New Zealand composer Nigel Keay is as busy as ever under quarantine in Paris.
While many musicians are finding their work cancelled because of Covid-19 restrictions, he is composing for a musician who has his own internet radio outlet.
Nigel Keay and Daniel Kientzy Photo: Nigel Keay
Keay has been living in France for more than 20 years working as a freelance composer creating music for many different groups, often performing the viola parts himself.
For the last few months, he has been composing for Daniel Kientzy, a former rock bass guitarist and orchestral double bass player who plays the full range of saxophones, from the little high-pitched sopranino to the huge low-toned contrabass saxophone.
"At 68, after a career of performing, Daniel is in a phase of wanting to focus his activities around his well-equipped studio near Paris," the composer says.
"Tectonics, my first piece to be produced by Daniel's Nova-Musica studio, was finished at the beginning of September last year. It was recorded on the full range of saxophones, plus an antique mellotron, viola and double bass."
Daniel Kientzy, Jean-Baptiste Devillers and mellotron Photo: Nigel Keay
"One of the tenets of the Nova-Musica Studio is to always use authentic instruments," Keay says, and there was a fully operational vintage mellotron on loan in his studio at the time.
"As the owner of several other vintage electronic keyboard instruments, Daniel was fascinated by it, and wanted to include it in a work where he would be playing the solo saxophone(s) hence his proposal that I write a piece for him including the mellotron."
The mellotron brings back echoes of the past for Nigel of prog-rock groups in the late '60s and early '70s.
"Living in Hamilton, in those days I'd bought a Barcus-Berry Electric Violin and amplifier, and improvised with it playing a few gigs with various bands, so I was keen to have some hands-on experience of it."
"As a viola player, it was amusing to think that I'd be fitting in with an instrument built to imitate a real string instrument. It was a fully restored vintage model, the tape loaded with the three classic sounds: flute violin and cello. Tectonics uses primarily the violin setting with occasional cello notes."
Keay says it was a memorable day when he and bass player Will Cravey travelled to the studio to record the bass parts. "Daniel picked us both up (with Will's double bass) from the train station to cram us into his Mercedes sports car; he, as a former double bass player, knew we'd all fit in(!)"
"Daniel coined this concept a 'phonostück'. Essentially one can forget about the practicalities of a live performance, so an impractical instrumentation becomes viable. With the multi-tracking studio technique, the various saxophones became an 'archi-saxophone' where the melody can be continuous across an expanded range without Daniel needing a gap in the music to change from one saxophone to another."
Now they're working on a second "phonostück" which will be heard through Kientzy's own internet radio where all the works he has performed, including Nigel's pieces are played.
"Daniel's idea was for a concerto-like piece featuring three solo instruments; archi-saxophone, Ondes Martenot, and Theremin. Also included in the instrumentation are the Farfisa Organ, electric bass guitar, clarinet and viola. I have a long history of playing my own pieces that continues with this new piece."
"I think that this hands-on experience helps me to appreciate how my music functions."
In September 2019 Nigel Keay performed his Trio for clarinet, viola and piano with clarinettist Jean-Marc Fessard and pianist Gwenaëlle Cochevelou.
Despite the quarantine in France at present Keay says he's kept busy composing.
"After the lockdown ends in two weeks, all going well we should be able to get to the studio to start work, whereas it is far from clear when any concert activity will fully start up in France."
