Maggie
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Poet: Sarah Courtauld
Composer: Matt Print
Mezzo-soprano: Amy Payne
Tenor saxophone: Ellie Steemson
Listen to Maggie
Programme Note: Being an L.A. housewife is not as easy as you'd think...
Matt Print on Maggie:
Regarding the collaborative process, Sarah and I worked on a few ideas for a musical prior to writing Maggie and I definitely feel this influenced the final piece performed at the Wigmore Hall as it is very much focussed on character. It is basically a monologue set to music. The piece was also driven by the singer, Amy Payne. She had experience of both musical theatre and opera, this was like a red rag to a bull for me and Sarah as it meant we could explore the boundaries between musical theatre as we had a very versatile performer.
Following discussions about what me and Sarah wanted out of the final piece, Sarah drafted Maggie, I then took the text and played around with various ideas musically. Sarah allowed me a lot of creative freedom to cut and add to the text. It was a definite case of the text coming first and the music following which I personally favour. Originally the piece was going to be for mezzo-soprano, tenor saxophone and vibraphone but we wanted to play with the dialogue between the saxophone and the singer, at times the saxophonist becomes the characters which Maggie is talking to and the saxophone score even has text written beneath the notes.
Following Voiceworks, the collaboration between me and Sarah has continued. Before I completed my studies at the Guildhall, we wrote a small operatic scene set on a very awkward first date which was very much influenced by Maggie. The instruments once again had their own dialogue with performers, as well as acting as an accompaniment to the on stage action. We continue to work together on a variety of projects ranging from the concert hall to cabaret.
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