos for the CD artwork design.

The recording `The Prophecies of Merlin’ (8.579127) will be released on 23rd June this year and will be available on CD, iTunes, Spotify and Apple Music, and other major digital music services.