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I care if you listen blog / Feb 2012 Thomas Deneuville
[On Caja de Musica] Another colorful piece deeply imbued with folk tradition was David Bruce's Caja de Musica (Music Box, also the title of the concert). Even though Bruce was born in Connecticut and raised in England, his interest in world traditions led him to use elements of Joropo music from Venezuela for this commission. The result is an intense and joyful three-movement work, very tonal and rhythmic, displaying a feigned naivety. |
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Harvard Crimson / Jan 2012 Adabelle Ekechukwu
[On Cut the Rug] Bruce’s four-part “Cut the Rug” in itself was an expedition through joy and sorrow. “There’s a kind of journey throughout the piece,” Bruce said. “You can kind of think of it as three dances and a funeral.” Jaunty, swift notes from the clarinet and mandolin combined with the sporadic but rhythmic percussion to create the lighter aspect of the folk piece. As the excited trill of the clarinet was replaced by the melancholic melody of the bagpipe-like Spanish gaita, the piece entered its sepulchral march, only to be reawakened by an energized, up-tempo rhythm created by the lighter sounds of the clarinet and string instruments. “The last movement is sort of defiant of death,” said Bruce. |
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Harvard Gazette / Jan 2012 Harvard Gazette
[On Cut the Rug] David Bruce composed the four-part work "Cut the Rug," which included a frenetic final movement that he said "sort of raises the roof." He said he was forced to rethink how to craft a work for musicians with such different approaches to the art form. "I am used to writing everything down... And knowing that there were some musicians who don't come from traditions where that happens, it was quite hard for me to get my head around." |
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The Guardian / Jan 2012 Tom Service
[On Fire] New Music 20 x 12 : More than a good pun – a good idea, too: 20 new pieces, all 12 minutes long, will premiere across the country throughout the year, from hardcore classical to jazz. Joe Cutler's Ping! has been composed for table-tennis players; there's Emily Howard's mini-opera on the life of Czech runner Emil Zatopek in Liverpool; plus David Bruce's Fire, an outdoor operatic spectacular, in Salisbury. All 20 pieces will be broadcast on Radio 3. (The arts in 2012: classical - Tom Service picks his highlights of the year ahead) |
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Press / Recent Reviews » 2012
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