Joe Bates Newsletter: January

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This month
My apologies for the late mail out; I’ve kept it short. In the dogs days of this year, I begin a new job teaching composition at Durham University, which greeted Jesse and I with an astonishingly picturesque blanket of snow. Along with jury duty, this beginning to my gradual move north has occupied much of my time. 

Last month
Last month saw the end of my time at the British School at Rome. I alighted on a suitable topic to write on: how microtonal composers conceive of three-dimensional space. Very often, the inclusion of unconventionally tuned notes inspires the use of a metaphor of depth. But this spatialisation is contrary to our usual understanding of pitch space, in which notes ‘ascend’ from low to high. I’ll be writing about what is going on with this confusing metaphor, focusing on Giacinto Scelsi’s music.

Coming up
I’m busying myself working towards my performance at the Wigmore Hall next month. Please do join me: 1pm, 22nd February.
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I am also starting to organise concerts with my friends to present some new music for the Hyasynth alongside cool things that they have done. I’ll say more soon.