Release Date: 20 April 2018
Andrew Hamilton was born in Dublin in 1977 and studied in Ireland, England and The Netherlands with composers Kevin Volans, Anthony Gilbert and Louis Andriessen. His music has been described as post-minimalist, playful, unique and unpredictable - "I use a lot of repetition to create a state of unease, ambiguity, and sometimes joy, and also to laugh at the world" Hamilton explains.
In music for people who like art (2010) for voice and ensemble, Hamilton sets text from American artist Ad Reinhardt's 25 Lines of Words on Art: Statement (1958). The phrase 'ART IS ART' is continually repeated. As Liam Cagney points out in his liner notes, "we hear the phoneme ‘ART’ 601 times. We hear the phrase ‘ART IS ART’ 81 times [...] Repetitions proliferate and proliferate in a merrygo-round of micro-modifications. After a few minutes the words begin to feel self-referential, as if describing the work-in process. As the piece gambols towards a finale in A-flat major, equal parts triumphant and ludicrous, the voice’s exclamations take on the air of a statement always in the process of being made without ever in fact being made – a statement on art."
To The People for soprano and percussion is in 19 movements, lasting from a few seconds to a few minutes. It sets excerpts from French philosopher Jean Baudrillard's book America, and revolves around a simple melody that transfers, with subtle modifications, between voice and percussion.
music for roger casement (2006) is a quasi-chamber concerto for harmonium and gets its name from the Ulster-born diplomat who, after reporting on atrocities in the Congo and South America, was executed by the British for treason for seeking to aid Irish revolutionary efforts (in the course of which trial his then-illegal homosexual activity was aired). The Dutch-based Ives Ensemble, for which this piece was written, effortlessly take on the technical demands of this frenzied piece, which has a lasting impact.
Michelle O'Rourke voice
Juliet Fraser soprano
Maxime Echardour percussion
Crash Ensemble
Ives Ensemble
Alan Pierson conductor
AUDIO
REVIEWS
‘One has the impression that Hamilton composes with a barely suppressed grin. It is infectious’ Composition Today
‘see if it doesn’t make you drop everything and listen to it all the way through’ AllMusic
‘music for people who like art … the nearest thing to a smash hit that one is likely to encounter in contemporary music circles’ Journal of Music
'Striking ... zany...' Gramophone
FUNDERS
RECORDING CREDITS
music for people who like art was recorded at Windmill Lane Recording Studios, Dublin on 21 September 2016
ADRIAN HART Recording Engineer & Producer
To The People was recorded at Snape Maltings on 1-2 July 2016
DAVID LEFEBER Recording Engineer & Producer
music for roger casement was recorded live by Stichting NTR at Muziekgebouw aan't IJ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands on 29 November 2006
DICK LUCAS (Stichting NTR, Hilversum) Recording Technician
Catalogue number: NMC D240
Release Date: 20 April 2018