IAN BLAKE: Home

SANS, the new combo with Tigran Aleksanyan, Andrew Cronshaw and Sanna Kurki-Suonio, will be starting this year's European tour on June 23rd with the Home Festival at Dartington Hall in Devon.

But before that, some theatrical stuff: I've just been doing some creative development on a project by Zsuzsi Soboslay, Anthems and Angels, and I'm about to get into sound design mode for a project from Jigsaw Theatre. Plus playing for Canberra's Finnish dance group Revontulet and singing with Coro, a new chamber choir.

The Blue Bear studio complex has been busy recording classical guitar and violin duo John Couch & Judith Hickel, and editing live concert recordings for The Oriana Chorale.

And my apologies to the person who took the trouble to write in the guestbook recently whose post I inadvertently deleted. Because of the amount of spam that appears there, comments have to be approved: I was in a deletion frenzy, busily zapping away and your post, which I remember mentioned Pyewackett, disappeared. There's no Undo...

Here's the video of that SANS show at St Ethelburga's. I'm relaxing there at the end of the stage, just listening to Sanna finishing the concert with a beautiful Finnish lullaby. Because sometimes it's best to just listen.

Taedet Animam Meam by ianblake

...and The Pocket Score Company recently recorded this: we're working up to a CD to be released in 2012. It's from the Matins of the Dead, set by Tomás Luis de Victoria.

Now, this is Francis Pilkington's lute song 'Rest Sweet Nymphs' in a version for four voices:

Rest Sweet Nymphs by ianblake

Here's a new venture: SANS is a quartet which came together in Finland at this year's Kaustinen Festival. We liked the results! So we'll be doing some more shows, starting in London on October 23rd. The band includes Tigran Aleksanyan on the Armenian duduk, the voice of Sanna Kurki-Suonio, Andrew Cronshaw on electric zither and various interesting wind instruments, and myself on soprano sax and bass clarinet.
Andrew Cronshaw's new CD features the musicians of SANS and will be available then too.
The concert is at St Ethelburga's Centre. It's always great to play in a church: seems to be the natural habitat of The Pocket Score Company, and Lichfield Cathedral was a splendid setting for the concert with Andy and Tigran back in July at the Lichfield Festival.

On a recent trip to Paris I interviewed Kaija Saariaho and caught up with Richard Lewis, whose music you can listen to at Radio Delevine. Meanwhile, I'm back in Australia for a few weeks, working on forthcoming CDs. At the wisteria-clad Blue Bear Studio, Thai Lee is making an atmospheric keyboard and vocal-based album: if you like Enya's music, you'll enjoy this when it emerges. The Pocket Score Company will be recording a few rather old songs shortly plus something fresh from countertenor David Yardley.

And some new projects have been released: Fred Smith's 'Dust of Uruzgan' has been getting some great reviews; Peter Woodley's collection of Flute Tunes is out, as is Lynne Pilbrow's second volume of FunMusic for Little Kids which is all about Transport.