Crash Ensemble Free State VI

An excerpt from the premiere performance of Seán Clancy's Basso Continuo taken from Free State VI, the Crash Ensemble's annual showcase of Irish composers, at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in April 2011.

Basso Continuo by Birmingham-based Seán Clancy was written in 2010. The composer says of the piece:

In literary theory, the concept of Clinamen is to use a predecessor's work and swerve beyond its influence. In the instance of Basso Continuo, the influence is the 1987 song Schizophrenia by the experimental group Sonic Youth, a song that was a large influence on me whilst growing up. To this end, I have taken the structure of Schizophrenia, elongated it, and created original detail, whist maintaining its pacing (what could be considered the aura of the song). By so doing I hope to have achieved two things. Firstly, how one can use an influence in a uniquely creative manner, and secondly how one can conceive of anything (a chair, a human life, a song etc.) as an object. This object is then projected to each of us as reality. However, this object could also have a multiplicity of realities. Basso Continuo then, is an example of an alternative reality for Sonic Youth's Schizophrenia.

Free State VI took place at the Irish Museum of Modern Art on 1 April 2011. The work was performed by theCrash Ensemble.

The views expressed are those of the persons concerned and are not necessarily the views of the Contemporary Music Centre.