Author Archive

The Jacquin Trio will premiere Solfa’s piece: “Macalla” at The Forge, Camden, this Sunday (12th) at 11am. More about the concert below

Jessica Grimes – clarinet
Zoe Matthews – viola
Charis Cheung – piano

Programme:
Märchenerzählungen Op.132 – Schumann
i. Lebhaft, nicht zu schnell
ii. Lebhaft und zehr markiert
iii. Ruhiges tempo, mit zartem ausdruck
iv. Lebhaft, zehr markiert
Hommage a R. Sch Op 15d – Kurtag
i. (Merkwurdige Piroutten des Kappelmeisters Johannes Kreisler)
ii. (E. [Eusubius]: der begrenzte Kreis)
iii. (…und wieder zuckt es schmerzlich F. [Florestan] um die Lippen)
iv. (Felho valék, már su¨t a nap…)
v. In der Nachtvi. Abschied (Meister Raro entdeckt Guillaume de Machaut)
New Work – Solfa Carlisle
‘Kegelstatt Trio’ KV 498 – W. A. Mozart
i. Andante
ii. Menuetto
iii. Rondeaux – Allegretto

£9/7 online, £10/8 on the door (incl tea/coffee)

Solfa has just been announced as the composer-in-residence for the Orchestra of St.Paul’s, Covent Garden. A new work, ‘Vienna Vignettes’ will be performed on 7th January at a concert in association with the Austrian Cultural Forum. Details here: http://www.orchestraofstpauls.org/new-year-concert

Solfa has also been commissioned to write a work for the Orchestra of St.Paul’s March concert. Further details to follow.

Solfa’s new piece, Wirewalk for Viola, ‘Cello and Double Bass, will be performed by the SoundSet Low Trio, on 23rd November at 8.30pm, Kevin Barry Room, National Concert Hall Dublin.

On Tuesday 1st November, Solfa will present her paper entitled ‘Method in the Madness: Pre-Compositional Techniques in Modern Music’ at the International Journal for Arts and Sciences at the American University, Rome. http://tinyurl.com/696bpkz

Upcoming concerts:

23rd November 2011 – Kevin Barry Room, National Concert Hall ‘Wirewalk’ for Viola, ‘Cello and Piano.

7th January 2012 – Orchestra of St.Pauls, Covent Garden. New work ‘Vienna Vignettes’.

21st January 2012 – Aldworth Philharmonic Orchestra, Reading. ‘Sumer is icumen in’ Variations.

Solfa’s piece ‘Dear, Dirty Dublin’ is to receive another performance by ‘The G-Project’ (Genevieve Wilkins, Percussion, and Gabriella Swallow, ‘Cello) this coming Thursday, 13th October at The Forge Arts Venue, Camden.

The piece was written especially for the duo and received its premiere in April 2010. Information on the concert and on Gabi and Genevieve is available here: http://www.concert-diary.com/concert/271908886/G-Project

Solfa is set to Musically Direct a short one-act Musical, ‘Innisfree’ at Waterloo East Theatre, from 29th September to 1st October 2011. Innisfree is written by Gillian Pencavel with original music by Caroline Wigmore. http://tinyurl.com/6hmxu79

Key Perfect Launch

I found this on YouTube the other day. It’s me and two other young composers playing our piano miniatures, as published in the ‘Key Perfect’ books for miniature pianists.

Last night was the premiere of ‘Six Vignettes’ at the Recital Hall, RCM. The musicians were: Will Oinn (Oboe), Victoria Stephenson (Violin) and Lydia Scadding (Piano).

the Contemporary-Music-in-Action project promotes collaboration between composers and performers at an advanced level, and involves a year-long partnership between ensemble/soloist and composer. We have a few meetings, workshops and a flurry of emails to organise both the piece and the rehearsal process.  Essentially, we create a work together. For my piece, there was no improvisational aspect – it was conventionally notated and planned, but the players contributed textural ideas, extended techniques, multiphonics, etc, which helped to enhance the work.

Six-Vignettes is a six-movement work, which I expected to be about 12 minutes in performance. In reality it was about 14’30, due to pauses and slight adjustments in-between movements (pianist uses inside-piano techniques for movements II and V for example). I had worried about the length of the work, but the fact that each movement is concise and varied (1-2 minutes in duration), made the piece easier to digest both aurally and from a performance perspective. I had quite positive feedback afterwards; strangely the favoured movement was the third, moto-perpetuo movement, which I had considered the weakest. I am actually just about pleased with the first and last movements, mainly because of the rhythmic drive which is essential to both. That said, the first movement did create some ensemble issues due to a rhythmic subtraction principle I developed, but with some rehearsal the players did amazingly. I will put one or two of the movements up on soundcloud or on here when I get the recording back.

ICC Concert, Quiet Music Ensemble at the Kevin Barry Room, National Concert Hall.

“The most defined, and the most strikingly-crafted piece of the evening was Solfa Carlile’s Standing Chill, a duo for ‘Cello (Ilse de Ziah) and Saxophone (Seán MacErlaine) in which a seemingly traditional, quasi-modal harmonic language brims with tension between the materials allocated to the two instruments”.

– Martin Adams,  The Irish Times. (April 2011)