CCCT

MUSIC IN STEP WITH THE TIMES
Friday, October 4, 7.30pm, Emma Cons Hall
Tickets £8
The Ivory Duo and Piano Quintet De Madrugada perform compositions written in response to the Call for Compositions of the Cornelius Cardew Concerts Trust over the past few years.
Born to Society Michael Chant [piano duo and string quartet]; Cross Purposes (extract) Paul Sarcich [solo piano]; For an Alternative Hugh Shrapnel [piano duo]; One World Alison Doubleday [piano quintet]; Seven Resonances Jonathan Case [piano duo]; The World Transformed Rob Cooper [piano quintet]; Toccata and Momentum Lesley Larkum [piano duo]; Troposphere Elif Nur Karlidag [piano duo]; When Crossing Lines Jane Serter [piano quintet]
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WEEKEND OF SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS - All welcome to participate!
October 26-27, 10am-5pm, Holst Room, each day
Tickets £10 for one day; £15 for the weekend
Seminars, Saturday, October 26: Seminar topics likely to include - The Draft Constitution of the Scratch Orchestra and its components (Scratch music; Popular Classics; Improvisation Rites; Compositions; Research Project); The Scratch Orchestra, its Motion, Experiences and Development (the concerts, the tours, the strivings); The Scratch Today and the Quality that Endures
Evening Social, Saturday, October 26: Venue to be announced
Workshops, Sunday, October 27: A workshop day to play music / discuss / design / prepare for the concert on November 1
(ALL welcome to join in! Includes plenary and workshops)
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HOWARD SKEMPTON AND MICHAEL CHANT IN CONVERSATION
Thursday, October 31, 6.00pm - 7.30pm, Emma Cons Hall
Tickets £5
Michael Chant and Howard Skempton talking about composing and playing some of their compositions.
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A CELEBRATORY SCRATCH CONCERT
Friday, November 1, 7.00pm, Emma Cons Hall
Tickets £8
Celebrating the Scratch Orchestra at 50 with a concert bringing everyone together in the spirit of the Scratch.
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EXHIBITION OF SCRATCH MATERIAL
Exhibition of Scratch Orchestra memorabilia, watch for further details.

All celebrations will attract a modest charge (depending on the event), payable via Eventbrite (or at the door).
Follow the @ScratchOrchestraat50 Facebook page for updates


View the event programme as a PDF

View the event programme as a PDF

New works by Michael Chant, Rob Cooper, Carlo Francesco Defranceschi, Alison Doubleday, Seah Cheng Tat, Jane Serter and Hugh Shrapnel.

Performed by Luis Parés and the Quartet De Madrugada

This is the seventh annual concert in memory of James Allen, celebrating and inspired by the path of enlightenment and progress characteristic of the works of Cornelius Cardew.

Pieces include: Four Vignettes, Love Sonnets of a Building Worker, Hunt Hunt, Oxleas Wood, Spring, For An Alternative, Easter Uprising 1916

Performers include: Hugh Shrapnel, Jo Cooper, Lesley Larkum, Michael Chant, Ruth Shrapnel, Sarah Walker, The Ivory Duo Piano Ensemble, Quartet De Madrugada, Johan Höglind, Alan Tomlinson and Elif Karlidag

This concert celebrated first and foremost the path that the renowned composer and musician Cornelius Cardew was instrumental in opening up in the world of music, by encouraging new music to be written that consciously participates in advancing along this path.

Composers in writing to this year's theme have taken further inspiration from the lines from the poem "Born to Society" by Hardial Bains:
From every sinew of labour
From every note of love.

New works by Alessandra Canepa, Michael Chant, Alison Doubleday, Elif Karlidag, Paul Sarcich, Seah Cheng Tat and Hugh Shrapnel.

This is the sixth annual concert in memory of James Allen.

Cornelius Cardew's great legacy is of keeping in step with the requirements of the times in a manner that accepts no dogmatic rendering of reality or limitations on the human spirit and striving to contribute to the creation of a new world of socialised humanity . That was the significance of the title of the concert, suggesting music that, like the music of Cornelius, is dedicated to the New, a living music that embodies lyricism, passion and drive.

The programme included works by Michael Chant, Louise Drewett, Seah Cheng Tat, Elif Karlidag, Patricia Livingstone, Meilina Tsui, Chris Scobie, Alessandra Canepa and Hugh Shrapnel. The works were performed by the Ivory Duo Piano Ensemble - the highly successful husband-and-wife duo, Panayotis Archontides & Natalie Tsaldarakis.

The event featured performances from Quartet De Madrugada: Tim Wright (violin), Lesley Larkum (violin), Josie Stein (viola), Peter Rayner (cello), with Jo Cooper (folk fiddle)

The programme included Jonathan Case: The Topography of War; Michael Chant: Beware of the Risen People; Jo Cooper: Lament for the Lost; Vincent Ott: Stomp; Peter Rayner: Awakenings; Chris Scobie: Banna Strand; Hugh Shrapnel: Easter Rising 1916

The concert was jointly presented by the Cornelius Cardew Concerts Trust and Morley College.

Music In Step With The Times was a concert of new music for two pianists. This concert first and foremost celebrates the life and work of renowned composer, musician and political activist Cornelius Cardew.

The music performed was dedicated to the New, a living music that might have a beautiful, militant, human-centred character, that accepts no limitations on the human spirit.

The programme included works by Jonathan Case, Brian Inglis, Lesley Larkum, Alex Lau, Vincent Ott, Paul Sarcich, Christopher Scobie and Hugh Shrapnel. Including Boolavogue by Cornelius Cardew.

The works were performed by the Ivory Duo Piano Ensemble - the highly successful husband-and-wife duo, Panayotis Archontides & Natalie Tsaldarakis.

The title, "Great Momentum, Profound Changes", is inspired by the 70th anniversary of the victory over fascism in Europe. The compositions celebrate this victory, taking up the theme from a contemporary perspective, with a morality in step with our times.

Music commissioned and inspired by James and the music he loved, performed by his friends, together with poems and a film dedicated to James, with thanks for all his contributions.

A symposium on the Life and Works of Cornelius Cardew was held in the Caledonian University, Glasgow, on September 1st. A recital of his later works was held in Glasgow City Hall that evening.

The event featured performances from Natalie Tsaldarakis: "Thaelmann Variations" (piano) , Michael Chant: "Croppy Boy" and "Father Murphy" (piano), Lesley Larkum: "The Workers' Song" (violin) and Kerry Yong: "We Sing for the Future" (piano)

This concert took up the theme of giving birth to the new as part of celebrating May Day.

The time is here, the time is now,
the time has come for you and for I.
Seize the time in the here and the now,
for the sake of that which yearns for the sky.
Lay the claims, transform the world,
for you and for I with a million songs.


The event featured performances from The DBQ String Quartet, The May First Brass Quintet, Miguel Calvo (cello), Grace Chilton (spoken voice), Rhodri Davies (harp), Haydn Dickenson (piano), Lesley Larkum (violin), Catherine Pluygers (oboe), Carolyn Rogers (movement), Giada Zerbo (vocalist), Carole Chant (banjo and vocals), Michael Chant (piano), Tania Chant (narrator), Decentred (Tom Chant: soprano and tenor saxophones/bass clarinet; Angharad Davies: violin; Benedict Drew: electronics; John Edwards: doublebass)

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If the music evokes emotions connected with the heart's response to flowers, then it has succeeded. But the question remains, what is this heart's response? Like the flowers themselves, the music has to be appreciated by the senses. In the case of the music, the sense is that of hearing. But the intellect too plays its part. It is not just music to be enjoyed by the ear. The beauty of the music of flowers revealing themselves is not meant to evoke the idea that all is well with the world. It is a beauty which is meant to refresh so that the spirit is spurred on to achieve a different world.

The event featured performances from Tamara Diakow (clarinet), Haydn Dickenson (piano), Lesley Larkum (violin), Catherine Pluygers (oboe) and Carole and Tania Chant (narrators).

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This concert took up the theme of giving birth to the new as part of celebrating May Day.

The programme included new works for piano by Michael Chant, Robert Coleridge, Lesley Larkum, Michael Parsons and John White and a film by Stuart Monro.

The event featured performances from Haydn Dickenson (piano), Velvet Fist (socialist women's choir), conductor Lesley Larkum; Hildegard Maier (soprano).