Michael Blake
a b for piano
Bardic Edition BDE1368
A memorial work for Pierre Boulez who died earlier in 2016, I appropriated seven chords from his Improvisation I sur Mallarme, and re-used them in various ways to simulate bells tolling. Boulez himself would probably not have countenanced this kind of music, and I was never interested in composing in the manner of Boulez, but his importance as a leading figure in the twentieth century can never be ignored.
a b is an early version of a projected multimedia piece Hyperextension, created in collaboration with the South African artist Sean Blem, but never materialised. The title refers both to the dedicatee and the manner in which the music is constructed, with the chords labelled a-b-c-de etc like building blocks.
The work should ideally be played on a dark or dimly-lit stage, with just a single lamp over the music desk of the piano.
The first performance was given by Coila-Leah Enderstein (piano) at the second edition of the Purpur Festival on 23 February 2016 in the Youngblood Gallery, Cape Town.
Duration 21 minutes
a b is an early version of a projected multimedia piece Hyperextension, created in collaboration with the South African artist Sean Blem, but never materialised. The title refers both to the dedicatee and the manner in which the music is constructed, with the chords labelled a-b-c-de etc like building blocks.
The work should ideally be played on a dark or dimly-lit stage, with just a single lamp over the music desk of the piano.
The first performance was given by Coila-Leah Enderstein (piano) at the second edition of the Purpur Festival on 23 February 2016 in the Youngblood Gallery, Cape Town.
Duration 21 minutes
