Charcoals
‘Charcoals’ is a series of compositions I began in 2014 with works created for myself, for specific performers, and for specific performance situations. These are flexible works that are rarely notated and many of the works have been revised and reworked for specific occasions. The series spans electro-acoustic works, field recordings, performance pieces, and acoustic chamber music.
Charcoal 1 - a piece about being a novice
1.1 (trumpet and tape) devised for one of my first solo shows in the Northcote Uniting Church Hall in 2015
1.2 (breath, origami, and tape) devised for a solo recital at BKA Theater in Berlin in 2016
1.3 (4 performers and tape) devised for the ensemble, Arcades, for a house concert in Berlin in 2015
Charcoal 2 - a study in string glissando
2.1 (violoncello and viola) devised for Matt Hoy (cello) and Katie Yap (viola) in a concert in the resonant foyer of ACCA in Narrm/Melbourne in 2015
Charcoal 3 - for improvising trumpet and two string players in broken glissandi
3.1 (trumpet and 2 strings) devised for me, Jon Heilbron (bass) and Bernardo Alviz (bass) in a concert in Berlin in 2016
Charcoal 4 - for four spatialised musicians playing over and through an audience
4.1 (trumpet, violoncello, violin and tenor recorder) devised for me, Susanne Fröhlich (recorder), Judith Hamann (cello), and Sofie Thorsbro Dan (violin) in the resonant space of Villa Elisabeth in Berlin in 2016
Charcoal 6 - for amplified trumpet with no mouthpiece and manual speaker spatialisation check out more information here
6.1 (trumpet and 4-channel sound projection) devised for a performance at Studio Rotor in Berlin in 2017
6.2 (trumpet, sample triggering, and 4-channel sound projection) devised for a performance in the Salon at the Melbourne Recital Centre in 2021
Charcoal 7 - for trumpet and text
7.1 (trumpet, pre-recorded text) devised for a boat concert in Berlin in 2017
Charcoal 8 - for Theo, Sofie, Susanne, and myself
8.1 (trumpet, viola, recorder, violin, and sine tones) to be played on the deck of a boat at the end of a boat concert in Berlin in 2017
Charcoal 10 - interactions between trumpet performance and lighting elements
10.1 (double-bell trumpet, water bowls, coloured spotlights, CD, candle) devised for solo recitals in Berlin and Narrm/Melbourne in 2017
10.2 (double-bell trumpet, water bowls, spotlights, coloured spotlights, mirror, lighting design) devised for a solo performance in the Salon at the Melbourne Recital Centre in 2022
10.3 (double-bell trumpet, water vessels, spotlights, coloured spotlights, shadow play, mirrors, smoke machines, film, pre-recorded audio elements) devised as a performance-installation in collaboration with lighting designer Bronwyn Pringle
Charcoal 11 - for a performer speaking about their experience of breath and an instrument using air sounds
11.1 (trumpet and text) devised for Olivia Stahn (speaking about her child, Jaap) and Callum G’Froerer in 2018
11.2 (recorder and text) revised by Olivia Stahn and Jeremias Schwarzer in 2022
Charcoal 12 - multitracked trumpet choir
12.1 (multitrack trumpet)
12.2 (4 trumpets, 2 Flugelhorns)
Charcoal 16 - for trumpet and subwoofer
16.1 (double-bell trumpet and subwoofer) devised for a Make It Up Club performance in Narrm/Melbourne in 2021
16.2 devised for a solo performance in the Salon at the Melbourne Recital Centre in 2022
Charcoal 17 - for trumpet or Flugelhorn and pre-recorded text about river meandering and billabongs
17.1 (Flugelhorn and pre-recorded tape) devised for a solo performance in the Salon at the Melbourne Recital Centre in 2022
Charcoal 18 - a study in uninterrupted trumpet tremolo
18.1 (double-bell trumpet) devised for a solo performance in the Salon at the Melbourne Recital Centre in 2022