Located in the UK
Located in the USA
Located in Europe
- Kevin Volans
Cover Him With Grass (1979)
- Chester Music Ltd (World)
Programme Note
The initial impulse for writing these pieces was a reconciliation of African and European aesthetics. They are not minimalist. When I wrote them I was frustrated both with the bland mechanism of repeat-pattern music and with serial technique. I wanted to move away from a conceptualist approach to composition.
Traditional African music has an existential quality which attracted me. It is essentially a music of being not becoming. It does not aim at transporting the listener, but reinforces and intensifies the here and now. The music is not conceptualised in any way.
I took the liberty of approaching European music from the point of view of an African. This learning process led me to more flexible solutions.
Shortly after writing these pieces I realised that style is not a way to begin a composition. Style is a red-herring: it can stand in the way of both the composer and the listener.
Kevin Volans
Traditional African music has an existential quality which attracted me. It is essentially a music of being not becoming. It does not aim at transporting the listener, but reinforces and intensifies the here and now. The music is not conceptualised in any way.
I took the liberty of approaching European music from the point of view of an African. This learning process led me to more flexible solutions.
Shortly after writing these pieces I realised that style is not a way to begin a composition. Style is a red-herring: it can stand in the way of both the composer and the listener.
Kevin Volans