SPIRIT OF PLACE

Spirit of the River - Creative tides and light reflected in the beautiful music of Frances Shelley, Stephen William Hodd and Peter Hepworth, with words of Julia Jones and more.

A socially distanced event.

Pianoday was set up by Nils Frahm in 2016, and on or around the 88th day of each year piano lovers the world over hold concerts with the pure intention of celebrating this wonderful life enhancing instrument!  We have done something special at Butley Priory for the past 4 years and 2020 will be no exception.  

So you are welcome to a day to celebrate the piano in all it's marvellousness.  Weather permitting,  there will be a short pre concert afternoon walk and hopefully an outdoor piano session - life at Butley Priory is always full of surprises.  Wine, tea and hot cross buns are guaranteed though :) All profits to CIWF as usual.

Pianofield will be playing some brand new music, and we will have two other new and exciting young composers - details to be revealed soon.

C O N F I R M E D

A V A

Effortlessly transcending the constraints of modern neo-classical music, AVA are rooted in cinematic narratives, evoking emotional journeys of the heart and mind. Consisting of violinist Anna Phoebe and pianist Aisling Brouwer, AVA is an entity of turbulent imagination born from the intuition and maverick spirits of two compelling performers. Never conforming to expectations and yet instantly accessible, the music composed by these two exciting young artists is a sonorous consequence of two opposing forces determined to carve their identities in to each other’s lives.

To book please visit Eventbrite.

I will be supporting Ell Kendall who launches his new beautiful album

http://hundredyearsgallery.co.uk/ell-kendall-ensemble/

Hundred Years Gallerly located at 13 Pearson Street, London, E2 8JD

Doors 19:30 - Music 20:00 - Entry £8

We are very excited to be able to announce our November headliner for the Butley Priory Sessions. Ed Carlsen is a 30-year-old composer and producer from Italy. He blends elements from modern classical music, such as intimate piano and strings, with electronic beats and ambient soundscapes.

Professionally trained as a guitarist, it was not until 2015 that Ed began to translate these skills onto piano, using his own compositions as the foundation in which to discover the instrument. This gave him an unconventional approach to the piano, whilst retaining the musicality that he had developed through his studies of guitar.

Seeking to marry this musical knowledge with production techniques, Ed pursued a degree in Music Technology at the London College of Music, where he gained an interest in sound design and music composition for film and visual media. That became the vision for his debut album ‘The Journey Tapes’, released by Canadian label Moderna Records in 2016. This was followed by a second solo work on the same label, ‘Elusive Frames’, and a split vinyl release with Heather Woods Broderick, via Gregory Euclide’s ‘Thesis’ project.

In keeping with our sessions this will be an informal evening of candlelight, log fires, and inspiring music. The Pilgrims Room Bar will be open - of course!

We have a limited number of floor cushion seats at £10 per head, while sofa seats and chairs will be £20 each. This is a small venue so please book soon to be sure of a ticket.

Click for TICKETS

Frances Shelley, who is launching her new solo album 'A Place That Exists' in September 2019 will introduce the evening with a short set including some new works from the album.

We look forward to sharing with you a delightful evening of music hosted in an enchanting 12th century monastery in the Suffolk countryside, not to be missed. 

Pianofield are pleased to announce they will be playing in a beautiful lakeside location at the 6th 'ALSO' Festival which runs 5th - 7th July 2019 and offers you over 200 experiences: Salon London style talks to entertain and illuminate, new bands, artists and audio adventures, wine tastings and cocktail makings, wild swimming, a disco bunker for your inner raver, dining campestre, forest bathing, nature-a-go-go, a have-a-go workshop ethos and brilliantly bonkers moments.

Pianofield are scheduled to play at 15:00 on Saturday 6th July

Anyone who remembers Poppy Ackroyds amazing concert here last summer will remember that these two amazing brothers from Berlin did a spellbinding support performance. We are so thrilled to announce that they are returning for their own show here. With piano and cello, the music is heartfelt, immediately enthralling, and creates worlds in the imagination. Sit back and enjoy. ‘An extraordinary piece of work’ Maryanne Hobbs.

TICKETS will be £20 or £10 sitting on a cushion on the floor. Wine and light vegan refreshments, log fires, candles and atmosphere guaranteed. .

Saturday 7th Oct 

SOLAR POWERED GRAND PIANO INSTALLATION - 'TALKING TO REED BEDS'
The Marshes, Snape Maltings
We wrapped up warm for this one, and played my outdoor solar-powered grand piano (get your mind around it!). Matthew processed the sounds of the reeds, wind and weather.

'Intuitive inspiration meets technical wizardry as Pianofield give voice to the subtle and ineffable human relationship with the natural world--from earth, sea, sky, thunder, and rain to gravity and the movement of reeds and clouds. Read More

Friday 6th Oct

Jerwood Kiln, Snape Maltings 
Using computer vision software specially written for this event, we analysed the movements of a banana tree in San Paulo where the Flip Festival originated. This data was used to generate the soundscape which we then improvise to - live!

'A live performance of raw human emotions, electronic walls of sound, and delicate piano-led melody in which one of the musicians is a tree in Itaipava, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.' Read More

March 26th 2017

Finally, we returned to the Great Hall at beautiful 14th century Butley Priory for tea, cake, and a grand finale performance from www.pianofield.com

An informal but fabulous afternoon, beginning with a short walk around the grounds punctuated by poetic musings amid wildflowers. After exploring the woods and its words, we headed for a surprise grand piano installation with guest artists performing to the wind and clouds, wood pigeons and our specially invited audience.

Together with the Aldeburgh Beach Arts Club, artist Caroline Reekie and I had an informal Salon du The

Caroline showed some of her new work, best selling author Meg Rosoff gave a reading and there was piano music by myself and by Lewis Barham.

Film maker Jason Gairn (photonimage.co.uk) and I spent a week living and making this film in the Lookout tower on Aldeburgh beach (aldeburghbeachlookout.com). Long obsessed with the idea of playing a piano on the beach, when I was offered the ‘Foreign Model’ (an 170 year old Chapels upright beyond repair and bound for the skip) I was decided. I took it down to the beach, recorded its last sounds and mixed this in with new music I composed from the tower. Everyone concerned (including the 4 lifeboatmen who carried the piano down to the beach) thought it would be submerged by the high tide. It seems we underestimated the power of our principal characters - the sea and the piano - who had other ideas.

So where is the Foreign Model now? living a life of adventure on the high seas? Get it touch if you have a sighting.

Commissioned by the National Trust at Sutton Hoo - in connection with the Great British Walk

To start, a walk with novelist Pauline Moore on a journey through the mythic past of the Anglo-Saxons to Sutton Hoo's atmospheric barrows. Followed by a performance of improvised music in Mrs Pretty's house by Frances Shelley and Matthew Bickerton, in response to the dramatic landscape and Anglo Saxon legends.

Commissioned by Reverend Alexandra Wilson