Ian Clarke "Deep Blue"

[Guest]

Hi all
I hope it is OK to post this here.
My great friend and acclaimed flautist releases his new album "Deep Blue" on 12th May. He is also performing at The Forge in Tuesday evening.
As a player composer Ian seems to be a rarity these days.
Obviously I am biased but believe he is an amazing talent that not only pushes the boundaries but also creates wonderful emotional music.
Find out more at www.ianclarke.net

I hope this will be of interest to some.

Simon

[french frank]

Hello Simon

Nothing wrong with a bit of advertising when it's likely to be of interest to people here. I guess this is one of Ian's pieces? Not great sound or video quality but it gives a good idea of the musical language.

[Sydney Grew]

May I respectfully enquire about these "boundaries" of flautism? More precisely, in what do they consist? And (secondly) why is it a good idea to push them? Was Brahms restricted by any kind of boundaries when he wrote the flute passages in the finale of his fourth? Or van Beethoven in his second Missa, even?

[MrGongGong]

Was Brahms restricted by any kind of boundaries when he wrote the flute passages in the finale of his fourth? Or van Beethoven in his second Missa, even?

Yes

next question please

Thanks for this Simon will definitely check it out

[french frank]

May I respectfully enquire about these "boundaries" of flautism? More precisely, in what do they consist? And (secondly) why is it a good idea to push them? Was Brahms restricted by any kind of boundaries when he wrote the flute passages in the finale of his fourth? Or van Beethoven in his second Missa, even?

I'm not sure that there is anything particular about the boundaries of flautism, as distinct from the boundaries of any other instrument, is there?

If you listen to the video clip given you might be able to provide us with a useful analysis of the 'boundaries' beyond which Brahms and van Beethoven did not permit themselves explore; or perhaps, one might say, the boundaries which they observed. Others might take a less intellectual view and simply listen.

[Serial_Apologist]

I'm not sure that there is anything particular about the boundaries of flautism, as distinct from the boundaries of any other instrument, is there?

Roland Kirk extended himself as well as his instruments more than this guy does 50 years ago, maaan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0WVSUW0sZU

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

well said S_A!

and er breath, not a bound for strings, percussion, piano harps &c but running out of it certainly puts an end to the piece on flute ..

[french frank]

Roland Kirk extended himself as well as his instruments more than this guy does 50 years ago, maaan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0WVSUW0sZU

Interesting point, but those boundaries are different ones, aren't they, in that he was playing/improvising jazz whereas Brahms and van Beethoven were not. So aren't you just saying that jazz as a genre extended the boundaries of music?

Given the existence of jazz already, the Ian Clarke piece (there were clips of other pieces available) extends the repertoire of the flute but I wonder whether it extends musical boundaries in a comparable way to the arrival of jazz. Couldn't it be played on the violin (I ask - I only presume so)?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Interesting point, but those boundaries are different ones, aren't they, in that he was playing/improvising jazz whereas Brahms and van Beethoven were not. So aren't you just saying that jazz as a genre extended the boundaries of music?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y71cx8Vj15Q

[MrGongGong]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y71cx8Vj15Q

Link of the week IMV
thanks

[french frank]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y71cx8Vj15Q

Follow that!

I don't mean to divert the thread from the OP, but in terms of discussion, the boundaries to which SG refers are perhaps clearer. As to his enquiry as to why these boundaries need to be pushed, I would suppose it's partly "Because they're there". Isn't it?

[Richard Barrett]

These flute pieces by Ian Clarke don't really "push the boundaries" of flute-playing further than the glissando techniques developed by the jazz flautist Steve Kujala in the 1980s, which themselves derive from the centuries-old note-bending techniques used by flautists in the North Indian classical tradition.

But I prefer not to think so much in terms of "pushing boundaries" with instrumentalism, since this assumes that there are boundaries in the first place. I would reckon it's more useful to think of composing as not just writing notes but as creating instruments which are in some way particular to each work. Brian F creates a "different kind of flute" in Unity Capsule by so to speak "scraping the polish off" the sound of the instrument to reveal something sometimes more rough, sometimes more tenuous and delicate, beneath that surface. Most of the time in that piece, the multiple superimpositions of "contradictory" playing techniques conspire to filter out most of the fullness of sound idealised by traditional techniques and generate a whole different field of possibilities. Something related could be said about Sciarrino's extensive oeuvre for solo flute.

Suggesting that instrumental technique should be "frozen" in the state in which Brahms found it is as silly as saying it should be frozen two hundred years earlier, or two thousand. Composers and musicians of each generation remake the instruments they find in the image of their music, perhaps even physically as in the case of the Kingma quartertone flute or the Redgate-Howarth system oboe. On the other hand Brahms is perhaps an unsuitable example to use when talking about musical boundaries, since his music is hedged around by them in many ways - in orchestration, in adherence to inherited forms like the sonata, in expressive range and so on, such that some might say there was something unnecessarily repressed and overcautious about his work.

[Simejp]

Crumbs! "Boundaries" seems to have been a spikey little seed. Maybe that was the wrong word. I was just trying to give people an idea that they may find something they didn't expect.
For me music is about exploring one's infatuation and creativity to convey an idea or emotion to others. Boundaries are self imposed or imposed by society. I feel that the biggest driving force behind music and creativity should be, is it actually any good? Obviously that's an extremely personal thing but I believe that Ian genuinely follows this process in his work and is not aware of "boundaries" but pursues what he feels fits the piece and hopes that others will find it as exciting expressive as he does.
Those are just my thoughts. Time to just listen and enjoy the music.
Simon

[french frank]

Crumbs! "Boundaries" seems to have been a spikey little seed. Maybe that was the wrong word. I was just trying to give people an idea that they may find something they didn't expect.
For me music is about exploring one's infatuation and creativity to convey an idea or emotion to others. Boundaries are self imposed or imposed by society. I feel that the biggest driving force behind music and creativity should be, is it actually any good? Obviously that's an extremely personal thing but I believe that Ian genuinely follows this process in his work and is not aware of "boundaries" but pursues what he feels fits the piece and hopes that others will find it as exciting expressive as he does.
Those are just my thoughts. Time to just listen and enjoy the music.
Simon

Boundaries or no boundaries, thanks for providing a stimulating topic, simejp, and an interesting introduction to a new composer.