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"Physical light is the best, the most delectable, the most beautiful of all the bodies that exist" - Robert Grosseteste. Welcome to the 8th edition - thanks so much for sticking around! I hope the autumn is treating you to all shades of brown, orange and yellow. My apologies for the silence. It's been an intense few weeks. Above is a collage of photographs designed to give a balanced perspective of the touring experience. Note the packet noodle dinner in Southampton (with two spoons) and the fabulously situated underpass in Basingstoke town centre. Let's talk about something good that emerged from America. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of the American composer Charles Ives. In October, I toured with the Will Gregory Moog Ensemble and the Britten Symphonia. The second half of our show consisted of Will's suite of compositions about Archimedes entitled Heat Ray: The Archimedes Project. The first half contained pieces by J.S. Bach, John Carpenter, Bernard Hermann and one of the most beguiling contemporary works of the 20th Century - The Unanswered Question by Charles Ives. The Unanswered Question (1908) encapsulates Ives' obsession with polytonality. Polytonality is posh for sounds clashing together. The Unanswered Question has three instrumental groups: solo trumpet, strings, and four flutes. The trumpet (or the "Perennial Question Of Existence") asks the question by periodically playing an angular, chromatic phrase. The four flutes are the "Fighting Answerers", who become increasingly frantic as the piece unfolds. Finally, the strings represent "The Silence of the Druids — who Know, See and Hear Nothing". Their slowly shifting diatonic harmony represents a serene permanence. I kid you not - it's some heavy shit. For our interpretation, we replaced the flute parts with synthesizers doused in spring reverb. I wonder what he would have thought of that…
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