flute (= piccolo), clarinet in B flat, bass clarinet, alto sax, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, vibes, drum kit, piano, electric guitar, violin, double bass
Commissioned by the Monash Art Ensemble
First performance by Gian Slater, Monash Art Ensemble directed by Paul Grabowsky (piano), Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, Monash University, Melbourne, 13 October 2017
Comeclose and Sleepnow: six Liverpool love songs was a finalist in the 2018 AMC & APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards in the category ‘Vocal/Choral Work of the Year’.
The judging panel commented:
This unusual and striking work contains clear markers of the composer’s aesthetic in a jazz idiom. Although the work was clearly – and expertly – written for a particular voice, the flexibility in the vocal writing will allow performance by other singers. The text is foregrounded in a successful marriage of words and music.
> A recording of this work by the Monash Art Ensemble is available via Bandcamp.
Reviews
Andrew Ford sets assorted poems in Comeclose and Sleepnow: Six Liverpool Love Songs, with Slater's Ariel-like voice casting a spell of a different sort: the music exquisitely orchestrated, the dissonances acting as thorns that unexpectedly snag the emotions.
John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald