During my final year at Coventry University, studying Music Composition, an opportunity arose to collaborate in a workshop situation with members of the Chroma Ensemble (Birmingham) on creating new pieces for the same instrumentation as Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, and I was one of the student composers invited to take part.
Written at fairly quick speed over just a few days during Easter 2004, (through necessity; the players needed the parts) Elsinore was the result of an exploration of twelve-tone technique. The piece is based on the opening scene of Shakespeare's Hamlet and utilises twelve-tone technique fairly strictly, at least to begin with. The extra-musical material soon proved more alluring during the composition process however, and the piece ended up being the start of my using atonality and serialist processes as simply an organisation process, rather than a generative process for the music.
Written at fairly quick speed over just a few days during Easter 2004, (through necessity; the players needed the parts) Elsinore was the result of an exploration of twelve-tone technique. The piece is based on the opening scene of Shakespeare's Hamlet and utilises twelve-tone technique fairly strictly, at least to begin with. The extra-musical material soon proved more alluring during the composition process however, and the piece ended up being the start of my using atonality and serialist processes as simply an organisation process, rather than a generative process for the music.
© Jonathan Ellson 2023
Elsinore Op. 2 (2004) c.5 '
B♭ Clarinet, Violin, 'Cello and Piano
B♭ Clarinet, Violin, 'Cello and Piano
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Jonathan Ellson
Teacher - Musical Director - Composer