Claire Victoria Roberts (born 1992) - this was a dance @PsapphaEnsemble

Uploaded May 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

Psappha Ensemble - psappha.com - Benjamin Powell (piano) and Tim Williams (percussion)
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‘this was a dance’ is a piece which moves between wonky rhythmic ideas and distant, floating echoes of sounds. The initial rhythmic idea returns at the end and spirals out of control following a calm middle section exploring colours and timbres within the ensemble. The rhythmic elements of the piece evolved from ideas of movement and dance, however, the writing process meant distorting the rhythms and breaking up the groove in places. It is now called ‘this was a dance’.

Learn more about Claire: clairevictoriaroberts.com

Psappha’s ‘Composing for…’ programme is supported by: Arts Council England; Garfield Weston Foundation; Idlewild Trust; PRS Foundation Talent Development Partner scheme; Radcliffe Trust; and RVW Trust.

Claire Victoria Roberts (born 1992) - this was a dance

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$Ben Gaunt - All the Castles I Have Ever Loved (World premiere, Psappha commission) Psappha Ensemble: Benedict Holland & Zoë Beyers - violins Alex Mitchell & Alistair Vennart violas Jennifer Langridge & Petr Prause - cellos Mark Heron - conductor This performance was recorded live at Hallé St Peters in Manchester (UK) on 31st March 2022. To view the 4K version we recommend you use Google Chrome or the Firefox browser. Learn more about Psappha: http://psappha.com Film Production Cameras - Handel Productions Audio & Mastering - Rob Kelledy Film produced and edited by Tim Williams Ben Gaunt - All the Castles I Have Ever Loved (World premiere, Psappha commission) The title came first. I just really love castles. I have always loved castles, although the way in which I love castles has changed as I grew up. As a child, I loved visiting them and pretending I was an invading soldier, pestering my parents to buy me wooden swords from the gift shop. As an adult, I love visiting them and pretending I am interested in the history when secretly all I want to do is buy myself a wooden sword from the gift shop. I look forward to being an old man, in a castle, with a wooden sword. The piece is for six musicians, and therefore I decided to visit six castles. I wrote most of the music in these castles: 1. Skipton Castle 2. Harewood Castle 3. Roundhay Castle 4. Conisbrough Castle 5. Sandal Castle 6. Pontefract Castle The piece is in six sections, each of which contains six events. There is, at the end of the piece, a secret seventh section that is dedicated to the conductor (reflecting his status as a pseudo-seventh member of the group). I dont really write music that aims to be too descriptive of anything specific. The six sections do not correspond to the six castles I visited in any tangible sense. I am just trying to give a sense of something castle-like, perhaps somewhat English-sounding. Thank you, Tim, and everybody at Psappha, for letting me write a piece about castles. – Ben Gaunt Learn more about Ben Gaunt: https://www.bengaunt.com$