Robin Hayward
photo by Cristina Marx
"Alpha Centauri" (2017)
for horn, trombone and microtonal tuba
The star system Alpha Centauri consists of a binary star plus a red dwarf. It provides a perfect analogy for the underlying harmonic structure of the piece, in which consecutive dyads (two tones sounding simultaneously) trace a rotating path through harmonic space, whilst a third tone induces a continually shifting perspective to drift and rotate through harmonic space. The piece was composed and rehearsed using the Hayward Tuning Vine software interface for Just Intonation.
Performances
Wednesday 9 September 2020
Well Tuned Brass - ”Blues & Tuning” - KM28 Berlin
Saturday 21 September 2019
Abstract Music - Johanneskirche Gera
Wednesday 8 November 2017
Sound of Stockholm Festival
"Words of Paradise" (2015)
for horn, trombone, microtonal tuba and tuning vine
Words of Paradise was inspired by the ideas of the 16th century Renaissance Dutch linguist Jan van Gorp, who thought he had shown the Flemish dialect Brabantic to be the original language spoken in Paradise. Observing Brabantic to have a higher proportion of single-syllable words compared to other languages, Becanus reasoned that as the first language must also have been the simplest, all languages must ultimately be derived from it. The composition draws on the sound of 13 such single-syllable reversible words that Becanus used to support his theories, using hocketing techniques to combine them into longer ‘words’. The colour-coding in the circular graphic score follows that of the Hayward Tuning Vine, which is also played in order to provide a harmonic reference, allowing the musicians to make immediate decisions in their own time. In a metaphor for leaving paradise, the harmony gradually drifts away from unison to the complex harmonic and subharmonic relationships of the outermost circles.
Performances
Thursday 20 October 2016
Wakuum - Graz
Tuesday 18 October 2016
O - Milan
Wednesday 12 October 2016
Jazz Club - Klagenfurt
Wednesday 3 September 2015
Forumbox - Helsinki (World Premiere)
Robin Hayward
Robin Hayward’s score for “Another SquareDance” (2020)
Robin Hayward (1969) is a British composer-performer. After moving to Berlin in 1998 he focused initially on exploring the ’noise-valve’ technique for producing noise on the tuba, which became a key feature of the city’s Echtzeitmusik scene. Following a gradual shift of focus from noise to pitch, his more recent compositions have emerged in interaction with the fully microtonal tuba he invented in 2009, together with the Hayward Tuning Vine software that visualises the harmonic space implicit within this tuba. His compositions also investigate graphic notation as a compositional tool, using geometric figures as an invitation to explore multidimensional harmonic space over time. in 2020 he composed ‘Another Square Dance’, his first fully open graphic score.