Amy Green soprano saxophone
Anna Appleby (UK, 1993)
13.8 Billion Years World Premiere (2020) 5’
Earlier this year, the Riot Ensemble launched Zeitgeist, a new series of commissions responding to the worldwide lockdown that hit the UK in March. In an attempt to keep music flowing and work for composers circulating, the group teamed up with the eponymous Zeitgeist, an online gallery that presents contemporary work through a digital lens. Through this project, they commissioned seven young composers across the globe, committing to performances of their work presented in Zeitgeist’s online space, and also via YouTube.
As the pandemic continues to roll on, bringing with it major complications for working musicians, hcmf// is proud to join forces with the Riot Ensemble to deliver a second wave of Zeitgeist Commissions. The six pieces, selected by the festival together with Riot, were written for solo performances by members of the group, and will receive their video premiere at hcmf// 2020. As ever, we’re proud to be working alongside the Riot Ensemble to find a practical way to give musicians a hint of reality by bringing about new paid opportunities, as well as unique showcases for their work.
Anna Appleby’s music has its own shape. Inspired by choreography, the Manchester-based composer’s work moves in its own peculiar way, rising and falling with movements of the stage. She has swung through musical styles, writing fluid, spontaneous pieces for chamber groups and dance troupes. In 13.8 Billion Years, she has created an expansive solo piece, imagining ‘the formation of the universe, through clouds of matter to galaxies, to stars, planets and, eventually, life’. Yes, it’s a bit ambitious to cover all of this with five minutes of saxophone, but if anyone can do it, Appleby can. And she’s realistic about her chances, too: ‘the universe is estimated to have begun 13.8 billion years ago’, she says, ‘a length of time which is a bit longer than this piece’. Fair play.
Co-commissioned by the Riot Ensemble and hcmf// in partnership with Zeitgeist Online Gallery