Paul Mitchell-Davidson's Comments

Amaizng Works

Paul,

Wowza. It is great to have somebody as obviously accomplished as you here. Listening to "The Galloping Cat". I love the complicated unison horn runs and I imagine that is you playing the guitar? I'm not worthy!!

Regards

Tom

Thank you for so warm feedback and comments Paul! There are not too many improvisers out there, and I immediately recognized the improvisation origin in your compositions. Now I am trying to reach the impossible - to mimic a live orchestra using a keyboard-based instrument (now I apply 2 keyboards). Using a music box like Finale or Sibelius, based on conventional notation, this is impossible however good are sampled instruments. Only live performance allows one to express the real given-moment emotion, and for me this process is much more interesting than the cold-minded process of music writing.

Thanks so much for your kind comments - it means a lot from somebody with your wealth of experience. My friend Mark Kelly used to be in your guitar orchestra - you may not remember him, but he sends his best wishes.

Cheers

Adrian

Great music Paul! Simon Godden has kindly alerted me about your uploaded tracks, and I find your atonal language and instrument combinations highly expressive. I would be glad if you take a listen to my atonal improvisations and provide me with some feedback...

Hi Paul

Try Youtube in 2 parts

part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZyTEka5UQc

part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp551c28rAk&feature=related

If all else fails I'll giev you a link to the audio only

Thanks

adrian

Hi Paul,

Thanks for alerting me to the music you've just posted up on your site. I absolutely adore "Threnody". It's extremely moving and displays an enormous amount of emotion and feeling. I feel that anybody that experiments with pantonality MUST first learn to tackle all aspects of key based music first, otherwise I find their atonal music a bit careless. In 'Threnody', you've managed to explore extremely opposing genres and blended them with a huge amount of skill. Who would have thought it possible to have an atonal string quartet playing simultaneously with a jazz combo, and live instruments as well. It really is quite a masterpiece, and I shall be listening to it regularly.

My only despair is that you may find my music a touch on the crass side.

Thanks again for posting. I really did enjoy it.

Hi Paul

Thanks for showing an interest.

The links are still active on THIS page - just three posts down. Click on them for the video and the sibelius score.

If you don't have sibelius scorch the PDF is also here

http://www.box.net/shared/o29xnjs59p

thanks again

adrian

Hello Paul

I've been in the Isle of Man for a week, so I missed your last message. I would like to help you on the subject of the Chinese Writing, but you're best asking one of the admins of this site (on the home page), who can delve deeper into such issues.

I have enjoyed listening to your music, and it's great to hear something that is really performed live, as most music here is by "virtual instruments".

I know that you usually get paid to give advice on composition, so I just asked you as a small favour to take a quick listen to my piece - the added interest is that it's about Manchester. So if you ever do, I'd be more than grateful.

Best wishes

adrian.

I'd like that. My e-mail address is: alphabetgreen1996@googlemail.com

sorry, those links are not showing up

If you add me as a friend I will send them in a message

or copy and paste these links into browser

score
http://www.sibeliusmusic.com/index.php?sm=home.score&scoreID=154834&user_id=10117

video
http://composersforum.ning.com/video/angel-meadow

Thanks Paul for comment.

I heard Craig Ogden play your guitar piece at St Annes Church in 1993 and approached him afterwards for guitar lessons. Unlike most guitarists he is a true musician - a force to be reckoned with; he also has an amazing rhythmic accuracy. He will do your concerto justice when he plays it; a professional in every sense.

I don't know if you know the story of Angel Meadow in Manchester, a corner of the city near the CIS building where there is still a "ragged school" building where the poor children were given a very basic education.

Well, I wrote a symphonic poem based upon the life and struggles of those people. I will post you a link to the discussion , where I present the music PDF (done on Sibelius) and an mp3 digital mock-up. I also did a video to visually represent the music.

I would be really grateful if you could have a quick look/ listen as I would have a lot to learn from sombody of your experience.

The score is here. Please click on play mp3


The video is here


thanks again for your time

adrian

Hi Paul, welcome to the forum. I look forward to hearing some of your work. Please feel free to listen to any of mine. I eat constructive criticism in order to stay alive. Like Adrian, I am also struggling to be a composer (as opposed to a producer). Indeed, one or two of my works ("Alphabet Green" and "Flanders" in particular) were written with pen and paper during my studies at Queens University Belfast, sometimes without access to a piano. However, it's difficult to get people to listen to it now unless the production is half decent, which is a shame. There are few people that can read a score and hear the music, but they are wonderful people to know.

Hi Paul thanks for the comments. I've heard about you for a long time - I'm a Mancunian classical guitarist too and studied with Martin Roberts and Craig Ogden. I have since turned to composition, though, but still teach guitar a little in Manchester. I hope you are enjoying your new life and Portugal and thanks again for the listen.