THE WORLD ACCORDING TO BOB

Bob Gilmore’s presence on the new music scene radiated a unique combination of energy, openness, excitement, critical insight, sympathy and humour. His outstanding biographies of Harry Partch and Claude Vivier, and his musicological and other writings were complemented by passionate and informed advocacy of an extraordinary range of composers and music of recent times. Much of the music he embraced and wrote about was radically new and highly individual. Latterly, performing and commissioning with Trio Scordatura, he became directly involved in creating the work he loved. It was clear, following his death in January 2015, that many musicians feel his work and its implications deserve serious and more widespread recognition. In ‘The World according to Bob’, we hope to encourage that recognition by engaging with his achievements and what they mean for music, musical biography, history and musicology, and also to ask how Bob’s legacy might be passed on for the future.

Funded through the generous donations of all our Kickstarter donors -- our 'Bob Fest' packs nine concerts into two days, with music by Harry Partch, Claude Vivier, Horaţiu Rădulescu, Frank Denyer, Christopher Fox, Kevin Volans, Donnacha Dennehy and others - many of whom Bob championed through his writings, through friendship, or both. In addition, there will be eleven short talks given by distinguished speakers - Frank Denyer, Christopher Fox, Paul Griffiths and Kevin Volans, amongst others. Details of the programme are listed below.

To find out more about Bob - please see: www.bobgilmore.co.uk

DATES & TIMES

Tuesday 1st March 2016, 10.45am to 9pm, at City University

Wednesday 2nd March 2016, 10.30am to 5pm, at City University

Wednesday 2nd March 2016, 8pm until late, at Café Oto

WHERE

City University, St John Street, London EC1V 4PB http://www.city.ac.uk/visit/campuses/northampton-square/college-building/performance-space

Cafe OTO The final event in The World according to Bob - 'A Night of Irish Music' - takes place at Café Oto, 18-22 Ashwin St, London E8 3DL https://www.cafeoto.co.uk/events/world-according-bob-night-irish-music/

(Tickets for the Cafe OTO concert can be purchased here, and also via the above URL - the one which for some reason won't highlight!).

PROGRAMME

Tuesday 1st March - City University, Performance Space

Arrival and Registration at 10.45 / 11.00am -- Welcome at 11.30am

Bob Gilmore: Harry Partch - A Biography, Yale University Press, 1998

11.40 Concert 1 – Preface: Harry Partch

Harry Partch Archytas' Enharmonic

from Two studies on ancient Greek scales, arranged by Bob Gilmore and Scordatura

Harry Partch The Rose

From December 1942 (text: Ella Young, 1938)

Marc Sabat Gioseffo Zarlino (2015) for variable instrumentation

Harry Partch By the Rivers of Babylon (137th Psalm)

SCORDATURA: Alfrun Schmid voice, Reinier van Houdt Chromelodeon/keyboard, Elisabeth Smalt Adapted Viola, Lucas van Helsdingen bass clarinet, Samuel Vriezen Kithara, with special guest John Schneider voice and Adapted Guitar I

Frank Denyer

14.00 Concert 2 - Frank Denyer: The Hidden Voice

Woman, Viola and Crow

A Fragile Thread 1 and 2

Whispers (extracts)

Woman with Jinashi Shakuhachi

Frank Denyer (voice), Kiku Day (jinashi shakuhachi), Benjamin Marquise Gilmore (violin), Elisabeth Smalt (viola)

16.00 Concert 3 – Intermezzo

Christopher Fox The Dark Road

Anton Lukoszevieze Score Lexicon

Anton Lukoszevieze (cello)

Vicentino's design for the lower manual of the Archicembalo (1555)

19.00 Concert 4 - Nicola Vicentino: a second life

The visionary 16th century composer and music theorist Nicola Vicentino is famous for his advocacy of an ancient Greek enharmonic mode and the microtonal Archicembalo that he designed for it. Only four of his madrigals survived, of which three are unfinished. Bob Gilmore, with Scordatura, asked composers to complete/respond freely to them. The original madrigals will be performed in a Scordatura arrangement together with new compositions.

The visionary 16th century composer and music theorist Nicola Vicentino is famous for his advocacy of an ancient Greek enharmonic mode and for the microtonal cembalo that he designed for it. Only four of his madrigals survived, of which three are unfinished. Bob Gilmore, with Scordatura, asked composers to complete/respond freely to them. The original madrigals will be performed in a Scordatura arrangement, together with the new compositions.

Nicola Vicentino (1511-1576) Madonna il poco dolce (1555)

Yannis Kyriakides (1969) Poco dolce, molto amaro (2014*)

Harald Muenz (1965) allo studio con Nicola (2014*)

John Croft (1971) Soav’e dolc’ardore (2015*)

Nicola Vicentino (1511-1576) Soav’e dolc’ardore (1555)

hans w. koch (1962) II poco dolce (2015*)

Anne La Berge (1955) Languid sighs (2014*)

Lucia D’Errico (1982) Madonna il poco dolce (2014*)

Scott McLaughlin (1975) Untitled (for Bob) (2015*)

Christopher Fox (1955) Dolce…pianto (2014*)

Linda Buckley (1979) Musica prisca caput (2015*)

Nicola Vicentino (1511-1576) Musica prisca caput (1555)

SCORDATURA & guests: Alfrun Schmid (voice), Elisabeth Smalt (viola), Reinier van Houdt (keyboard), Benjamin Marquise Gilmore (violin), Lucas van Helsdingen (bass clarinet, coffee grinder)

19.45 Interval

Ben Johnston: Maximum Clarity and Other Writings on Music, ed. Bob Gilmore,Univ of Illinois Press, 2006

20.00 Concert 4 (cont.) – Maximum Clarity

Gilmore String Quartet with Alfrun Schmid (voice)

Claude Vivier Quatuor pour cordes

Kevin Volans Notes d'un Peintre

Walter Zimmermann Novalis Fragment ‘for Bob’

Ben Johnston Amazing Grace, String Quartet No 4

Wednesday 2nd March - City University Performance Space

Bob Gilmore: Claude Vivier - A Composer's Life, University of Rochester Press, 2014

11.00 Concert 5 – Preface

François-Bernard Mâche Kubatum

Marc Sabat Bob Gilmore, Elisabeth Smalt

Claude Vivier Tao Tao Tao (arr. Bob Gilmore)

Alfrun Schmid (voice), Benjamin Marquise Gilmore (violin), Elisabeth Smalt (viola), Reinier van Houdt (keyboard)

Trio Scordatura: Alfrun Schmid, Elisabeth Smalt, Bob Gilmore

12.10 Concert 6 - Harry Partch: the Truth about Tune

December 1942 for voice and Adapted Guitar I

1. Come Away, Death (Shakespeare, Twelfth Night II:iv)

2. The Heron (Tsurayuki, 13th century Japanese, trans. Waley)

3. The Rose (Ella Young, 1938)

Two Psalms for voice, Chromelodeon, Adapted Viola and Kithara

1. The Lord is my Shepherd (23rd Psalm)

2. By the Rivers of Babylon (137th Psalm)

Barstow: Eight Hitchhikers’ Inscriptions - from a Highway Railing at Barstow, California (1941) for voice and Adapted Guitar I

1. Today I Am a Man

2. Gentlemen

3. Considered Pretty

4. A very good Idea

5. Possible Rides

6. Jesus was God in the Flesh

7. You Lucky Women

8. Why in Hell did you come?

Seventeen Lyrics by Li Po (excerpts) (1930-1933) for voice and Adapted Viola

1. A Midnight Farewell

2. The Long-Departed Lover

3. On the City Street

4. The Intruder

5. An Encounter in the Field

6. On Hearing the Flute at Lo-cheng One Spring Night

7. The Night of Sorrow

8. I am a Peach Tree

Dark Brother - Final Two Paragraphs from Thomas Wolfe’s “God’s Lonely Man” (1943) for voice, Chromelodeon, Adapted Viola, Kithara, indian drum

Letter from Hobo Pablo for voice and Kithara

John Schneider: voice, Adapted Guitar I, Adapted Viola, Alfrun Schmid: voice, Elisabeth Smalt: Adapted Viola, Reinier van Houdt: Chromelodeon (keyboard version), Samuel Vriezen: Kithara, Lucas van Helsdingen: indian drum

Performed by Scordatura & guests: Alfrun Schmid (voice), Elisabeth Smalt (Adapted Viola, voice), Reinier van Houdt (Chromelodeon/keyboard), John Schneider (Adapted Guitars, voice), tbc (Diamond Marimba)

14.40 Concert 7 – Intermezzo

Claude Vivier Pièce pour Violon et Piano

Patrick Ozzard-Low Piano Pieces

Benjamin Marquise-Gilmore (violin), Andrew Zolinsky (piano), Patrick Ozzard-Low (piano)

Horaţiu Rădulescu

16.00 Concert 8 - Horaţiu Rădulescu

Lux Animae

Piano Sonata No 2

Cello Sonata

Catherine Tunnell (cello), Ian Pace (piano)

Bob Gilmore

A NIGHT OF IRISH MUSIC

Wednesday 2nd March Café Oto, 8pm until late

‘The World according to Bob’ concludes at Café Oto – presenting a concert of new music from Ireland, curated and produced by Ergodos. Between each work there will be short extracts from Bob Gilmore’s writings read by award winning Irish broadcaster and documentary maker Bernard Clarke and Irish publisher and musician Toner Quinn.

Donnacha Dennehy Bulb

Benedict Schlepper-Connolly New work

Ailís Ní Riain Into The Sea of Waking Dreams

Scott McLaughlin Blues for Horatiu

Kevin Volans New Work

Jennifer Walshe Aisteach

Interval

Karen Power & John Godfrey Improvisation

Linda Buckley fridur

Deirdre McKay New Work

Garrett Sholdice New Work

Donnacha Dennehy New Work

Performed by: Mira Benjamin (violin), John Godfrey (electric guitar), Reinier van Houdt (piano), Michelle O’Rourke (voice), Karen Power (electronics), Ailís Ní Riain (piano, voice), Benedict Schlepper-Connolly (synthesizer), Garrett Sholdice (piano), Elisabeth Smalt (viola), Kevin Volans (piano), Jennifer Walshe (voice) and Andrew Zolinsky (solo piano)

CONFERENCE PAPERS - Tues 1st & Weds 2nd March 2016 (at City Uni)

At City University, eleven papers will be presented across the two days, in sessions interwoven with the concerts

Linda Buckley Bob Gilmore as Guiding Light for New Music in Ireland

Frank Denyer Some Questions that Remain

Christopher Fox The Climate since Bob Gilmore

Paul Griffiths A Little of What We Lost

Kevin Volans Art Begins where Craftsmanship Ends

John Croft Spectral Music and the Taming of Sonority

Scott McClaughlin All Young Composers need a Bob in their lives

Sam Richards Harry Partch and Countercultural Utopias

Marc Sabat Tuneable Intervals and Chords: a possible basis for extended JI on acoustic instruments

John Schneider Partch: ReGenesis of a Music

Jennifer Walshe Hacking History and Re-Imagining Ireland: The Aisteach Foundation