BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
We all have that one piece of music we just click with. The piece we return to throughout our lives, playing or listening to over and over again until it becomes part of us.
For Byron Mark, that piece was Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major. Since high school, the Australian composer-pianist has returned to this classical music, unravelling his favourite passages beneath his fingertips (specifically, its sweeping arpeggios, broken octaves, and triplet feel).
In fact, Byron connects so deeply with this music that he has fused the voice of Beethoven with his own, taking those melodies and phrases and evolving them through improvisation. The result is Byroven — a flamenco-inspired new single from his album Odyssey. (His very own Byroven Ensemble is pictured above.)
Byron tells CutCommon about bringing his fresh beats to Beethoven — and about the single’s epic cover art.
Byron, as soon as I saw this artwork for your new single, I knew there’d be an interesting story behind it! I want to know all about that awesome portrait. Did you tell the artist, “make me Beethoven”?
My good friend and fellow musician Gavin Libotte is also an amazing artist, photographer, and videographer. During lockdown, he released a series of portrait drawings, and I loved his style. Not long after, I commissioned him to create a portrait of me in his unique style, as I knew it would come in handy in the near future with my music releases.
When it came time for the album art for Byroven, I looked at my drawing, and went back to Gavin to see if he could put a twist to it — somehow make it a hybrid of me and Beethoven — with the intention of being a comical yet formal method of informing the listener of the inspiration behind the piece.
We were both very happy with the outcome, and glad that the picture always makes people smile when they first see it.
There’s a lot to unpack in this piece. The ambitious name — Byroven — shows us the way you are fusing Beethoven’s musical voice with your own. I’d like to know how you define or understand Beethoven. What were some Beethovian sounds, trends, or melodies you wanted to include that you felt typify this composer’s work?
Yes [laughs], I realised after the fact that, on the surface, it is quite an ambitious title. The title actually came to me once the piece was finished, and I thought it was a fun and cheeky way to reflect my inspirations. Also, an interesting fact is that Beethoven and I share the same birthday — 16 December!
Byroven is inspired from the first movement of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major. In particular, the middle section that modulates to D minor has a beautiful progression featuring sweeping arpeggios with broken octaves in a triplet feel. I have always enjoyed playing this section, and often find myself coming back to the opening four bars of this phrase when practising or improvising.
My vision was to commence the piece with this section, and then expand upon the triplet feel with new chord progressions and melodies. I also love the arpeggiation of the left hand throughout Beethoven’s sonata, and this is heavily featured in my piano part, as well as sections of the cello part.
Being a percussionist, I also love messing with rhythm, and I like how Beethoven alternates between triplets and straight rhythms in the melodies of the minor section too. I amplify this musical idea in the rhythm section of my ensemble, having the cajon and tabla switch from the triplet feel into a more straight 4/4 feel, with the addition of a fusion between flamenco and Indian rhythms.
The result is an ode to my love of classical piano, combined with a lush string quartet to enhance the new melodies and rhythm section to add even more spice.
What’s your connection to these sounds and why do they move you, anyway?
Apart from being drawn to the sweeping triplets performing broken chords, I have always loved the sound of D minor. It has a dark and mysterious feel, yet warm and inviting at the same time. It has a special power to it, and I love listening to and performing in this key.
Actually, two of my other pieces in the Odyssey project are also based largely around D minor. In high school, I learnt this Beethoven Sonata in F for my Grade 7 piano exam. At the time, I had no idea about composition, but I always loved this section and would play it all the time.
Years later, when practising for other gigs with funk and pop bands, I found myself returning to this piece as a way to make sure my technique stays up to scratch.
Beethoven creates the perfect blend of rhythmic fire, combined with lush chords and sweeping melodies that I am always drawn to.
So you practised the sonata, with particular interest in those first four bars. How did you begin to compose this piece, which emerged from those bars into a full-blown cross-genre single?!
One practice session, I looped the first four bars of the D minor section over and over, until suddenly I found myself experimenting with new chords whilst maintaining the triplet feel. From there, new melodies came out — sparse longer notes on top of the fast-triplet broken chords in the left hand.
After I developed various sections based on this initial idea and chord progression, I came back to the D minor triplets, but this time accompanied by the full ensemble.
To end the piece, I drew the Tierce de Picardie (Picardy third) card, and composed a D major variation of this idea on top of some syncopated hits in the strings and percussion. […] I think it’s an accessible piece of music that introduces you to Beethoven’s initial theme, and then takes you on a journey to discover new melodies and rhythms all linking back to this theme. Think Beethoven whilst on holiday in Spain!
There are a few musical styles in here, which you’ve cleverly interwoven — tell us what those are and why you thought they’d be a good match for Beethoven.
Yes, over the years I have performed with many different types of ensembles, and I love to fuse my musical experiences in my own music. Byroven explores classical melodies and harmony, underpinned with a simple flamenco sixes rhythm and the accompanying palmas (flamenco clapping) patterns to go with it.
On top of this, I have Maharshi Raval on the tabla. He is one of Australia’s best, and I have collaborated with Maharshi on many projects over the years. At times, I have the tabla complimenting the cajon rhythms, and other times it plays contrasting patterns more traditional to Indian music and its rhythmic flourishes.
Then in the final build up, I have the percussion performing a more rock/funk inspired groove, whilst still maintaining the tabla triplet flourishes in between.
To close, the piece ends back in the Classical world, though I change the time signature to 3/4 — for no particular reason other than it just felt right, but I guess it stems from my love for rhythmic exploration.
I hope that Beethoven would be happy with this re-imagination and embellishment of his work.
Indeed! But enough about Beethoven — let’s talk about you. What story of Byron Mark do we hear in this piece?
Many of my friends and musician colleagues that have listened to the album comment on the unique and playful use of rhythm in my compositions. Amongst all of my musical training on various instruments, I find rhythm the most interesting concept to explore.
The vision for Byroven and the entire Odyssey album was to go back to my roots and develop a series of compositions referencing my classical grounding, whilst surfacing my love of flamenco, Indian, and Latin rhythms, combined with jazz harmony too. My Byroven piece captures many of these ideas, and whilst growing as an artist, I hope that my audience can develop an appreciation for instrumental music that crosses over between classical and world genres.
I guess people hear my love of rhythm in this piece, and the interplay between different parts. I have studied rhythm in Africa and Spain, and also spent a lot of time working with Maharshi, so people will hear these rhythmic influences in my music. In more recent years, I have also come to love the sound of string instruments, and I enjoy featuring them with the melody throughout the piece.
Overall, this piece in a way summarises the growth and development of my musical experiences and education — exploring classical melodies with world rhythms, and my recent admiration for the string quartet.
As a composer, how do you feel about the idea of working with classical music languages of the past, and making them your own — using them to share a message of today?
I thoroughly enjoyed composing Byroven, and want to thank Beethoven for inspiring the idea. I think musicians and composers have so much to learn from the past, and I endeavour to continue learning new classical repertoire to strengthen my understanding and technique.
However, my favourite part is using this knowledge and combining it with other genres of music that I find super exciting to perform, which for me is mainly flamenco music, or jazz and funk. Flamenco music especially is all about interaction between the performers on stage, and I want to capture this energy in my ensemble through lots of rhythmic interplay and percussive improvisation, whilst maintaining strong lyrical melodies. I feel this enables me to create a live show that entertains audiences, and provides a path for them to connect with various musical cultures.
Listen to Byroven on your preferred music service. A music video is released on August 10 featuring Sydney contemporary dancer Reina Takeuchi. Visit Byron Mark’s website to explore the full Odyssey album.
Images supplied. Photos by Shane Rozario.
