Nic Pendlebury - Multiple (2022) [Hi-Res]

Multiple is my first album of music for the electric viola; all the works have either been transcribed by myself, by the composer or written specifically for the album. The title of the album reflects the fact that the works are originally composed for multiple instruments or voices and in the case of the Tallis, 40 of them. Terry Riley’s Dorian Reeds however, is scored for a single instrument, the multiple aspect of the work coming from looping delays, which accumulate and fade throughout the piece.
I believe the electric viola to have tremendous scope for timbral exploration particularly when combined with sonic manipulation and I consider it an instrument that has exciting and wide-ranging compositional possibilities. I’m fairly confident in saying that not much has been written for it in a classical sense and that this album is unique in terms of genre and sound world – I don’t believe anything like it has been heard before and I’m looking forward to commissioning and recording new works which further demonstrate the instrument’s versatility and performance qualities.
As a violist, I believe it is incumbent on me to explore ways of adding new work to our repertoire (we don’t have the largest of repertoire at our disposal) and I believe that this is an unchartered and exciting way to do so. In my opinion the viola is the most beautiful of the string instruments, combining the virtuosity of the violin and the dark sonority of the cello and so am excited to discover the plethora of new sound worlds this exciting new approach has to offer.