New CD out now!

August 5, 2019Leave a comment

My piece ‘We Lived in the Gaps Between the Stories.’ written for amplified accordion is now available to buy on accordionist Ryszard Lubieniecki’s latest CD “SEEDS”!

CD cover of SEEDS performed by Ryszard Lubieniecki and featuring my piece *‘We Lived in the Gaps Between the Stories.’*

You can preview the CD, and read more about it, here.

Below is some information about the CD which can also be read here.

“The title of Seeds, in addition to a reference to the composition of Josué Amador, in a certain way determines the material of the whole album. Ryszard Lubieniecki’s debut album includes six compositions for an accordion, amplified as various “seeds” representing different paths of musical avant-garde. From the strict algorithmic composition (Asterism), to the drone stretched to the limit (MAGMA2), the even percussive song (Metaphysical Graffiti), dense electronics (Ryszard (D) zik (i)), to compositions in which improvisation plays an important role ( Seeds and We lived in the gaps between the stories). All of them were created in close cooperation with the performer, who has an old, imperfect instrument, but on the other hand offers unique opportunities, especially in the field of percussion and noise sounds. By some artists, they have been used to the extent that their compositions are almost impossible to make on other accordions.”
Quote from: https://naszenagrania.bandcamp.com/album/seeds

Ian Pace in Huddersfield

February 26, 2019February 26, 2019Leave a comment

I am pleased to announce that Ian Pace will be performing my Progress always comes late (2017) for solo piano. This piece was composed as a birthday present for Ian Pace on his fiftieth birthday. More information about this can be found here and here.

This particular upcoming concert will feature works by Charles Ives, Walter Zimmermann, Marc Yeats, Lauren Redhead, Eleri Angharad Pound, Alistair Zaldua, and Michael Finnissy. More information about the concert and how to book can be found here.

The following is some information about the concert which can also be found on the University of Huddersfield’s website.

Internationally renowned pianist, musicologist and champion of avant-garde music Ian Pace presents an uncompromising recital, featuring a range of diverse new short works written in tribute for his 50th birthday, book-ended with two essays in extreme pianistic virtuosity from either end of the twentieth century – ‘Hawthorne’ from Charles Ives’ Concord sonata, and Michael Finnissy’s transcendental Piano Concerto No. 4.

• Charles Ives, ‘Hawthorne’ from Piano Sonata No. 2 “Concord, Mass., 1840-1860” (1916-19, rev. 1920s-40s) (10’)

• Walter Zimmermann, Stars for Ian (2017) (2’)

• Marc Yeats, exordium (2017) (3’)

• Lauren Redhead, nothing really changes (2017) (4’)

• Eleri Angharad Pound, pbh (2017-18) (2’)

• Alannah-Marie Halay, Progress always comes late (2017) (3’)

• Alistair Zaldua, Sylph Figures for Ian Pace (2017) (4’)

• Michael Finnissy, Piano Concerto No. 4 (1978, rev. 1996) (17’)

Below is a programme note about my piece:

Progress always comes late (2017) is a moment of nervous energy. There should be moments of calm and moments of frenzy juxtaposed in a schizophrenic manner, portraying an overall sensation of stopping and starting. This is a passionate piece and the performer must immerse themselves in every fragment equally, letting their mood and ‘spur-of-the-moment’ decisions dictate the order of fragments performed. The title (‘Progress always comes late’) is a quote from the 1988 film Cinema Paradiso, directed by Giuseppe Tornatore (the original Italian is something like ‘il progressi sempre tardi arriva’). This piece is a collection of fragments that can be performed in any order. The performer does not need to perform every single fragment on the page, although they are encouraged to. Individual fragments (or series of fragments) can be repeated if the performer wishes. Fragments do not need to be performed in their entirety if the moment calls for a fragment to be interrupted by another one. The duration of the piece and overall structure of the fragments is up to the performer (however, this can be devised by the composer should the performer prefer this).

Upcoming Performance: ENERGY CANNOT BE CREATED IV

December 4, 2018September 18, 2019Leave a comment

The latest instalment in my ENERGY CANNOT BE CREATED collection will be premiered by LSTwo Ensemble on Saturday. ENERGY CANNOT BE CREATED IV: …generously taken explores the notion that all acts of composing involve (re)arranging what already exists. It generously takes, ruthlessly breaks apart, and forcefully reshapes. This piece is violent, cruel, and egotistic as it snaps and cracks the broken fragments of my musical self.

Alannah Marie, ENERGY CANNOT BE CREATED IV

More information about the upcoming concert is available here.

Recent Publication: Women & Music Journal

November 21, 2018Leave a comment

I’m pleased to announce that my latest article about one of my compositions ‘We Lived in the Gaps between the Stories.’ (2017) has been published in the latest ‘Women and Music’ journal (vol 22, 2018).

More information about this journal’s latest volume can be found here.

Women and Music
A Journal of Gender and Culture
Edited by Emily Wilbourne

Latest Soundtrack: LITTLEY CAR (short film)

November 1, 2018November 21, 2018Leave a comment

I’ve recently started writing music for film. I composed the soundtrack to an upcoming short film LITTLEY CAR directed by Chris Boylan. You can watch the trailer here (below)

The short film premieres on Friday 30th November in Yorkshire. More information about the event, including the making of the film, can be found here.

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LITTLEY CAR film poster

New Piece for 28 Pianos Performed in Yorkshire

December 16, 2017November 21, 2018Leave a comment

My latest composition, Resonance/Light/Decay for 28 pianos, composed in collaboration with Dr Mic Spencer (University of Leeds) was premiered on Tuesday 12 December, 2017 in the School of Music, University of Leeds. The composition and its performance was done to celebrate the School of Music becoming a Steinway School. More about this can be read here and here.

The performance of Resonance/Light/Decay was live-streamed online and also featured on BBC Radio Leeds.

In case you missed it, you can view a video of the performance below:

Interstice now available on iTunes

January 2, 2016January 2, 2016Leave a comment

Interstice is out and available to download via iTunes! More information can be found here.

Interstice is an artwork and iPhone app that enables users to record, and listen to, an audible representation of their heartbeat. It also allows users to select a musical fragment to accompany their heartbeat. As such, users from all over the world are able to collaborate in the formation of a composition comprising an intricate cacophony of audible heartbeats and musical fragments.

Users can listen to the resultant conglomeration of audible heartbeats and musical fragments by navigating a three-dimensional representation of Earth.

Each user can add up to five audible representations of their heart rate with an accompanying musical fragment. Any one of these five recorded heart rates with accompanying musical fragments can be deleted and replaced with new submissions at any time.

Interstice is created by software developer Samuel Halay and composer Alannah Marie Halay. More information behind Interstice‘s conceptual framework can be found here and here.

Performance of The Interlocutor: ensemble Discord

March 29, 2014February 9, 2015Leave a comment

The Interlocutor is my most recent composition and it was performed by Discord earlier this week. It is for French horn, electric guitar, electric bass guitar, piano (doubling keyboard), and electric five-string violin. As a (very) basic description of the composition’s structure, it is based on the dynamics of conversing. Although a seemingly simple compositional procedure, I intend the form to be more complexly dynamic, and I think that Discord brought this out.

Composing for Discord was very useful, not only did it force me to consider writing for these instruments in the context of this particular ensemble, but working with the performers introduced me to the hidden capabilities of these instruments.

The performance was followed by a concert of new music performed by Discord. More information about the concert can be found here.