Graphic Score by Rhodri Davies: Signed limited edition of 100
25cm x 34cm
2010
Four Lessons: Rhodri Davies (2010)
I can’t remember exactly why I made ‘Four Lessons’ but I know it was inspired by the work and writings of the visual artist Gustav Metzger. Metzger was an artist and political activist who instigated the Destruction in Art Symposium in 1966. He developed the concept of Auto-Destructive Art and the Art Strike. In 2007 I was fortunate to collaborate with him on a large-scale event in Glasgow and London called ‘Self-Cancellation’. We invited musicians, writers, artists, theorists and poets to explore in public the principles of self-cancellation in sound through performances, lectures and artistic interventions. We wanted to examine ideas of self-cancellation in the sonic arts, improvised and experimental music. Since then my work has been inspired by Metzger’s art and writings and has often explored the intersection between creation and destruction. We kept in touch after ‘Self-Cancellation’ and in 2010 he invited me to perform John Cage’s 4’33’’ as part of his lecture at the Baltic Art Gallery, Gateshead. He died in 2017 and I was asked to perform a solo at a memorial evening at the Tate Modern on what would have been his 91st birthday.
For ‘Four Lessons’ I printed out the first page of the piece ‘Four Lessons for harp’ (1761) by the Welsh harpist John Parry and then overlaid the same image multiple times so as to create a cancelling out or blurring of the original piece. I usually compose pieces out of need, for instance, when working with fellow musicians who are keen on exploring open, semi composed, graphic, text or object scores together. ‘Four Lessons’ formed a rare occasion when I made a piece for its own sake, then put it in a box with other unplayed scores. Nine years later, I was playing a mini tour with the experimental pop band Hen Ogledd and our friend Paul Stewart kindly drove us around the UK. There was little or no budget and knowing that the musicians in the band made visual art he asked to be paid in art works. I looked in my box of compositions and found ‘Four Lessons’, which I had completely forgotten about. I gave him the original and had some copies printed so as to give to friends.
Scores as open as ‘Four Lessons’ can sometimes confuse or intimidate some musicians, while others instinctively know how to approach such a score. I gravitate to pieces that confuse or complicate the relationships between composer and performer and I also like the idea of a composer and a performer sharing responsibly for a piece. When a performer realises an open score there is a generosity of spirit that repays the trust that is instilled in the piece when it is sent out to the world. Some may ask, if a piece is so abstract, has no specific directions from the composer and can be interpreted totally differently each time, then what is the point? Open scores give me permission to do something I would not have done otherwise. They can also give me permission to do something I might have done anyway. Seeking permission is not the objective, but after years of improvising and performing, I can sometimes find myself backed into an impasse of my own making. Open scores sometimes act to unlock something and to make a leap possible.
Creiriau y Delyn Rawn / Relics of the Horsehair Harp – Compact Disc AMGEN 010
£10 GBP
Telyn Wrachïod – Compact Disc AMGEN 009
£10 GBP
Rhodri Davies: Telyn Wrachïod - T-Shirt
£15 GBP
WYTH (8 x solo album set) – 8 x CD Box Set AMGEN 011
£55 GBP
DYSLEXIC HARP (DECIPHERED IN THE DARK) –
Compact Disc AMGEN 008
Jean-Luc Guionnet
£10 GBP
Over Shadows – Compact Disc AMGEN 007
£10 GBP
Trem – Compact Disc AMGEN 006
£10 GBP
DWA DNI – Compact Disc AMGEN 005
Sold Out
For Simon H. Fell – Compact Disc AMGEN 004
£10 GBP
An Air Swept Clean of All Distance – Compact Disc AMGEN 003
£10 GBP
Wound Response – Compact Disc AMGEN 002
£10 GBP
Telyn Rawn – Compact Disc AMGEN 001
£10 GBP
HEN OGLEDD LIMITED EDITION POSTER
£15 GBP
Hen Ogledd: Bronze (CD)
£10.99 GBP
Hen Ogledd: DAWSON-DAVIES (CD)
£10.99 GBP
Recordiau AMGEN Record label badge
£0.50 GBP
Bes (Bisu, Aha) ancient Egyptian god black badge
£0.50 GBP
Bes (Bisu, Aha) ancient Egyptian god white badge
£0.50 GBP
HOTEL ART HEAD: Rhodri Davies & Nikos Veliotis (Art book)
£10 GBP
Rhodri Davies: Cup and Ring (Graphic Score)
£10 GBP
Rhodri Davies: amen (Notation)
Sold Out
Rhodri Davies: acqua alta (Graphic Score)
£20 GBP
Rhodri Davies: Lle y bwriaf angor (Graphic Score)
£20 GBP
Rhodri Davies: still point (Graphic Score)
Sold Out
Common Objects: Sonorous Matter 2016 Tour
£10 GBP
Common Objects: Skullmarks (CD)
£10 GBP
Common Objects: Live in Morden Tower (CD)
£8 GBP
John Butcher & Rhodri Davies: Routing Lynn (CD)
£10 GBP
John Butcher & Rhodri Davies: Carliol (CD)
£10 GBP
November Music 2010 (CD) (incl. Christian Wolff: For Harp Player)
£5 GBP
THE SEALED KNOT: TWENTY (CD)
£8 GBP
The Sealed Knot: and we disappear (CD)
£8 GBP
Rhodri Davies Swansea, UK
Rhodri Davies plays harp, electric harp, live-electronics and builds wind, water, ice, dry ice and fire harp installations. He has released seven solo albums. His regular groups include: HEN OGLEDD, a duo with John Butcher, Cranc, The Sealed Knot and Common Objects. ... more
