BY GABRIELLE CADENHEAD
Composer-violinist Cyrus Meurant has cultivated a vast portfolio of music for dance and theatre. He has studied composition in Sydney, Paris, and London, and composed for many of Australia’s major ensembles including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Omega Ensemble.
Most notably among his works are Le Petit Prince, a ballet which continues to be performed in the Czech Republic; Herakleitos, an opera premiered in Germany; and Monday to Friday, a studio album composed for people living with dementia.
Off the back of this cross-discipline work, Cyrus returns to composing music on its own with the release of his new EP. On 12 December, Cyrus and his chamber ensemble will launch Four Pieces for soprano saxophone and electric organ, which explore the interweaving of melodies between instruments. Featuring musicians Andrew Smith, Michael Bardon, Nicky Crowe, Tim Bridgen, and Novita Jap, the Cyrus Meurant Ensemble will perform a range of this composer’s repertoire, much of which comes from his work in theatre and dance.
The launch concert will culminate in the premiere of a new work, and audience members will be invited to purchase Cyrus’ new vinyl EP.
You have studied with many composers, from Anne Boyd to Frédéric Durieux, across multiple countries. How have these different approaches to composition impacted your creative process?
I’ve been very fortunate to study with some outstanding teachers. There are different approaches, that’s true, although I’ve found the best lessons have tended towards constructive criticism with an appreciation for context and technical rigour.
Looking back on the early years of my undergraduate studies at the University of Sydney, I think composer-performer workshops were an important formative experience. In performing my own work, I realised I could develop it in my own way.
Whilst studying in Paris, I learnt a great deal about the importance of milieu; nothing exists in a vacuum. It’s probably obvious to say that there are both immediate and historical cultural contexts of music all around the world, though we all exist within certain distances to these.
Much of your music has been composed in the context of theatre and dance. After collaborating across disciplines, what drew you to the music-only medium of the EP?
It’s quite serendipitous. Earlier this year, I was fishing around record shops in Newtown and discovered a box of old Decca 10-inch vinyl records, including recordings of Jeanne Demessieux, Rafael Kubelík, and Karl Böhm. I then hit upon the idea of making my own 10-inch record.
Your EP consists of Four Pieces for soprano saxophone and electric organ. What is the musical trajectory of Four Pieces? How have you created the lush sound world of each piece?
I developed the Four Pieces in tandem with a score for a new ballet version of Romeo and Juliet in 2015, which I worked on with Matthew Hindson, the Nexas Quartet, Brett Morgan, and the National College of Dance.
The music of the Four Pieces moves towards a ‘grand finale’ or an apogee of sorts. In Piece I, ascending organ lines interlock with the saxophone melody. Piece II is a lyrical passacaglia; whilst Piece III is the most rapid in tempo, with urgent and oscillating figures.
Piece IV takes on a chorale-like quality. The textural density increases with each new organ stop setting and the soprano saxophone climactically rises and soars until the music ultimately resolves.
In terms of the sound world, I was particularly interested in the entwining of melodic lines – given the sustaining power of both instruments – and the way these lines can contrapuntally combine in unexpected ways.
I must thank Bob Scott who engineered the recording. Bob mixed my previous album Monday to Friday, and he really understood how I wanted to create a very immersive listening experience with this new EP.
How do the other pieces being performed at the EP launch complement Four Pieces?
They’re all written for dance, except Monday to Friday, which was written for installation. We’ll play selections from Monday to Friday originally composed for flute, viola, vibraphone and piano – these are short lyrical pieces.
Pars Pro Toto for flute, cello, and electric organ was composed for the Dance Makers Collective and choreographer Roz Wythes. This is an abstract work, but it’s very much influenced by the concept of the human breath.
Following on will be the Australian premiere of selections from my ballet score of Le Petit Prince for violin and piano composed for the Divadlo F.X. Šaldy (Czech Republic), in collaboration with Margaux Thomas and Macbeth Kaněra. These musical selections are a series of character pieces relating to the story by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
In conclusion, we’ll be premiering two movements of a new ensemble work for dance – supported by the Seaborn, Broughton and Walford Foundation – scored for flute, saxophone, violin, cello, electric organ, and vibraphone. The work relies heavily on concepts of variation and colouristic contrast.
What have you enjoyed about working with the musicians of the Cyrus Meurant Ensemble? Why was it important to form your own ensemble?
Put simply, I get to compose, and I get to perform with colleagues who are a pleasure to work with.
The beauty of developing long-term relationships with performers too is the parallel development of a performance practice for the musical language. The formal creation of an ‘ensemble’ wasn’t a spontaneous decision or unexpected; it’s something that has naturally evolved from the demands of the creative contexts I’ve found myself operating in over the past eight years or so.
Andrew Smith (saxophone), Michael Bardon (cello), and myself have been working and performing my ensemble pieces since 2012. We’ve performed my score for Klash (commissioned for the National College of Dance) numerous times, along with other works including: As Time Goes By, Fusion, Wild Life, and The Spartans.
Nicky Crowe (flute) joined us for performances of Pars Pro Toto in 2015, and I wrote her a solo flute work Loure. I’ve known Tim Brigden (percussion) since student days.
I’m working with Novita Jap for the first time on this show.
What do you hope the audience will take away from the EP launch concert and from the EP itself?
Firstly, I hope they will take home a purchased copy of my new vinyl record!
I also hope the audience is inspired to think more generally about listening to music. Much of the music on the program was initially intended to exist in relation to other stimulus. However, the music can also be listened to beyond its initial context. In this sense, the audience [members] are encouraged to complete the work in their own way, and engage with their own imaginations and feelings. Just as Saint-Exupéry contends in Le Petit Prince: ‘Here is my secret. It’s quite simple: One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.’
Music has a unique capacity to harness our attention and evoke memories of the past, though I feel it is through live performance that the audience can draw true inspiration. It’s crucially important we support the live music scene – especially in Sydney, where things have been very challenging for too long.
Whilst music performances involving highly trained performers are usually only possible when we are willing to make long-term investments in people – particularly through education – a flourishing scene of new creativity is only possible when we have viable contexts for the creators to present their works in the first place, and a backdrop in which the act of creativity is foundationally valued, regardless of its stylistic or aesthetic rubric.
Cyrus Meurant’s new release Four Pieces is available for digital listening on Apple Music and Spotify. Visit Cyrus’ website for more info on how to get your hands on the vinyl.
The Cyrus Meurant Ensemble will perform at 8pm on 12 December in the Seymour Centre.
Shout Gabrielle a hot chocolate?
If you like, you can say thanks to Gabrielle for volunteering her time for Australian arts journalism. No amount too much or little 🙂
Images supplied.
Pay what you like, securely via PayPal. 80% to the writer and 20% to our volunteer editor for getting this show on the road.
