In 2019 I began writing a series of experimental text-based scores for myself to play on trumpet. Taking an iterative approach, the practice involved conceiving of a set of musical ideas, writing a text score, recording or performing it, listening, reflecting, and then reworking the score. The scores generally indicated a musical language, structural elements and duration, and often an underlying abstract concept.
In one such piece, “July 22, 2019” I arrived at an iteration that was clearly more fixed in comparison to those before. I sent it to a number of artists with vastly different practices from around the world to record their own versions, and to my delight the versions returned to me were not only wildly different in their interpretation but also retained a core compositional identity. This project became the foundation for a multi-year research project into the limits of text score writing which, as of july 2023, I am still deeply involved in.
In this release for Sello Postal we hear five of the original interpretations of the score from Mark Molnar (Canada), Julián Galay (Argentina/Germany), Zhao Cong (China), Heather Roche (Canada/UK) and myself.
Craig Pedersen. Perth, July 22 2023.
Craig Pedersen is a trumpet player, composer and improvisor recently moved to Boorloo/Perth from Tiohtià:ke/Montreal. In addition to performing with his own groups, The Craig Pedersen Quartet and Sound of the Mountain, he has been the trumpet player for Ensemble SuperMusique, a new music ensemble in Montreal dedicated to the performance of graphic and conceptual scores. Since 2011, Craig has released a number of albums ranging between composed material to improvisation. An active and avid touring artist, he has played across Canada, in Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia and Mexico. Recent highlights of his work includes collaborations and/or performances with Toshimaru Nakamura, Tetuzi Akiyama, Shinkan Tamaki, Zhao Cong, Yong Yandsen, Gudinni Cortina, Manfred Werder, Pauline Oliveros, Jean Derome, Joane Hetu, Ian Birse and Laura Kavanaugh (Instant Places), Vicky Mettler, Bennett Bedoukian and Mark Molnar, as well as many others. He is currently involved in a multi-year research project into the limits of text score writing, soliciting creative input from Manfred Werder, Ryoko Akama, Heather Roche, Julián Galay, Gudinni Cortina, E Millar, Zhao Cong, Zhu Wenbo, Mark Molnar, and many others.
INSTAGRAM@mwrecs
