Adopt a Music Creator blog: Rhythmless melodies

Music creator Anselm McDonnell talks about the beginnings of his collaboration with the Northern Ireland Concert Band as part of Adopt a Music Creator 2023.

My new piece 'Sometimes I dream of blue' began life over coffee with directors Martin Wall and Laura Salt (both horn players, so I have to make sure the horn parts are especially good!). We discussed some initial ideas and possibilities, with them being very open to including anything extra I wanted in the piece, from choir to electronics to extra instruments. I was shocked to discover I could write up to five percussion parts, which is fantastic as my percussion parts often look like they require an octopus rather than a human being!

'I came away with some ideas of music that is heard first with rhythms and then without, so that the melody becomes spread out into a wave of sound.'

The next week I met with the band for the first time and heard them rehearse a couple of favourite pieces, while I looked through their scores so I could see what kind of music they are used to playing. We tried out a couple of small chord exercises I’d written so I could get a sense of the sound. These exercises were all without rhythm, so players can choose how fast/slow/long they wish to play. It took a bit of explaining, but the band soon got the idea and embraced this method of playing, with one player commenting that she found it easy to sight-read when there were no rhythms. I came away with some ideas of music that is heard first with rhythms and then without, so that the melody becomes spread out into a wave of sound.

In advance of the next workshop, I sent the band a survey asking for some thoughts on what they liked and disliked playing, what being part of the band meant to them, and if they could make any weird noises on their instrument (which proved to be quite a divisive question). One of the most hilarious responses came from the percussionists, who were keen to delve into their vast collection of auxiliary percussion, which included a thunder drum (requested multiple times), a siren, several whistles with specific bird calls, and a two-octave melodica. Haven’t yet figured out how I’m going to fit the melodica in…

'... the percussionists were keen to delve into their vast collection of auxiliary percussion, which included a thunder drum, a siren, several whistles with specific bird calls, and a two-octave melodica.'

At the next rehearsal I attended in June I had a few minutes of material to work through with the band, with some more experimenting with rhythmless melodies. I’d also decided to include a choir in the piece and chosen a text by Donegal poet Leland Bardwell, which fitted the celebratory mood of the piece – the concert will also be the band’s 10th anniversary. The band blew me away with how they were getting on with the music I’d sent so far, particularly several tricky solo passages. There were several suggestions from players and from my mentor Seán Doherty for getting the most out of the instruments and balancing the ensemble – having nine trumpets is quite the apocalyptic sound! I’m now working towards a finished draft for our next session in August, as the piece needs to be ready for early September with our premiere on 28 October, so it’s all go at the moment!

Follow the Northern Ireland Concert Band on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram.

Find out more about Anselm McDonnell on his website and follow him on Twitter / Soundcloud.

The Adopt a Music Creator project matches vocal and instrumental leisure-time music groups with some of the UK’s most promising music creators to collaborate on creating a new piece of music. The project leads to a premiere performance and a professional recording. If you’re a music group or music creator and you’d like to take part, find out more.