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Tigida Pipa (1983-89) |
S.A.T.B. playing woodblocks, claves & tape - 9'30"
Commissioned by Elms Concerts for Singcircle, with funds provided by the Arts Council of Great Britain. First performance: 19 February, 1983, Rosslyn Hill Chapel, Hampstead, London. Singcircle, director Gregory Rose. Compact disc recording: Continuum (NZ) CCD 1061 CD title: Stephen Montague- Orchestral and Chamber Music Singcircle, Gregory Rose, conductor (released 1994).Tigida Pipa was composed in Ghent, Belgium, and completed in London in January, 1983, but revised several times until 1989. The text consists of invented words and percussive sounds whose inherent rhythmic structure propels the work at breakneck speed through a rondo of sonic adventures. It was described by The Financial Times (London) as "...a tongue twisting, tempo-twisting vocal toccata brilliantly sustained" and by Opera magazine as "...a virtuoso ritual for percussionists-cum-vocalists, ebullient and inventive far beyond the Steve Reich school of minimalism." The work was inspired by some of the invented text compositions of Frank Denyer and written for the London virtuoso vocal ensemble Singcircle (director, Gregory Rose). The original tape was realised at IPEM/Belgian Radio Studios, Ghent in the autumn of 1982 and winter of 1983. The 1989 revision was realised in the composer's studio in London.
© Stephen Montague