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Gordon McPherson
Programme Note: Moses Moses is the third recently commissioned work for solo instrument, following on from Uncanny Valley for solo guitar, commissioned by Allan Neave, and the solo piano piece Fire Exit, commissioned by the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Anyone expecting a rather reverential work inspired by a liturgical or religious basis might be slightly disappointed as the work takes as its starting point a number from MGM's superb musical spectacular of 1952 Singin' in the Rain, in which Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor ponder, for purely enunciative reasons, if "Moses supposes his toeses was" indeed "roses". If confused, renting out one of the greatest films ever produced is hugely recommended. The piece is essentially a musical exploration of this conundrum, building on an interplay between the musical material of "Moses" and the rhythms of the dance routine. Moses was commissioned by Psappha and was jointly subsidised by North West Arts Board and the Scottish Arts Council. The work is dedicated to Tim Williams. Programme Note: Little Moses "Little Moses" takes as its starting point an earlier larger percussion work.The third of a commissioned trio of solo works, "Moses" commissioned by Psappha and jointly subsidised by North West Arts and the Scottish Arts Council , followed on from "Uncanny Valley" for solo guitar, commissioned by Allan Neave, and the solo piano piece "Fire Exit", commissioned by the Royal scottish Academy of Music and Drama. As with the original work anyone expecting a rather reverential opus inspired by a liturgical or religious source might be slightly disappointed as the title refers to the number from MGM's superb musical spectacular of 1952, "Singin' in the Rain", in which Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor ponder, for purely enunciative reasons, whether "Moses supposes his toeses was" indeed "roses." If confused, renting out one of the greatest films ever produced is hugely recommended. The piece, a smaller,leaner and more mobile version of the original, is essentially a musical exploration of this conundrum, building on an interplay between the musical material of "Moses" and the rhythms of the dance routine. First Performance Details The first performance of Moses was given on 7th November 1996 at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. The work was performed by Psappha: Percussion soloist - Tim Williams First Broadcast Details The first broadcast of the work was given on BBC Radio 3 on 23rd June 1997 on the 'In Tune' programme. First Recording Details The work (Little Moses) was recorded by Psappha for CD on 15th December 1997 and will be released on the British Music Label BM026 on 23rd March 1998. See Psappha Debut CD for details. Contact Detail Gordon McPherson can be contacted through:
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Gordon McPherson was born in Dundee in 1965. His work has been performed and
broadcast widely throughout the UK and abroad. Recent works have included the
controversial ON E, commissioned by the Royal Scottish National
Orchestra, and the hour long Handguns: A Suite, commissioned by the
Paragon Ensemble and premièred in its entirety by them in December 1996.
Works in progress include Three Minute Philosophy, for the Scottish
Flute Trio, The Baby Bear's Bed for Icebreaker and a new work for the
RSNO for their 1997-98 season. He lectures on 20th Century Music and Analyis at
the Department of Moral Philosophy in St. Andrews University and is currently
Visiting Composer in Residence at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.Copyright ©2001 Psappha
