Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Purchasable with gift card
£1GBP or more
about
concerto no. 1 in e minor for oboe & guitar
track: 01
recorded: 2011 - 2013
duration: 20:34
this is my first full-scale classical work, after forty-odd years as first, a rock guitarist, then, a crafty guitarist, and finally, an ambient looping guitarist - I've now arrived here, with my first proper piece of classical music.
it's been a long road and a long time coming, but it's here at last; begun in 2011, the piece was finally completed in it's final form during december, 2013, so the piece was about three years in the making. for most of that time, it was just over 9 minutes in length, but, inspired to get the piece completed before 2013 was out, I added another 11 minutes plus of new content and repetitions of existing themes, during november and december 2013, bringing the length of the piece up to the current 20:34.
it started with a theme, a revolving theme involving oboe, flute, clarinet and cello (or in it's alternate version, string bass) - which over time, changed; eventually, I decided to remove the clarinet part (although it is used elsewhere in the piece) to simplify this main theme - and then, the rest of the piece was just gradually added when I had the time and inclination to work on it.
the piece developed in some surprising ways, ways that even surprised me, and I really learned an enormous amount - I feel that I've done a respectable job of bringing together all of the various themes in the piece, in new and different configurations, but overall, retaining the flavour of that original woodwinds-based theme.
the two main instruments in the piece, guitar and oboe, do almost "battle it out" in classic style, but in the end I think I am favouring the oboe more, and some of the melody lines during the solo oboe parts were very exciting to play and then to incorporate into the overall
composition - and by the end of it, I found that I liked playing the oboe almost more than I liked playing the guitar...and that was a revelation. I love the sound of the oboe, and the high-speed, lilting quality of the melodies - an absolute joy to play!
in any case, here it is at long last, my first concerto, and I would ask that you bear in mind when listening, that every sound, every note, was produced from a guitar fretboard, using the remarkable roland gr-55 guitar synthesizer.
this piece was a joy to compose, record and mix, and I hope I will find the time to create further works in this vein - but for now, please enjoy my "concerto no. 1 in e minor for oboe & guitar".
note: every sound in this piece was made with a guitar synthesizer, there are no other instruments present.
ambient loop guitarist dave stafford performed on stage with robert fripp and the orchestra of crafty guitarists in early
2009, and again with robert fripp and the symphony of crafty guitarists in 2015, and has worked with ambient music and looping for over twenty years. stafford has a rich back catalogue of ambient and loop music, +rock, prog or acoustic crafty guitar music: www.pureambient.com...more
Inspires by Judith Schalansky’s “Atlas of Remote Islands,” “Isolari” builds worlds with gentle keys and ominous drones. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 10, 2022
Climate scientist makes suitably airy sounds, ethereal, cinematic, and nostalgic - like Boards of Canada sans beats. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 21, 2015
Ten gorgeous compositions from Iceland’s Gísli Gunnarsson that ride the line between ambient & modern classical. Breathtaking. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 25, 2023
A sublime merger of post-rock solemnity and cinematic grandeur, the composer's first album in five years unfolds as a protean tour-de-force. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 1, 2018
Fran Dominguez's 5th album as Forest Robots explores the intertwining of spirituality & nature through subtle, spacious ambient composition. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 30, 2021