26 Oct 2010

Samuel HOLLOWAY: Malleus

From Resound, 7:31 pm on 26 October 2010

This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions.

Samuel Holloway

Samuel Holloway Photo: Gareth Watkins / Lilburn Trust / Wallace Arts Trust

This work, composed by Samuel Holloway, is a clarinet trio called 'Malleus', the second in a series of three trios collectively entitled 'Middle Ear'. It won first prize in the 2005 Lilburn Competition at the University of Auckland – and the previously mentioned prize winning piano trio 'Stapes' is the first of the set.

The malleus (or hammer) is one of three bones that transmit vibrations from the eardrum to the internal ear in the process of transforming external sound waves to an emotional or cognitive response within the listener.

In this work, Holloway explores the concept of a 'meta-instrument', with the three clarinets acting as one, playing a near-identical melodic line. The single sound becomes increasingly fragmented as the players tire – due to both the unbrokenness of the piece and the different tunings which places stress on the instruments: more on that later.

The line is based entirely on the three-note opening motif: a semitone step down followed by a whole tone step upwards. It's a novel approach to give all three clarinets near identical material, but it is corrupted through independent tempi and tuning.

Clarinet 2 is in tune as we recognise it: straightforward enough. However, Clarinet 1 is tuned between half and three-quarters of a semitone sharper than clarinet 2, while Clarinet 3 is tuned between half and three-quarters of a semitone flatter than Clarinet 2. Moreover, Holloway asks that the two out of tune clarinets are not exactly a semitone apart. It's not enough just to pull out or push in the component parts of the clarinet to achieve the required pitches, you also need dedicated performers with exceptional ears.

Holloway also precisely indicates subtle changes of tempo for each player. A two bar shift from 60 crotchets per minute to 66 is then followed by a 4 bar shift back down to 54 crotchets per minute, However, as the three players are only roughly following these indications, there is never any exact unison. This gives the overall texture of the work an almost liquid quality which is totally compelling.

Samuel Holloway is an Auckland composer whose work has been capturing deserved attention both in New Zealand and overseas for the past few years. He was awarded the 2006 Composers Association of New Zealand Trust Fund Award; and his piano trio 'Stapes' was awarded First Prize in the Asian Composers League Young Composer Competition at the 2007 ISCM World New Music Days in Hong Kong. He’s currently lecturing in music at Unitec and also at the University of Auckland School of Music.

I first became aware of Samuel's work during the Asia Pacific Festival which was held in Wellington in February 2007. I conducted the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in a performance of his 2004 work 'Fault', a rather apt title for Wellington! It’s also on 'Passing', a joint release from Atoll Records and Melbourne's Move Records, which documents the New Zealand and Australian orchestral works performed at that festival.

- Kenneth Young

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