SEASONS and CYCLES

For Soundbeam, voices and instruments

Words and Music

BY

Heater Wastie

©2002 Elektrodome

Devised and composed during workshops with Class 4S, Leighswood School, Aldridge, Walsall, and including lyrics and melodies by the children.

Commissioned by

ELEKTRODOME

“Seasons and Cycles” is the first of a projected series of Elektrodome Pilot Projects for Group Music-Making in Schools - using electronic music technology with voices and instruments in live performance – designed to offer teachers a new repertoire of pieces for classroom group music making.

It is the result of a commission – in June 2002 - to composer/poet Heather Wastie by the arts charity Elektrodome Her brief was to devise and com-pose a piece of music or music theatre for development, rehearsal and performance by all 36 children of Class 4S at Leighswood School, under her direction, with the collaboration of their teachers, Mrs Helena Smith (Class Teacher, Class 4S ) and Mrs Kathleen Curd (Music Specialist at Leighswood School). The Project had the enthusiastic support of Head Teacher, Mrs Jan Taylor, and of Mike Parrott (Group Manager for Arts and Development, Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council).

Preliminary Visit to Leighswood School, Summer Term 2002

At the end of June, Heather Wastie visited Leighswood School to meet (the future) Class 4S and their teachers, in order to explain the project, demonstrate Soundbeam – the movement-to-MIDI live performance equipment they would be using and introduce them to sound samples.

She was able to discuss some of the possibilities for the new piece with them, and suggest how they might be able to contribute some of its components.
Amongst the 36 8-9 year olds in the class, she found several recorder, flute and keyboard players, as well as a guitarist and a violinist to be taken into ac-count in her composition.

At this meeting – and at all the subsequent workshops and the performance at Leighswood School - Heather had the technical support of Adrian Price The Soundbeam Project, to demonstrate Soundbeam and the other electronic music technology involved, and to help to iron out any technical problems. The Soundbeam Project were responsible for the cost of this, as well as for the loan of some of the equipment.

Devising the Outline

Between this meeting and the beginning of the Autumn term, Heather worked on an outline plan for the piece, which had begun to take shape in her mind as a cantata on the subject of the Seasons and the annual cycles which brought the months, weather and the activities associated with them round again every year. She wrote the lyrics and music of two songs with these ideas in mind.

During the first half of the Autumn Term 2002, Heather visited Leighswood School for 6 successive Monday afternoon (two period) workshop sessions.

The children learnt the songs, experimented with writing poems about the Seasons, including the ingenious tetractys form, which seems to have made a deep impression on many of them. They contributed ideas, words, sounds and images as some of the basic materials of the piece.

They explored the use of electronic music technology in live performance, invented body movements with vocalised analogies which were promptly turned into sound samples to be articulated by their own movements in the invisible beams of the ultrasonic sensors or by the operation of the switches and joysticks.

Composition, Rehearsals and Performance

Out of all this, the makings of a piece slowly emerged, and, during the 2 weeks or so around half-term Heather wrote the final version. Early in November, three whole days (morning and afternoon), were devoted to rehearsals – and finally, on the afternoon of the last day, “Seasons and Cycles” was given its first performance by a dedicated cast to an enthusiastic audience of parents, other Leighswood pupils and staff.

“Seasons and Cycles”

“Seasons and Cycles” uses the children’s voices (sung and spoken), with a small band of the conventional musical instruments available in Class 4S – flutes, recorders, keyboards, violin, guitar – together with changing groups of Soundbeam players, 2 or 3 moving in the Beams, 6 or more ‘playing’ Switches to articulate the sound samples they had made (and others)

“Seasons and Cycles” lasts about 20 minutes. There are 6 movements.

(The Composer’s programme notes are interspersed with an analysis - reprinted from Dr Nicholas Bannan’s “Report on Seasons and Cycles”)

Spring

1. In the Springtime

A short looped piece based on lyrics and music composed by some of the children after improvisations with the whole class

The work begins with the sound of a harp ostinato, to which a flute trill is added. The choral group chants the March, April material and associated melody. The harp ostinato terminates in a chord.

"...you can use technology to make music"

 

2. Bluebells

Both music and words were composed by Heather Wastie shortly before the workshops began. The text is in the form of a Double Tetractys which was used to inspire similar poems by the children. The melodic loop on which the piece is based was derived from the earliest known canon, “Sumer is icumen in” (12th century).

The interlocking ‘gamelan’ ostinato familiar from the very first session is introduced, accompanying the first verse of the Bluebell song. An interlude is performed in which metallaphone solos are controlled from Beams 3 and 4. Verse two of Bluebell follows, ending with the unravelling of the gamelan texture.

Summer

3. Summer Storm

This piece combines tunes and rhythmic samples created by the children, together with a short section of “Summer” from Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” for string orchestra. It’s programmatic nature is inspired by Vivaldi’s text: “The breeze blows gently, but challenged, …… weary limbs are robbed of sleep by the fear of lightning, savage thunder and raging swarms of flies and bluebottles! …… the Heavens thunder and lighten …”

A switch activates a guitar ostinato. To this is added a chant on the summer months, building up with the support of a melody on the Beam and fluctuating textural elements controlled from various switches.

New samples are introduced: buzzing sounds; a regal-like instrumental melody. These alternated with similar sounds on the live instruments.

A bass drone emerges, underpinning further contributions for the live instruments, including the piano; and the dramatic introduction of the Vivaldi sample and sampled thunder, controlled from Beams 3 and 4. As this climactic effect subsides, the background texture segues into:

"...I liked people dancing in the sensors"

Autumn

4. The leaves are green, the leaves are red, the leaves are brown
Another piece which resulted from whole class and small group improvisations, using words and tunes by the children.

5. Trick or Treat?

A ghost story using samples created by the instrumentalists, whistlers and conker players! The children experimented with their samples using Soundbeam and then drew pictures representing the sound world they had created. Heather then used the pictures as inspiration for the poem.

The months are chanted a cappella. A song about the colour of leaves arises. Two boys dressed as ghosts enter and play a slow-motion game of conkers. Samples which sweep through overtones are activated on Beams 3 and 4. Meanwhile, a spoken text is performed live through Microphones 2 and 3 by pairs of children who come forward to deliver couplets of a poem. The background texture alters to include the samples of conker sounds and the spooky low whistling, as well as other, instrumental sounds.

This is perhaps the most complex section of the piece, and its conclusion leads to a short break in which several aspects of the resources are re-set.

“Ghosts playing conkers in the middle of the night”

Winter

6. Snow

Winter was by far the favourite season for Class 4S. One of the main reasons they gave was their love of snow, so this piece evokes a world of white and snowball fights. The melodic elements were composed by the children and Spring is not far away.

An image of snow is created by a complex interaction of 3 Beams and several switches, giving rise to an atmospheric, kaleidoscopic texture.

A pulsing Bass drone underpins a walking melody to which a song is added: the familiar chanting of the months. Here, rhythms and durations are less predictably co-ordinated, leading to disjunct repetitions and a confused effect – the musical equivalent of a snowball fight? A March-like clarity then fades, slowly dissipating and thinning.

Throwing Snowballs