Howard Skempton
Encyclopedia
Howard Skempton is a British
composer
and accordion
ist. Since the late 1960s, when he helped organize the Scratch Orchestra
, he has been associated with the English school of experimental music
. Skempton's work is characterized by stripped down, essentials-only choice of materials, absence of formal development and a strong emphasis on melody
; his music has been described as "the emancipation of the consonance
" by musicologist Hermann-Christoph Müller.
and studied at Ealing Technical College
. He started composing before 1967; that year he moved to London
and began taking private lessons in composition under Cornelius Cardew
. In 1968 Skempton joined Cardew's experimental music class at Morley College
, where in spring 1969 Cardew, Skempton and composer Michael Parsons organized the Scratch Orchestra
. This ensemble had open membership and was dedicated to performing experimental contemporary music by composers such as La Monte Young
, John Cage
, Terry Riley
, as well as by members of the orchestra itself. One of Skempton's early works, Drum No. 1 (1969), became one of the "most useful and satisfying" pieces in the repertory of the Scratch Orchestra.
Through Scratch Orchestra Skempton met numerous composers and performers, including Christopher Hobbs
, John White
and various Systems artists
, and pianist John Tilbury
. However, tensions arose during the politicizing of the Scratch Orchestra in early 1970s: Cardew and a number of other important members were pushing the ensemble towards a Marxist
direction. Skempton, along with Hobbs, Parsons, White and many others, refused to be associated with the political line; the breakup of the Orchestra was accompanied by, in Parson's words, "a split between its 'political' and 'experimental' factions."
Skempton has been working as a music editor, performer (of his own compositions, on piano and accordion) and teacher since 1971. In 1974 he and Michael Parsons formed a duo to perform their own works. The 1980s saw an increase of interest in Skempton's music, which led to more commissions and permitted him to compose more for larger forces. Lento
, an orchestral work composed in late 1991, became one of Skempton's most recognized and widely known pieces. In the 1990s important recordings of his works started appearing, such as a disc of piano music recorded by old friend and Scratch Orchestra colleague John Tilbury, released on Sony Classical in 1996, and Surface Tension, a recording of miscellaneous works released on Mode Records
.
Howard Skempton currently teaches composition at the Birmingham Conservatoire. Recently, Skempton was the winner of the Chamber Scale Composition category at the 2005 Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards for his string quartet
Tendrils (2004).
Skempton's style is characterized by a concentration on the quality of sound and an economy of means, absence of development in the conventional sense, and concentration on sonority. Many pieces are also quite short, lasting no longer than one or two minutes. Although the compositional methods are clearly experimental (involving, for example, aleatory
), there is a marked emphasis on the melody in many pieces, and already some of the earlier piano works (Saltaire Melody (1977), Trace (1980)) quickly became favorites of the public.
Formative influences on Skempton's music included Erik Satie
, John Cage
and Morton Feldman
. For example, A Humming Song (1967), an early piano piece composed before Skempton started lessons with Cardew, is a miniature with static, gentle sound. The harmonic structure consists of eight symmetrically arranged pitches, out of which six are selected for use in the piece. Chance procedures
are then used to determine the order and number of occurrences of individual pitches. The pianist is asked to sustain certain pitches by humming. Another early piece, Drum No. 1 (1969), composed for the Scratch Orchestra
, consists of just a few written instructions to the performers and is clearly inspired by similarly realized works by La Monte Young
, whose music Cardew was enthusiastically propagating in the late 1960s. The score of May Pole (1971), a piece for orchestra, consists of a chance determined sequence of chords. Each performer chooses a note from a chord, and chooses the moment when to play that note; the later, the softer the dynamics. Skempton later called such pieces "landscapes" that "simply project the material as sound, without momentum." Other early works include two pieces for tape, a medium Skempton rarely used later: Indian Summer (1969) and Drum No. 3 (1971).
The early 1970s saw a slow shift from static, abstract pieces to ones with a more clearly defined rhythmic and harmonic structure, although the methods and forms Skempton used remained unorthodox. For instance, in a series of Quavers piano pieces (1973–75) the music consists solely of repeated chords with no pauses between them. In addition to "landscapes", two other categories appeared, dubbed "melodies" and "chorales" by the composer. The "melodies" are single melodic lines either with simple accompaniment (Saltaire Melody, for piano (1977)) or suspended in space (later works such as Trace for piano (1980) and Bagatelle for flute (1985)). "Chorales" are works where material is presented primarily (or solely) using chords. An example is Postlude (1978), for piano, in contradistinction to Eirenicon 3 (1978), also for piano, which is a "landscape". The earlier "melodies" were apparently composed at the instrument, intuitively, whereas the later ones evolve from a series of written pitches.
It was also in the 1970s that Skempton started composing chamber works, although these were almost always for two performers, since they were written to be performed by the duo of Skempton himself and Michael Parsons. These pieces included a number of horn duos, pieces for two drums, and a duet for piano and woodblocks
. Finally, in 1970s Skempton started playing accordion and composing for this instrument.
In 1980 Skempton composed Chorales, his first major work for orchestra. It was commissioned by the Merseyside Youth Orchestra. The composer described it as "essentially the same as what I was doing before, but on an orchestral scale". Although the work is clearly a "chorale" in the sense Postlude and similar pieces are, during the 1980s Skempton's range expanded greatly, leading to works such as The Durham Strike (1985), which is a set of piano variations that is longer than any of the previous piano pieces, Images
(1989), a large cycle of piano works for a TV documentary, and chamber works scored for larger forces than those used previously.
Skempton's first major success came in 1991 after the premiere of Lento
(1990), an orchestral piece that gained a larger audience for the composer. During the 1990s and the 2000s Skempton started composing longer works for larger forces. These include several concertos, among which are those for instruments rarely used in the Western tradition: the hurdy-gurdy (Concerto for hurdy-gurdy and percussion (1994)) and the accordion (Concerto for oboe, accordion and strings (1997)). Some of the later works explore non-standard instrumentation: Horizons (2001) is scored for oboe
and harp
, Ballade (1997) is a pieces for saxophone quartet and string orchestra.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
ist. Since the late 1960s, when he helped organize the Scratch Orchestra
Scratch Orchestra
The Scratch Orchestra was an experimental musical ensemble founded in the spring of 1969 by Cornelius Cardew, Michael Parsons and Howard Skempton....
, he has been associated with the English school of experimental music
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
. Skempton's work is characterized by stripped down, essentials-only choice of materials, absence of formal development and a strong emphasis on melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
; his music has been described as "the emancipation of the consonance
Emancipation of the dissonance
The emancipation of the dissonance was a concept or goal put forth by composer Arnold Schoenberg and others, including his pupil Anton Webern. The phrase first appears in Schoenberg's 1926 essay "Opinion or Insight?". It may be described as a metanarrative to justify atonality...
" by musicologist Hermann-Christoph Müller.
Life
Howard Skempton was born in ChesterChester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
and studied at Ealing Technical College
Thames Valley University
The University of West London is a public university based in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in Ealing and Brentford, London, and Reading, Berkshire....
. He started composing before 1967; that year he moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and began taking private lessons in composition under Cornelius Cardew
Cornelius Cardew
Cornelius Cardew was an English experimental music composer, and founder of the Scratch Orchestra, an experimental performing ensemble. He later rejected the avant-garde in favour of a politically motivated "people's liberation music".-Biography:Cardew was born in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire...
. In 1968 Skempton joined Cardew's experimental music class at Morley College
Morley College
Morley College is an adult education college in London, England. It was founded in the 1880s and has a student population of 10,806 adult students...
, where in spring 1969 Cardew, Skempton and composer Michael Parsons organized the Scratch Orchestra
Scratch Orchestra
The Scratch Orchestra was an experimental musical ensemble founded in the spring of 1969 by Cornelius Cardew, Michael Parsons and Howard Skempton....
. This ensemble had open membership and was dedicated to performing experimental contemporary music by composers such as La Monte Young
La Monte Young
La Monte Thornton Young is an American avant-garde composer, musician, and artist.Young is generally recognized as the first minimalist composer. His works have been included among the most important and radical post-World War II avant-garde, experimental, and contemporary music. Young is...
, John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
, Terry Riley
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell Riley, is an American composer intrinsically associated with the minimalist school of Western classical music and was a pioneer of the movement...
, as well as by members of the orchestra itself. One of Skempton's early works, Drum No. 1 (1969), became one of the "most useful and satisfying" pieces in the repertory of the Scratch Orchestra.
Through Scratch Orchestra Skempton met numerous composers and performers, including Christopher Hobbs
Christopher Hobbs
Christopher Hobbs is an English experimental composer, best known as a pioneer of British Systems music.-Life and career:...
, John White
John White (composer)
John White is an English composer and musical performer.-Life:White trained and taught at the London Royal College of Music...
and various Systems artists
Systems music
Systems music is a term which has been used to describe the work of composers who concern themselves primarily with sound continuums which evolve gradually, often over very long periods of time . Historically, the American minimalists Steve Reich, La Monte Young and Philip Glass are considered the...
, and pianist John Tilbury
John Tilbury
John Tilbury is a British pianist. He is considered one of the foremost interpreters of Morton Feldman's music, and since 1980 has been a member of the free improvisation group AMM.- Early life and education :...
. However, tensions arose during the politicizing of the Scratch Orchestra in early 1970s: Cardew and a number of other important members were pushing the ensemble towards a Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
direction. Skempton, along with Hobbs, Parsons, White and many others, refused to be associated with the political line; the breakup of the Orchestra was accompanied by, in Parson's words, "a split between its 'political' and 'experimental' factions."
Skempton has been working as a music editor, performer (of his own compositions, on piano and accordion) and teacher since 1971. In 1974 he and Michael Parsons formed a duo to perform their own works. The 1980s saw an increase of interest in Skempton's music, which led to more commissions and permitted him to compose more for larger forces. Lento
Lento (Skempton)
Lento is a composition for orchestra written by Howard Skempton in 1990. It was Skempton's third work for large forces, and his first major success....
, an orchestral work composed in late 1991, became one of Skempton's most recognized and widely known pieces. In the 1990s important recordings of his works started appearing, such as a disc of piano music recorded by old friend and Scratch Orchestra colleague John Tilbury, released on Sony Classical in 1996, and Surface Tension, a recording of miscellaneous works released on Mode Records
Mode Records
Mode Records is an AmericaContemporary classical music|n record label based in New York City, New York, whose primary focus is modern classical, avant-garde, and new music. Composers featured include John Cage, Morton Feldman, Iannis Xenakis, and Harry Partch. Performers include Aki Takahashi,...
.
Howard Skempton currently teaches composition at the Birmingham Conservatoire. Recently, Skempton was the winner of the Chamber Scale Composition category at the 2005 Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards for his string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
Tendrils (2004).
Works
- See also: List of compositions by Howard Skempton
Skempton's style is characterized by a concentration on the quality of sound and an economy of means, absence of development in the conventional sense, and concentration on sonority. Many pieces are also quite short, lasting no longer than one or two minutes. Although the compositional methods are clearly experimental (involving, for example, aleatory
Aleatoric music
Aleatoric music is music in which some element of the composition is left to chance, and/or some primary element of a composed work's realization is left to the determination of its performer...
), there is a marked emphasis on the melody in many pieces, and already some of the earlier piano works (Saltaire Melody (1977), Trace (1980)) quickly became favorites of the public.
Formative influences on Skempton's music included Erik Satie
Erik Satie
Éric Alfred Leslie Satie was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde...
, John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
and Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman was an American composer, born in New York City.A major figure in 20th century music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School of composers also including John Cage, Christian Wolff, and Earle Brown...
. For example, A Humming Song (1967), an early piano piece composed before Skempton started lessons with Cardew, is a miniature with static, gentle sound. The harmonic structure consists of eight symmetrically arranged pitches, out of which six are selected for use in the piece. Chance procedures
Aleatoric music
Aleatoric music is music in which some element of the composition is left to chance, and/or some primary element of a composed work's realization is left to the determination of its performer...
are then used to determine the order and number of occurrences of individual pitches. The pianist is asked to sustain certain pitches by humming. Another early piece, Drum No. 1 (1969), composed for the Scratch Orchestra
Scratch Orchestra
The Scratch Orchestra was an experimental musical ensemble founded in the spring of 1969 by Cornelius Cardew, Michael Parsons and Howard Skempton....
, consists of just a few written instructions to the performers and is clearly inspired by similarly realized works by La Monte Young
La Monte Young
La Monte Thornton Young is an American avant-garde composer, musician, and artist.Young is generally recognized as the first minimalist composer. His works have been included among the most important and radical post-World War II avant-garde, experimental, and contemporary music. Young is...
, whose music Cardew was enthusiastically propagating in the late 1960s. The score of May Pole (1971), a piece for orchestra, consists of a chance determined sequence of chords. Each performer chooses a note from a chord, and chooses the moment when to play that note; the later, the softer the dynamics. Skempton later called such pieces "landscapes" that "simply project the material as sound, without momentum." Other early works include two pieces for tape, a medium Skempton rarely used later: Indian Summer (1969) and Drum No. 3 (1971).
The early 1970s saw a slow shift from static, abstract pieces to ones with a more clearly defined rhythmic and harmonic structure, although the methods and forms Skempton used remained unorthodox. For instance, in a series of Quavers piano pieces (1973–75) the music consists solely of repeated chords with no pauses between them. In addition to "landscapes", two other categories appeared, dubbed "melodies" and "chorales" by the composer. The "melodies" are single melodic lines either with simple accompaniment (Saltaire Melody, for piano (1977)) or suspended in space (later works such as Trace for piano (1980) and Bagatelle for flute (1985)). "Chorales" are works where material is presented primarily (or solely) using chords. An example is Postlude (1978), for piano, in contradistinction to Eirenicon 3 (1978), also for piano, which is a "landscape". The earlier "melodies" were apparently composed at the instrument, intuitively, whereas the later ones evolve from a series of written pitches.
It was also in the 1970s that Skempton started composing chamber works, although these were almost always for two performers, since they were written to be performed by the duo of Skempton himself and Michael Parsons. These pieces included a number of horn duos, pieces for two drums, and a duet for piano and woodblocks
Wood block
A woodblock is essentially a small piece of slit drum made from a single piece of wood and used as a percussion instrument. It is struck with a stick, making a characteristically percussive sound....
. Finally, in 1970s Skempton started playing accordion and composing for this instrument.
In 1980 Skempton composed Chorales, his first major work for orchestra. It was commissioned by the Merseyside Youth Orchestra. The composer described it as "essentially the same as what I was doing before, but on an orchestral scale". Although the work is clearly a "chorale" in the sense Postlude and similar pieces are, during the 1980s Skempton's range expanded greatly, leading to works such as The Durham Strike (1985), which is a set of piano variations that is longer than any of the previous piano pieces, Images
Images (Skempton)
Images is a cycle of piano pieces composed by Howard Skempton in 1989. This work and a variations set, The Durham Strike, are the only large-scale piano works by Skempton, although he has been composing piano music since the beginning of his career....
(1989), a large cycle of piano works for a TV documentary, and chamber works scored for larger forces than those used previously.
Skempton's first major success came in 1991 after the premiere of Lento
Lento (Skempton)
Lento is a composition for orchestra written by Howard Skempton in 1990. It was Skempton's third work for large forces, and his first major success....
(1990), an orchestral piece that gained a larger audience for the composer. During the 1990s and the 2000s Skempton started composing longer works for larger forces. These include several concertos, among which are those for instruments rarely used in the Western tradition: the hurdy-gurdy (Concerto for hurdy-gurdy and percussion (1994)) and the accordion (Concerto for oboe, accordion and strings (1997)). Some of the later works explore non-standard instrumentation: Horizons (2001) is scored for oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
and harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, Ballade (1997) is a pieces for saxophone quartet and string orchestra.
External links
- Jems: Journal of Experimental Music Studies includes articles on Howard Skempton by Michael Parsons, as well as other materials on English experimental composers.
- Skempton's page at the Oxford University Press website, includes a biography, a catalogue of works, score samples, etc.
- Biography at MusicNow.co.uk - British Composers