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Andrew Glynne
Composer

Welcome to andrewglynne.com

I write orchestral and other instrumental music, and songs. The genre is sometimes called ‘contemporary classical’ but I prefer the general term ‘new music’ as it encapsulates ideas of novelty and a variety of styles and is more inclusive.

My aim is to write music which is original and accessible, which explores new sound combinations and which has a strong melodic content and a clear sense of direction. I use virtual instruments to represent the sounds of my compositions. You can listen to these and watch videos on the music page.

The purpose of this site is not just to introduce my music but also to promote new music by other composers. You will find posts about modern composers and music in the Alternative Voices section as well as links to other sites where you can listen to individual pieces.

What’s New

This month there are two new posts on the Alternative Voices page featuring works by the late British composer, Steve Martland, and the young French composer, Camille Pépin.

I hope you enjoy the music and your comments are always welcome. In addition, if you would like to tell me about your music feel free to get in touch. You can use the contact page here:

Charles Ryder, Dream of Yport, oil on canvas, detail,

Let's Support New Music

I am a strong advocate of new music and principally the works of little known composers and performers.  By ‘new music’ I mean not only music that is completely new today but also music that has been created over the last 25 years or so, whether in the west or elsewhere.

It’s self-evident that in the mainstream media the focus is almost exclusively on western music from the so-called ‘Common Practice Period’ (approximately 1600 – 1910). The arguments often put forward in support of this are that people don’t like or understand new music and are in any event unfamiliar with it.  It’s true that some of this music is very inaccessible, especially some (but not all) atonal or serial music but that is only a minority of the modern repertoire.

Today there is so much exciting, vibrant, innovative and accessible new music being written, whether in orchestral, instrumental or vocal genres, and unquestionably it deserves far greater exposure than it currently receives.  As for the argument that people are not familiar with it, well that’s hardly surprising if it’s rarely played: people can only respond to the music that they hear and currently they are fed a very conservative diet.

In order to play a part, however small, in promoting new music, I have devoted a section of this site exclusively to the subject. The intention is to run features and articles promoting new works and commenting generally on the genre. You can check out the pages by clicking here: 

Sketch of three musicians on cream background with bright pattern foreground

Music

A selection of recent compositions including:

Five Stages: an orchestral piece in five parts recounting a journey through different states of mind. The first two parts, sampled here, are titled ‘High Hopes’ and ‘Into The Spiral’ respectively.

The ‘E’ Suite: a piece for string orchestra in four parts of which Part I is sampled here; the main idea behind the piece was to reflect the joys of childhood.

Remembering: a piece for solo piano. The mood is predominantly sombre and the intention was to reflect on past events and how these may impact on the future.

Geometrical abstract design in salmon pink, grey and turquoise

Composing Tools

I write here about the software I use to write up my scores and the virtual instruments I use to create the audio.
For notation I mainly use Sibelius 7 which I find has all the elements I need to produce a neat and clear score.

For the virtual sounds, I use principally the virtual instruments of the Vienna Symphonic Library which I think produce very authentic playback. Sibelius Sounds also feature as well as the virtual pianos of Modartt Pianoteq.

Tan cube, pink sphere, grey column with green and sky-blue background

New Music – Alternative Voices

These pages will run features and articles promoting new works and lesser known (and unknown) composers and performers – they will also contain opinion pieces about new music generally.

Please feel free to send in your comments and suggestions.