EDWARD CROSS

In this creative project I investigate the common misconceptions between neoclassical music, directly influenced by classical/baroque styles, and neo-classical music, a more modern take on 21st century classical music, and where my music sits contextually within a genre. The objective is to show the process behind the showcasing of a group of works that fall under this category of neo-classical. Details of how I transcribed, arranged, wrote and recorded the compositions are discussed throughout this document, alongside ideas for the ideal venue, including details of my next performance at a smaller, intimate venue. I found that performing in the Bath Abbey led to several issues with timings and dynamic control, and not all pieces translated well from studio recording to live performance.

One of the challenges I faced when bringing this ensemble together was the sound of the trombone, and how it has the power to cut through spaces. It is inherently loud, as a brass instrument, but the warmth of its sound really encouraged me to involve it in the project. It became quickly apparent in the rehearsal we had that even when playing pianissimo, the trombone overshadowed the strings, which meant blending was practically impossible. I knew that in a much bigger space, the sound would carry even further. For one of the tracks we trialed a straight mute. A device that sits inside of the bell, dampening the sound, essentially eliminating the lower frequencies. Whilst this helped, it defeated the point of why I included the instrument in the first place. This led us to a bucket mute, a slightly different style of mute, often sitting on the outside of the bell, allowing more sound to escape. This, in theory, would be wonderful for the quiet sections, where blending is the intention. However the trombone had a fair amount of melodies, which need to ring out above everything else. The changes were too quick, and the trombonist was unable to attach and detach the mute in time. I had heard that sometimes, trombonists are asked to play into their stand, to physically try and stop some of the sound, so we tried something even better. Using a microphone stand, a cake tin and some foam, we fashioned together a device that allowed Jamie to just move his bell onto the cake tin, which was effectively working as a bucket mute, absorbing the sound. The benefit of this was that it takes half a second to move the instrument, but takes about 10 seconds to firmly attach the mute to the trombone.