Whilst my more recent works have more developed ideas and processes, I do not believe in hiding my earliest works from my childhood and teenage years. Explore below recordings, scores, and information about my compositions.
Please note that some scores are referenced in my old name of Jason Hodgson. I am happy for you to reference them correctly as such, but please make a note in any reference that I now go by a different name.
Scores coming soon
DIMENSIONAL SHIFT – (OPEN ENSEMBLE)
2019
HELLSCAPE – (ELECTRONIC)
As the gates of hell open one can hear the tortured screams…
thoughts on chance and indeterminacy – a composition – (INTERNALISED SCORE WITH THE OPTION OF BECOMING EXTERNALISED)
score currently unavailable
MUSIKELL – (OPEN INSTRUMENTATION)
2018
ORIGINAL IMITATION – (SOLO FLUTE, SONIC PI, AND ATARI STFM)
An excuse to start to learn how to code, use my AtariST and purchase a Pi, this piece is a demonstration how someone with little-to-no coding skills can create an interesting score. Bonus: I got to play with glitched gameboy games.
the destination is obsolete – (SOLOIST AND ENSEMBLE)
A musical game of mistakes; the ensemble aim to match the pitch of the soloist, while the soloist travels up from the bottom to the top range of their instrument via randomly generated instructions. The ever-changing score creates an environment where the ensembles task becomes almost impossible. But as Spock once said in Let That Be Your Last Battlefield (Star Trek the Original Series, Season 3, Episode 15, 1969) “Change is the essential process of all existence.”
The harmony and timbre are born in the misjudgements.
COHERENCY IS FUTILE IN FLUCTUATING FRAGMENTS – (SOLO VIOLA)
N0t4t10n 3xp6r1m6nt5 f0r C1rcu1t-B6nt 70y5 – (MIXED NOTATION)
An exploration into possible notation for Circuit Bent Toys.
2017
LIONHEART1189 – (PERCUSSION AND VOCALS)
Combining some medieval notation, with some modern graphic notation, LionHear1189 looks at what could happen at the unboxing of the first mail-order computer in the medieval age.
A piece for Percussion and Voice, this piece was commissioned by Chris Brannick and Sarah Stowe for the Hay-On-Wye Festival (Premiered on 22nd April 2017).
PLASTIC FACE – (CIRCUIT-BENT TOYS, VOICE, AND ELECTRONICs)
Taken from the audio recording of the Circuit Bending from Scratch project for my MMus Creative Project at Canterbury Christ Church University, I manipulated and edit the sounds to create a piece which I feel best represents the project as a whole.
I have also used samples from poems created by Natalie Perdu about the instruments/toys.
2016
A MUMMER’S FARCE – (SOLO PERCUSSION AND VOICE)
A tale of fantasy, intrigue, adventure, and duplicity, based on a Dungeons & Dragons® campaign I observed.
This pieces uses extended percussive techniques to create an other-worldly atmosphere.
A THOUGHT – (SOLO PIANO AND SPOKEN WORD)
The final piece in An Introspective Piano Suite, summarise my thoughts and feelings on music at the end of my Bachelor of Music degree.
REFLECTION FOR PIANO – (SOLO PIANO)
Reflection is the second piece in An Introspective Piano Suite, and combines Aleatory and Serialism in a Minimalistic manner.
2015
Contingent extemporisation – (open ensemble)
Contingent Extemporisation is less a composition and more instructions for dice-led group improvisation.
(The list of dice available on the score is currently out-of-date, but can still be used as a guideline).
A WORK OF FICTION: A THRONE OF GAMES – (OPEN/TEXT BASED NOTATION)
Prime numbers, Oullipo techniques, meaning out of nothing, shakespearean-esque monologue. Read More…
THE CONSEQUENCES OF HOLDING ONTO HATE – (CELLO QUARTET)
STRIVING TOWARDS – (VOCAL/GRAPHIC NOTATION)
SUNDAY DRIVE – (SOLO PIANO WITH VOICE)
Part of An Introspective Piano Suite, Sunday Drive is inspired by ‘Midnight Sun’ by Stephen Montague, and composed between December 22nd – 23rd 2015, Sunday Drive is dedicated to Dr. Sam Bailey, who taught me piano while I was studying my Bachelor of Music. Before that, I had lost my love for playing the piano. Although my focus is more on composition these days, my love for the piano is stronger than it’s ever been.
WHAT IF? THE HANSEL & GRETEL TALE – (GRAPHIC NOTATION)
IT TAKES ALL SORTS – (VOCALS/GRAPHIC NOTATION)
MINE! (ME! ME! ME!) – (OPEN/TEXT BASED NOTATION)
2014
MOTHS IN THE MOONLIGHT – (VIOLA, AND 2 WHISTLERS/RECORDING)
SUITE PI FOR PIANO: DIGITS 1 – 16 (3.141592653589793) – (SOLO PIANO)
BURNING THE BATTLE FIELD – (STRING QUARTET)
MUSIC OF THE UNKNOWN – (OPEN NOTATION/GRAPHIC SCORE)
2013
a work of fiction: language is a ficticious facT – (OPEN INSTRUMENTATION)
My first and currently only 3-Dimensional graphic score which explores the strange nature of the English Language. Read More…
CHAOTIc CONTROL – (BRASS QAURTET)
Written for my first-year composition module, Chaotic Control marks my first exploration into aleatory composition, and is constructed using a system of rules for dice to determine musical material, which is then organised across the ensemble.
On reflection, (and post thesis), I can now identify this process as an extreme experiment into Objective Chance-Based Procedures (OCP), a procedure where chance-based systems are used to generate material while minimising direct compositional control.
However, the version of the score presented here is from an early stage in my development, particularly in my approach to notation, where rhythmic groupings and timings are often unclear and not intuitive to perform. I hope to revisit the score one day and tidy it up and humanise the results.
2012
an ode to death as life goes on – (Piano and Clarinet)
Written during my time with Inspiration Theatre Company, this piece was for their production of Charles Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby and accompanies a dance depicting Spike’s death. Reflective of my early attempts at melody and harmony, the clarinet carries a sombre, lyrical melody, supported by a repeating piano texture, reflective of the emotional atmosphere.
This later version expands slightly on the original material, while maintaining the initial simplicity, and was performed live as part of an anniversary show.
During my time at Inspiration Theatre, I also performed in roles such as Renfield/Voice of Dracula, the Ugly Stepsister, the Duchess of Wonderland.
‘AIR’ – (VOCAL Ensemble and vocal solo)
One of my earliest works, ‘Air’ was composed as part of The Art of Sound project, exploring the element of air through sound. In the piece, the ensemble slowly shift and move gradually between pitches with subtle dynamic shifts, over which a soloist improvises freely, creating a layered and evolving sound world that reflects the freedom of air.
Johanne-Bryce Hodgson 