MUSIC
Downloads of words for these works are gathered under LISTEN AND READ MORE at the bottom of this page.
I’ve worked with the composing team of Kendal Kirkland and Rod Iliffe for a number of years now. We create choral works which try to fuse a number of traditions: rock, classical and folk among others . We’ve also put on entertainments of words and music, most successfully as part of the Windsor Fringe Festival
Kendal Kirkland lives in Finedon, Northants. and is a practising vet and specialist in animal behaviour. She has sung in a number of choirs and between 1991 and 1996 was lead singer and composer in the rock band Alter Ego, for whom we wrote about 200 songs.
Rod Iliffe was the key board player with Alter Ego. He works as a music teacher and also musical director for a number of theatre and musical companies in the Midlands.
Our works have been performed round the country. Iinformation on forthcoming performances will be posted on this site.
We often work with the Market Harborough Singers whose conductor, David Beavan, has been a tireless champion of our work. See http://users.breathe.com/jcponting/ for more information on the Singers activities.
A REQUIEM
A Requiem is a concert piece for choir, organ, soloists, rock band and narrator. It was premiered and recorded in January 1994 at St Matthias Church, Richmond, Surrey; since then it has been revised and lengthened, and performed to tremendous acclaim in Ely, Corby, Rothwell and Milton Keynes, Windsor and Wellingborough. The most recent performance was in 2006 in Greenwich.
A Requiem was given its impetus by the death of Kendal's father and of Ian Florance’s mother. A Requiem imposes a thematic unity on what might have been very disparate material. Starting with an unaccompanied choral “ Requiem “ in the English tradition, the music moves through sophisticated rock songs and pieces using a variety of forces, before resolving itself in a huge “Rex Tremendae” involving all the performers, and a gentle acapella “ Sanctus “. The mixed Latin and English words together with a spoken narration between pieces and, occasionally, within them provides the unifying image of an emotional journey.
A key concern was to avoid simply grafting rock structures onto a classical format: reviewers and performers have agreed that a Requiem is successful in achieving an unusually affecting synthesis. The different forces allow extremes of light and shade; from whispered chanting to moments of “overwhelming power “. A reviewer of the first performance described it as “ an outstanding achievement...a well-structured work which successfully fused its diverse traditions.”
HELOISE
First performed at the Southwark Festival in 2000, this full length-musical tells the famous true 11 th century love story of Abelard and Heloise. The story is told by Astrolabe, the son of the two main characters – the main speaking part. The rest of the musical is sung. At the first performance, the role of Abelard was taken by Martin Jarvis OBE. We split the stage into two halves: one side for Astralabe speaking " now"; one for the "past" where the choir and three solists performed. The “scenery” was created by audio-visual artist Lucy Ryan, reflecting our desire to create a new sort of musical which utilised new theatrical and musical possibilities. Since the story involved a castration, we felt we couldn’t be too realistic about the staging !!!!
Our plan is to create a shorter concert version of the work.
VEIN CREATOR SPIRITS
A smaller piece for choir and soloists, written to welcome in the 21 st century.
THE SONG OF ST FRANCIS
A piece built around St Francis’s sermon to the birds with a children’s choir playing the part of the birds! St Francis is a perennial theme in my poetry, prose and lyric-writing.
OTHER PERFORMANCES
See this site for information on a performance of Mystery Plays for which we wrote songs and music
www.felthamassociates.btinternet.co.uk/gfcic/photos.htm
NEW PROJECT
I’m writing lyrics for the first album by my friend Neil Howarth’s as yet unnamed band. More news as it breaks !
LISTEN AND READ MORE
Click on the links below for:
>> The full words of A REQUIEM
>> The background to HELOISE
>> The full words of HELOISE
>> The words of VENI CREATOR SPIRITS
>> The words of THE SONG OF ST FRANCIS
>> Hear the song ASHES OF DEAD STARS by ALTER EGO. Click here
COMING SOON
We’re planning to provide links to sound files of sections of these works. WATCH THIS SPACE !
All words are ©Ian Florance, All Rights Reserved.
All sound files are © Kendal Kirkland, Rod Iliffe and Ian Florance. All Rights Reserved.
I’m happy for you to download and print one copy of these words for private reading.
|
