Bela - Music for Strings Electronics and Percussion, MSEP 15 - my 61st album - Dedicated to Béla Bartók. The first Part of the Bela Triptych alongside Elegy, album MSEP 16, and Bela Whispers, Album MSEP 21.
An evanescent wind blows through musical space - incorporation, Symphonic, in all but name. High noontime in my music - my mid forties, life and music are sweet - I’m fresh from all the music that went before, I knew what I was doing with this but what a result. MSEP 15, Bela - is beautiful to my mind and to my ear. It is though a compositional exercise after a fragment from Bartok - perhaps a little more than an exercise. It is the first of a trio of related albums - after a fragment of Bartok - the ‘Bela Triptych’ - being, Bela, Elegy and the much later Bela Whispers - albums MSEP 15, 16 and 21. The Arc of the three albums is vast, in Context, in content and in time, at nearly 3 hours.
Bela certainly was a compositional exercise to begin with but it bloomed in such a surprising way that I welcomed it as a headline piece. I saw it as a standalone piece and I went on immediately after to work on another piece for my Em genre - Modular reflex - Rh 246. Bela, however, was ‘calling’ me back. I looked at it hard and I could see new music in it. This would unfold in two parts Rh 247 and 248 as the Album Elegy - now I had two related albums.
Years later I went back again to Bela - with fresh ears and yet again, new music emerged - Bela Whispers - Rh 365 with a dint of ostinato. I saw the pattern - a series of Albums from that first thread - a trio - a Triptych - to follow my Birthday Triptych and my Circulation Triptych.
A final reorganisation of my music’s overall structure would place them in separate Chronological Album Groups - Group 3 - the Golden Band and Group 4 - The Inner Blue Horizon - but in all other respects, a set.
The Bela Triptych
- The Bela Triptych in the Golden Band Group -
[] Album MSEP 15 Bela
Bela - Rh 245
[] Album MSEP 16 Elegy
Elegy - Rh 247
Ever far after - Rh 248
The Second Triptych ‘Panel’ unfolds in two parts - Rh 247 and 248 - I nominated this second Album as an Elegy and subtitled it ‘Farewell to the Dance,’ after the memory of my Dear Mother - Pamela M. Broadhurst.
- The Bela Triptych in the Outer Blue Group -
[] Album MSEP 21 Bela Whispers
Bela Whispers - Rh 365
A turbulent - ‘tumbulent’ end to the series with a background swing of ostinato.
An early reorganization of my music research interests had defined my music into dedicated sets of Albums. This way things of a kin got heard together - as one type of album or another - by Genre - or Tranche as I styled them. In this Case Music for Strings, Electronics and Percussion or MSEP - basically Electro acoustic music with Orchestral Instruments. MSEP by Convention.
Beginning as a percussionist my first 7 albums are for Drums of various kinds, Drum music or Dm, my first area of research interest or Tranche. I soon realised there was a second area of percussion, as a generality over a specialism - percussion on anything other than Drums, Metal Percussion music, or MPm. The third of five is the Phase music, realised by tape looping and timing, Phm. The fourth, a genre of Electro Acoustic composition, Music for Strings, Electronics and Percussion, or MSEP. The last genre is Electronic music – Music, Em, taking the longest processing detour from an original acoustic source.
Album numbers 59 to 75 form my third ‘Group - a 3rd time division across my Genres. A band of gold to my eyes - hence the 'Golden Band group.' This builds on both the foundational 'Blue Cherry Group' [where I had introduced my 5 areas of research interest] and the big 'New Horizon Group' - [where I explored to see where these five genres were leading me]. There then seemed to be a ‘band of gold’ across my discography. They mark a particularly successful time for me. Each being a huge statement in itself - which I thought, lifted me higher than ever before - hence a ‘Band of Gold.’ Dr Tom Hewitt coined the phrase ‘Sea of Symphonies’ for it. Not Symphonies but symphonic in scale and intent. The albums that follow that, 76 to the end, are a ‘Blue Horizon’ - after the phrase’ blue sky research’ - the ‘Blue Horizon Group.’ For convenience, I divided this Huge Group into the Inner and the Outer Blue Groups.
There are five MSEP albums in the Golden Band Group, MSEP 14 - 18. I feel in these I reached ‘a classical music’ - if I hadn’t already. A sprinkle of gold somewhere in every step - if only ‘fools gold’ it shone for me.
[] Album MSEP 14 - these albums begin with something very difficult - a piece I actually call a ‘Symphony.’ Never mind any ‘sea of symphonies’ there is only one here, with four others to follow in succeeding Groups, in one movement each. Hans Werner Henze was the model that gave me permission to try this, in his description of ‘A Symphony’ - especially his no. 5. I borrow this sacred word with humility. As I always say and must insist here - that ‘I am the merest dabbler, a flinger of paint.’ It follows in the long series of Nono pieces - deriving from, a fragment from Nono - it is then a ‘symphony’ on Nono.
[] Album MSEP 15 is Bela - beautiful to my mind and to ear - the Top tile on the roof of this part of my music. It is though a compositional exercise after a fragment from Bartok - perhaps a little more than an exercise. It is the first part of a trio of albums - The Bela Triptych. Those being, Bela, Elegy, and the much later Bela Whispers, albums MSEP 15, 16 and 21. So . . .
[] MSEP 16 is the Elegy, the 2nd part of the Triptych and a lot darker than Bela. The Arc of the three albums is vast, in Context, in content and in time, at well over 3 hours.
[] Album MSEP 17 is another Landmark piece in my work – this is why I am coining the term ‘Golden Band’ – for the sheer weight of the work and its impact on me. Never Not Actually Arriving, is my suite for Cello and Electronics. Sumptuous in eight parts or intonations as I styled them - I hit my Vision of a ‘Classical music’ square on with this. I couldn’t have any doubt now about what I was doing.
[] Album MSEP 18, is Curve - the last MSEP album in the Group presenting two Works, Kurva - Rh 273 and Curve - Rh 274, for string trio and larger imaginings respectively. With the Symphony they are further pieces in my Nono Series.
[] DCM 073 -MSEP 18 - Curve []
DCM 074 - Em 27 - Solar
DCM 075 - Em 28 - Cold Outer Worlds
The DCM album numbers list volumes in a [for the most part]
chronological edition - the ‘DCM Broadhurst Edition’ - Prepared for the British Library in 2020. The volumes or albums themselves were actually released as and when it was possible. The Edition though, was planned from the start to stand on the 'foundation Stone' of the Blue Cherry group.
The Rh catalogue, numbers my individual works in order of Completion.
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