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Chris Long Interview
Posted on Monday, March 05, 2007. © Copyright 2004-2008 David Bruce
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C:T talks to Chris Long, winner of the Making Music Award at last years British Composer Awards
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Chris Long.
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Tell us something about your background.
I grew up in Widnes in the North West of England. I played classical guitar from the age of eight. I went on to study music and fine art at the University of Liverpool, studying composition with Stephen Pratt. I have always been split between music and arts. When it came to commit to one, it was composition, although the visual arts remain very important to me. A grant from the Ralph Vaughen Williams Trust enabled me to study composition at postgraduate level and at the University of Newcastle I studied with Agustin Fernandez and Roger Redgate.
Tell us about O Lord, Remember which won the British Composers Awards Making Music Award - what is the piece and what is the award?
The Making Music category of the British Composer Awards recognised music that has been performed by voluntary and amatuer music societies who are represented by Making Music. 'O Lord, Remember' was composed for the City of Birmingham Choir and the CBSO. The piece is based on an anonymous prayer found next to the dead body of child in Ravensbruck concentration camp. It is an extraordinarily powerful prayer of forgiveness. Within the piece it is framed by two excerpts from the requiem mass with the final lines of the prayer forming the final phrases of the piece. It is easy to be overwhelmed by the context of the text, and an initial interpretation may have suggested a more sorrowful musical setting. However, the spirit of the words are completely selfless and look for the positive in the atrocities under which they were composed. On the whole, therefore, the piece is optimistic, the voices uniting in a universal plea for forgiveness.
How did you start composing?
I think I always composed from when I first became interested in music but I didn’t start to take it seriously until I was studying.
Who or what has influenced your style as a composer?
The first ‘modern’ composer I was interested in was Lutoslawski. As a visual artist I found his orchestration and textures particularly appealing, but his music has mainly influenced me in terms of harmonic and structural organisation. I love the music of Stravinsky, Ravel and Debussy and, as a student, I was influenced by the philosophy of John Cage. I listen to all types of music from contemporary classical, to indie rock, to jazz.
How did you get your first commission?
I suppose my first commission was for a short cello piece for the Norfolk and Norwich festival which came about through SPNM and Radio 3.
Where do your ideas come from?
From a huge variety of sources. Visual stimuli often set thoughts in motion, as do places, times of day or the weather. I am very much affected by moods. I often spend quite a while meandering through disjointed musical ideas before a piece starts to become more coherent. During this time my ideas about the piece can change dramatically.
Interview by David Bruce © Copyright 2004-2008
 Comments by other Members
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Posted by :
 Exen at 13:25 on Wednesday, March 07, 2007
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"In terms of style and content, you must be yourself and compose what you want to compose." I personally find this almost as an unwritten rule for music and more so of any artist vision no matter its medium. Well said. | |
Posted by :
 carlswanholm at 17:54 on Wednesday, March 07, 2007
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Embarrassingly, I need to implement bold, italic and underline texts which I currently cannot do.
I have a PowerBook G4 (OS 10) - are you able to help? or do I need to call Apple (long distance)..
(thanks) | |
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