Frank Denyer (born April 12, 1943, in London) is a composer. His music uses a combination of conventional instruments and new, unusual, and structurally modified instruments. Partly due to his studies of non-Western music, much of Denyer's music is microtonal.
Denyer was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral and later studied at the Guildhall in London. In 1966 he co-founded, and was director of, the Society of Hermes, an arts club for new music, painting, poetry and theatre in Shepherds Bush, London. He formed and directed Mouth of Hermes. a professional instrumental ensemble devoted to new and experimental forms of music. He toured widely with the ensemble in Europe, Scandinavia and the U.K. in the years up to 1974, presenting new compositions. During this time he was lecturer in Composition and 20th Century Studies at Hornsey College of Art. This early period culminated in his being a featured composer/performer at the Festival d’Orleans, France, in 1973.
Denyer left the UK for a time in 1974 to begin what he calls his "musical travels", and to undertake his first attempts at ethnomusicological fieldwork (in west Asia and the Kulu Valley in north India). In the summer of 1974 he was a Visiting lecturer at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India. Between 1974 and 1977 he was a PhD student in ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Thereafter he was Research Fellow in African Music at the Institute of African Studies, University of Nairobi, Kenya, and then Lecturer in Ethnomusicology at Kenyatta University College in Nairobi. The impact of these studies on his subsequent musical output is profound, but Denyer has never been interested in hybridization or "crossover". Upon his return to England in 1981 he began teaching at Dartington College of Arts in Devon, where he was a professor of Composition until the college merged with University College Falmouth in 2010. Together with James Fulkerson co-founded the Barton Workshop in Amsterdam in 1990 to perform American experimental music and his own compositions; his recordings of the solo piano music and ensemble works of Morton Feldman, Galina Ustvolskaya, Christian Wolff, John Cage, Jerry Hunt, James Tenney, Alvin Lucier and others have met with wide acclaim.
Denyer's music has remained resolutely independent of musical fashion. An early interest in melody in the 1970s has remained a feature of his work (as seen perhaps in its most extreme form in his works for shakuhachi, collected on the 2007 CD Music for shakuhachi [see Discography]). His music shows an extraordinary ear for timbre, and for novel combinations of acoustic sounds. The first of his large-scale works, A Monkey's Paw (premiered at Darmstadt in 1990; see Discography) displays this clearly. More recently an interest in extremely quiet sounds has characterised several works, including Prison Song, Faint Traces and Tentative Thoughts, Silenced Voices (collectively forming his Prison Trilogy (1999–2003)).
Compositions for shakuhachiedit
Though not a shakuhachi player himself, Denyer has collaborated with Yoshikazu Iwamoto to write pieces for the instrument, including:
After the Rain
Wheat
The Tender Sadness of Tyrants as They Dance
Stalks
Winged Play
Unnamed
Discographyedit
Silenced Voices. Mode, 2008 (includes Woman, Viola and Crow; Two Beacons; Ghosts Again; Tentative Thoughts, Silenced Voices )
Music for Shakuhachi. Another Timbre, 2007 (includes On, on - it must be so; Quite White; Wheat; Unnamed)
Faint Traces. Mode, 2005 (includes Out of the Shattered Shadows 1; Out of the Shattered Shadows 2; Faint Traces; Music for Two Performers; Play; Passages)
Fired City. Tzadik, 2002 (includes Towards the Darkness; Beneath the Fired City; Quick, Quick, the Tamberan is Coming; The Hanged Fiddler; Resonances of Ancient Sins; Prison Song)
Finding Refuge in the Remains. Etcetera, 1998 (includes Finding Refuge in the Remains; Quartet; Frog; Archeology; Contained in a Strange Garden; The Tender Sadness of Tyrants as They Dance)
The Contrabass Saxophone. Earup, 1996 (includes Resonances of Ancient Sins)
A Monkey's Paw. Continuum, 1991 (includes Stalks; After the Rain; A Fragile Thread; A Monkey's Paw; Winged Play)
Wheat: The Music of Frank Denyer. Orchid Records, 1984 (includes On, On, it must be so; I Await the Sea’s Red Hibiscus; Wheat; Quick, Quick, the Tamberan is Coming; Quite White; Voices)
Writings and interviewsedit
Interview with Frank Denyer (2007) by Dan Warburton in Paris Transatlantic Magazine
Denyer, Frank (ed.) & Landy, Leigh (ed.). Leaving the Twentieth Century: Ideas & Visions of New Musics. Harwood Academic Pub., 1997. ISBN90-5702-104-8.
Denyer, Frank. Finding a Voice in an Age of Migration (1994) in Contemporary Music Review, 1996, vol. 15, nos 3–4.
Denyer, Frank. The Shakuhachi and the Contemporary Music Instrumentarium: a Personal View (1991) in Contemporary Music Review, 1994, vol. 6, no. 2.
External linksedit
FrankDenyer.eu
Frank Denyer at 60: Butterfly effect (article from Musical Times, 2003)
April 12, 2024
frank, denyer, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, b. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations June 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Frank Denyer news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Frank Denyer born April 12 1943 in London is a composer His music uses a combination of conventional instruments and new unusual and structurally modified instruments Partly due to his studies of non Western music much of Denyer s music is microtonal Contents 1 Biography 2 Compositions for shakuhachi 3 Discography 4 Writings and interviews 5 External linksBiography editDenyer was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral and later studied at the Guildhall in London In 1966 he co founded and was director of the Society of Hermes an arts club for new music painting poetry and theatre in Shepherds Bush London He formed and directed Mouth of Hermes a professional instrumental ensemble devoted to new and experimental forms of music He toured widely with the ensemble in Europe Scandinavia and the U K in the years up to 1974 presenting new compositions During this time he was lecturer in Composition and 20th Century Studies at Hornsey College of Art This early period culminated in his being a featured composer performer at the Festival d Orleans France in 1973 Denyer left the UK for a time in 1974 to begin what he calls his musical travels and to undertake his first attempts at ethnomusicological fieldwork in west Asia and the Kulu Valley in north India In the summer of 1974 he was a Visiting lecturer at the National Institute of Design Ahmedabad India Between 1974 and 1977 he was a PhD student in ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University in Connecticut Thereafter he was Research Fellow in African Music at the Institute of African Studies University of Nairobi Kenya and then Lecturer in Ethnomusicology at Kenyatta University College in Nairobi The impact of these studies on his subsequent musical output is profound but Denyer has never been interested in hybridization or crossover Upon his return to England in 1981 he began teaching at Dartington College of Arts in Devon where he was a professor of Composition until the college merged with University College Falmouth in 2010 Together with James Fulkerson co founded the Barton Workshop in Amsterdam in 1990 to perform American experimental music and his own compositions his recordings of the solo piano music and ensemble works of Morton Feldman Galina Ustvolskaya Christian Wolff John Cage Jerry Hunt James Tenney Alvin Lucier and others have met with wide acclaim Denyer s music has remained resolutely independent of musical fashion An early interest in melody in the 1970s has remained a feature of his work as seen perhaps in its most extreme form in his works for shakuhachi collected on the 2007 CD Music for shakuhachi see Discography His music shows an extraordinary ear for timbre and for novel combinations of acoustic sounds The first of his large scale works A Monkey s Paw premiered at Darmstadt in 1990 see Discography displays this clearly More recently an interest in extremely quiet sounds has characterised several works including Prison Song Faint Traces and Tentative Thoughts Silenced Voices collectively forming his Prison Trilogy 1999 2003 Compositions for shakuhachi editThough not a shakuhachi player himself Denyer has collaborated with Yoshikazu Iwamoto to write pieces for the instrument including After the Rain Wheat The Tender Sadness of Tyrants as They Dance Stalks Winged Play UnnamedDiscography editSilenced Voices Mode 2008 includes Woman Viola and Crow Two Beacons Ghosts Again Tentative Thoughts Silenced Voices Music for Shakuhachi Another Timbre 2007 includes On on it must be so Quite White Wheat Unnamed Faint Traces Mode 2005 includes Out of the Shattered Shadows 1 Out of the Shattered Shadows 2 Faint Traces Music for Two Performers Play Passages Fired City Tzadik 2002 includes Towards the Darkness Beneath the Fired City Quick Quick the Tamberan is Coming The Hanged Fiddler Resonances of Ancient Sins Prison Song Finding Refuge in the Remains Etcetera 1998 includes Finding Refuge in the Remains Quartet Frog Archeology Contained in a Strange Garden The Tender Sadness of Tyrants as They Dance The Contrabass Saxophone Earup 1996 includes Resonances of Ancient Sins Konink amp Andriessen Notes 94 Walpurgis 1994 includes Beneath the Fired City A Monkey s Paw Continuum 1991 includes Stalks After the Rain A Fragile Thread A Monkey s Paw Winged Play Wheat The Music of Frank Denyer Orchid Records 1984 includes On On it must be so I Await the Sea s Red Hibiscus Wheat Quick Quick the Tamberan is Coming Quite White Voices Writings and interviews editInterview with Frank Denyer 2007 by Dan Warburton in Paris Transatlantic Magazine Denyer Frank ed amp Landy Leigh ed Leaving the Twentieth Century Ideas amp Visions of New Musics Harwood Academic Pub 1997 ISBN 90 5702 104 8 Denyer Frank Finding a Voice in an Age of Migration 1994 in Contemporary Music Review 1996 vol 15 nos 3 4 Denyer Frank The Shakuhachi and the Contemporary Music Instrumentarium a Personal View 1991 in Contemporary Music Review 1994 vol 6 no 2 External links editFrankDenyer eu Frank Denyer at 60 Butterfly effect article from Musical Times 2003 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Frank Denyer amp oldid 1152082053, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
