William Marshall (born 1992) - Five Canonic Variations @PsapphaEnsemble

Uploaded July 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

Benjamin Powell, piano

Mark Thomas - Director of Photography
Rob Kelledy - Sound recording and Mastering
Tim Williams - Editor and Producer

Psappha is grateful for the support its ‘Composing for…’ programme receives from: Arts Council England; Britford Bridge Trust; PRS Foundation Talent Development Partner scheme; and the Thistle Trust.

Learn more about Psappha - psappha.com

Please support Psappha's work: psappha.com/support-us
---
These five variations (played continuously) are all canonic in some way, but each is distinct in tempo and character. The first variation is largely hushed and expressive, while the second is more agitated and builds towards a climactic, chordal third variation. The fourth has a gently flowing quality and leads to a more sustained, lyrical final variation, which ends with a reference to the opening of the piece.

Learn more about William: wjmarshall.com

William Marshall (born 1992) - Five Canonic Variations

$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$

Fraz Ireland - That looks like a good book, whats it called? (performance version 1)

Lockdown Film double bill with music from David T. Little and Tim Wright

Anna Thorvaldsdottir - Spectra (UK Premiere)

Very Young Composers - Holy Spirit Catholic Academy