Composition

New for 2020

Two Instrumental Commissions

Waltz for Natalia

Studies – countif

A collection of new electronic pieces

Also available on Spotify and other platforms

Thomish (Hypothetical Unison)

A collaboration with Emily Bailey

See Andrew’s blog post on this piece for more info.

“[I] was hit right between the eyes (ears) with one of the coolest pieces of the festival, the world premiere of Andrew Hall’s ‘Under the Skin’ … Utterly surprising and delightful. Big band licks in a contemporary context or contemporary licks in a big band context. Either way, it was cool.”
Michael E. Karman, Asymmetry Music Magazine, 2010

Andrew’s diverse compositional work has included electronic soundscapes, graphic scores, semi-improvised ensemble pieces, and live-streamed online works.

Use the player below to hear some of these, or scroll down to find out more and to see a full list of works.

Arcadio

Electronica meets free improvisation – Arcadio combines London’s finest improvisers and percussionists to create a nomadic exploration of rhythm and movement.

Formed by Andrew Hall in 2015, the group released ‘The Attack Sound’ in 2016, and a series of live recordings as podcasts in 2017.

Kafka’s Wound

This piece was part of Kafka’s Wound, a digital literary essay commissioned from Will Self by the London Review of Books. The essay examined his personal relationship to Kafka’s work through the lens of the story ‘A Country Doctor’ (1919), and in particular through the aperture of the wound described in that story.

The piece was a continuous online sound stream, created from looped recordings of music composed by Peter Wiegold and performed by members of Notes Inégales. Running constantly between September and December 2011, the sounds gradually decayed in a parallel to the progression of an untreated and infected wound. The degradation of the sound was modelled on the physiological changes that a patient with such a wound would encounter, including decreasing blood pressure and conscious level, increasing heart and respiratory rates, and falling pH levels. Use the player below to hear some moments from the sound stream’s progression.

Mirrors of Hall

The Mirrors of Hall was a big band formed in 2011 to perform Andy’s PhD compositions. These began from the starting point of experimenting with the notion of the big band ‘backing’, a written figure which can influence the development of an ongoing improvisation.

From this, the work of the ensemble expanded to confront the challenges of incorporating ‘free’ improvisation within written works, resulting in the development of specific notational approaches and the development of an electronic cueing system.

However, such was the appetite for this kind of ensemble that the band quickly became a resource for many young composers to write for, leading to premieres and concert showcases for Alex Paxton and Andrew Linham (who was subsequently inspired to create his own fantastic big band). These new works expanded the size and scope of the band further, incorporating vocalists and narrators alongside the regular 17-strong line-up.

2020

Studies – a collection of electronic pieces, released as countif

2019

Recessional for Lucia and John – for trumpet and piano (commission)
Waltz for Natalia – for clarinet, tenor sax and guitar (commission)
On the Edge of Your Spring – for brass quintet (arrangement of a song by Sasha Ilyukevich, to be released 2020)

2017

Jack’s Worry – for improvising piano and drum kit (written to accompany the production of the same name by KnuckleandJoint theatre company, performed at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley)

2016

Bloom – for soprano, soprano saxophone and violin (performed by White Flower at St. Stephen’s Church, Lewisham)
The Attack Sound – for Arcadio
Ambient soundscape for the Emergency Department Waiting Area at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, produced for CW+

2015

The Sun in the Night (for David Turay) – for Mimika (performed at The Spice of Life, Soho)
In Aeternum Cantabo – for Symphonic Wind Orchestra, featuring solo flute and trumpet
Second City – for clarinet and string quartet (performed by Frank Griffith and the Bowfiddle quartet, at the 2015 String Quartet Festival at the Pizza Express Jazz Club)

2014

Tunf – for electronics
Splend – for electronics
The Soldier – with the Rutlish School Band
The Sick Rose – for Mimika (Performed at The Spice of Life, Soho)
Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind / Wedding is Great Juno’s Crown – for Abingdon School production of ‘As You Like It’

2013

The Calcium in their Bones – 4 part suite, for big band (performed by the Mirrors of Hall)
Three Lorenz Perspectives – 3 part suite, for improvisers utilising the M-Word Engine score system
The International Project – 5 part suite, with the Rutlish School Band
The Lord of the Flies – incidental music, with the Rutlish School Band
Recessional for Dave and Rachel – for piano (commission)

2012

Kafka’s Wound (Live) – online streaming installation
Tear Gas – for big band (performed by the Mirrors of Hall)
The Number of the Beats – for big band (performed by the Mirrors of Hall)
Tribute to John Barry – for big band (performed by the Mirrors of Hall)
Camomile – for improvisers (performed by the vLookup collective at Brighton Festival 2012)
Dolphy – for solo bass clarinet (workshopped at Brunel University by Marij van Gorkom)

2011

Duress – for improvisers (performed by CoMA London)
Marconi Echoes – written in collaboration with the Essex Symphony Orchestra, as part of the PRSF 2010-11 ‘Adopt-a-Composer’ scheme
The Planets Revisited – workshop piece devised with the Abingdon School Lower School Orchestra
Volcanicity – for improvisers
Together in Different Places – for three trombones

2010

The Turnaround – for improvisers (performed by CoMA Southwest)
Mandelson – for improvisers (performed by CoMA Southwest)

2009

Keep Going! – for junior orchestra (performed by the Abingdon School Lower School Orchestra)
Power Up – cello octet (written for Abingdon School Cello Octet)

2008

Under the Skin – for big band (performed by the Bohuslän Big Band, Gothenburg 2009 as part of the ISCM World New Music Days Festival)
Bristol (Pro-Cathedral Lane) – for soprano, clarinet and percussion (written for and performed by Gemini)

2007

Pastoral – for large orchestra (shortlisted by the Society for the Promotion of New Music, now Sound and Music)