Sebastian Rochford & Kit Downes @ Kings Place. Photo (c) John Earls
As part of Arcana’s 10th birthday celebrations, we invited our readers to contribute with some of their ‘watershed’ musical moments from the last 10 years.
Regular contributor John Earls writes:
A Short Diary consists of seven short piano pieces composed by Sebastian Rochford in memory of his father, the poet and academic Gerard Rochford, who died in 2019. An eighth piece was composed by his father. It is a profound and moving expression of loss. Rochford’s drumming combines beautifully with Kit Downes‘ piano playing.
When I heard it my own father had a few months before been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (I am still a co-carer for him). This has been both an uplifting and consoling collection for me.
In January 2023 Sebastian Rochford (drums) and Kit Downes (piano) released A Short Diary, a profound and moving musical expression of loss for Rochford’s father, the poet and academic Gerard Rochford.
A year on, this concert consisted mainly of a performance of that album and was equally touching, not least because Rochford gave a little commentary between tunes, his voice as soft as his brush strokes and no less affecting.
Both Rochford and Downes have been involved in many different collaborations, but this is a particularly satisfying partnership. It is articulate, sensitive and compelling. It is also beautifully expressive, Downes through the keyboard and Rochford with drums and a mix of drumsticks, brushes, mallets, pedal, hands and fingers. The engagement between them and their listening to each other was something to behold.
The set opened, as does the album, with This Tune Your Ears Will Never Hear where the portentous music and heart-rending title set the tone. Communal Decisions is an astute musical illustration of competing demands with Rochford referring to the experience of balancing familial dynamics at the time of his father’s death (he has two brothers and seven sisters).
The more whimsical Love You Grampa was inspired by the notes Rochford’s niece used to leave for his father around the house. The melodic Silver Light was delicate and wistful. In a slight change of tone, the latter part of Ten of Us (remember all those brothers and sisters?) was played with an energy and passion which saw Rochford and Downes at their most animated.
The final number of the set was the only tune not composed by Rochford. Even Now I Think of Her was composed by his father, who sung it into his phone and sent it to Rochford, who passed it on to Downes’ phone for him to transcribe. It’s as endearing as the story behind it.
There were two new pieces performed. The Energy of Light, played midway in the set, is a rhythmic affair with Rochford and Downes both getting into the tempo. To the Country I Was Born was played as an encore and is a tribute to Rochford’s birthplace of Scotland – a fitting choice as this was the opening concert of Kings Place’s Scotland Unwrapped series which runs throughout the year. It was a tuneful and fitting end to this most personal of musical evenings.
John Earls is Director of Research at Unite the Union and tweets / updates his ‘X’ content at @john_earls
For more information on the album head to the ECM website – and click on the names for websites devoted to the music of Seb Rochford and Kit Downes
This is an album with a deeply personal touch. Dedicated to Gerard Rochford, an Aberdeen poet and father of drummer Sebastian, it is described by him as ‘a short diary of loss’, offered as ‘a sonic memory, created with love, out of need for comfort.’
Around the time of his father’s death in 2019, Seb experienced a rush of musical thoughts coming to him, even though he wasn’t looking to write anything. This became part of the grieving process, and though he initially looked to resist the urge he found that giving space to the musical thoughts was helping him cope better elsewhere. Sat at the piano, he was able to vent his feelings through the simple vehicle of a home grand piano, and later the drum kit.
To help him he enlisted regular collaborator, pianist Kit Downes, and the pair recorded the music at the Rochford family home, capturing its ambience on record.
The final piece, Even Now I Think Of Her, is a composition by Gerard himself, sung into his phone and sent to Sebastian.
What’s the music like?
There is a beautiful and often heart stopping intimacy to this music. When experienced late in the day it is a companion for thought and reflection, turning inwards towards the centre of the mind on thoughtful pieces like Night Of Quiet, which at other times opens outwards and bringing the departed spirits and surrounding environment into the conversation.
This Tune Your Ears Will Never Here – a heartbreaking title – is a beautiful piece with which to start, setting out the hymn-like disposition of a lot of Rochford’s musical thinking. It begins with the piano intoning a solemn sequence in block chords, yet distracted by bigger thoughts at play.
The drums are very sensitively used, very much in the background – while on a piece like Love You Grampa complementing the piano’s free-thinking block chords. The first impression here is adding some well-judged percussion to a languid Debussy piece, but then the piece opens out into something more playful.
On Silver Light the music hints at folksong in the right hand of the piano, with modal melodies and light punctuation from the drums. Rochford’s compositions are capable of sustaining their concentrated thought for longer, too – and as Ten Of Us explores the lower ranges of the piano, the audience is effectively placed in the room next door, listening intently. It ends with a show of inner strength, Downes playing ever more expansively as the drum kit also intensifies.
Gerard’s composition fits hand in glove with the rest of the album, its right hand melody lightly insistent and dressed with brushed snare drum. It must have been almost unbearably poignant to record.
Does it all work?
It does. The instinctive nature of the music is wholly absorbing, and although Rochford’s father may have passed on, the strength of his character frequently comes across in writing that is thoughtful, reverent and lightly amusing.
Is it recommended?
It is. This is a concentrated, intimate set of musical studies and meditations, and clearly worked as part of the grieving process for Rochford. It is a beautiful, poignant album for musical reflection and reparation.
Listen
Buy
You can explore listening and purchasing options for A Short Diary at the ECM Records website
Last year saw the inaugural New Music Biennial weekender, and now to celebrate the initiative’s 10th birthday PRS Foundation and Southbank Centre are presenting a whole weekend of essential new music. You will require tickets for each visit to the three-day festival, but the good news is that those tickets are FREE!
Two shows have already sold out – Coby Sey’s From The Vestry and Anna Meredith’s HandsFree – so well done if you’ve already bagged a ticket for those. There is however a whole heap of good music still on offer, including:
New works by composers and music creators such as Yazz Ahmed, Paul Purgas, AFRODEUTSCHE, Martin Green, Rakhi Singh / Vessel, Keeley Forsyth, Coby Sey, Roopa Panesar, Toby Young and Philip Herbert. The full list is as follows:
The Moon Has Become, commissioned by WOMAD, written by British-Bahraini trumpeter and composer Yazz Ahmed
Tape Music, commissioned by Supersonic Festival, written by sound, performance and installation artist, Paul Purgas
He Sings Over Me, commissioned by Manchester Camerata and NEWFORM, written by composer, producer and DJ AFRODEUTSCHE
Split The Air, commissioned by The National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain and Lepus Productions, written by Martin Green
It commissioned by NYX Electronic Drone Choir, written by Rakhi Singh, Vessel & NYX Electronic Drone Choir,
Bog Body, commissioned by Sound UK, written by composer, singer and actor Keeley Forsyth
From The Vestry, commissioned by Serious and written by vocalist, musician and DJ, Coby Sey
The Crossing, commissioned by Opera North and written by the sitarist Roopa Panesar
Breathlines, commissioned by Armonico Consort and written by Toby Young
Towards Renewal, commissioned by the BBC Concert Orchestra and written by Philip Herbert
AFRODEUTSCHE – Unquiet (credit Vivaldi Rocks)
There will also be a selection of highlights from the last 10 years of the New Music Biennial, in the company of Anna Meredith, Brian Irvine and Jennifer Walshe, Daniel Elms, Errollyn Wallen, Philip Venables and David Hoyle, Aidan O’Rourke and Kit Downes, Jason Yarde, Jessica Curry, Arlene Sierra and Gazelle Twin. Here’s the full list:
HandsFree, commissioned by National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, written by Anna Meredith and choreographed by David Ogle
13 Vices, commissioned by Moving on Music and written by Brian Irvine and Jennifer Walshe
Bethia, commissioned by BFI and written by Daniel Elms
Mighty River, performed by National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and written by Errollyn Wallen. Originally commissioned by The Rector and PPC of Holy Trinity Clapham Common and the Revd. John Wates
Illusions, commissioned and co-promoted by London Sinfonietta and written by Philip Venables with performance artist David Hoyle
One Story: 365 Words, commissioned by the Edinburgh Arts Book Festival and written by multi-instrumentalists Aidan O’Rourke and Kit Downes
Skip, Dash, Flow,commissioned by Wonderbrass and written by composer, producer and saxophonist, Jason Yarde
She Who, commissioned by National Youth Choirs of Great Britain and written by English composer, radio presenter and BAFTA winner, Jessica Curry
Urban Birds, commissioned by INTER/actions Festival of Interactive Electronic and written by Arlene Sierra
The Power and the Glory, commissioned by BBC Concert Orchestra and written by performance artist, composer and producer, Gazelle Twin
The festival starts tomorrow, Friday 1 July, and runs through until Sunday 3 July. For more information head to the Southbank Website
Pieces from the New Music Biennial will also be available through NMC Recordings. As well as releasing the new pieces at this year’s festival, and to celebrate this milestone in the partnership, NMC is re-issuing the ten existing works being performed this year. This special re-issue bundle entitled Celebrating 10 years of New Music Biennial, isavailable for download from the NMC online shop at a discounted price, providing a lasting legacy for this new music.
It gives us great pleasure to welcome Ryan Teague to Arcana’s playlist section.
In an hour’s listening you can enjoy a playlist of Japanese Negative Space. This is a rich variety of largely ambient music that taps into the recent rush of releases from the country over the last few months, in which the Kankyo Ogaku collection of Japanese Ambient, Environmental & New Age Music 1980-1990 has been particularly successful.
Ryan’s selection also includes work by Japanese masters Ryuichi Sakamoto and the much-missed Susumu Yokota. along with an excerpt from Meitei’s recently released Komachi album.
Our thanks to Ryan for a whole host of new names to enjoy! Listen on Spotify below…
Arcana.fm 