Letter Pieces: Letter Piece Quartets

Letter Pieces is an ongoing series of short performance pieces that I began composing in 2007. They combine physical actions and sound. Each Letter Piece has a score, positioning a small number of physical actions and sound events - which the players invent - in a fixed order. I have called them Letter Pieces because the scores use letters to represent these sounds and actions. To put it simply, I’ve created the structure and the players create the content; two enactments of the same piece look and sound entirely different.

This blog compiles videos of performances of Letter Pieces.

For copies of the scores email me at: matt@shlom.com

For more information about my other works, see: www.shlom.com

LIST OF WORKS

Letter Piece #1
Arsenal, Bahrain, Chihauhau, Darjeeling & Eisenhower
Performer & musician (4'00)
2007
For David Helbich & Mark Knoop

Letter Piece #2
Assam, Buchanan, Chelsea, Dalmatian & Egypt
Performer & musician (7'00)
2007
For Shila Anaraki & Tomma Wessel

Letter Piece #3
Australia, Bolton, Clinton, Dachshund & Echinacea
Performer & musician (3'00")
2007
For Shila Anaraki & Tomma Wessel

Letter Piece #4
Adams, Blackburn, Camomile, Djibouti & Eurohound
Singing performer & musician (4'30")
2008
For Peter Wilcock & Vicky Wright

Letter Piece #5
Northern Cities
Two performers (5'30")
2008
For Tim Parkinson & James Saunders

Letter Piece #6
Five Monuments For Our Time
Conductor & orchestra (7'00")
2008
For Gijs Kramers & the Ricciotti Ensemble

Letter Piece #7
British Sign Language
Performer & musician ( (6'30")
2008
For Shila Anaraki & Tomma Wessel

Letter Piece #8
Sit Up Stand Down
Three performers (8'00")
2012
For Alter Ego

Letter Piece #9
D2E2
For performer & musician (5'00")
2015
For Ensemble Adapter

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Letter Piece Quartet #1
Five Finger Discount
Four performers (9'00")
2010
For Letter Piece Company

Letter Piece Quartet #2
Mixed Doubles
(co-authored with Shila Anaraki)
Four performers (15'00")
2010
For Letter Piece Company
Note: this work can only be performed by Letter Piece Company (there is no usable score)