Composition I
with photographer EMMA AMSDEN and composer DANNY LANE
“…music can represent shapes, emotions, and even stories..”
Music composed by Danny Lane, text by Ruth Montgomery via Emma Amsden.
Award-winning photographer Emma Amsden is profoundly deaf, and her photographs of the Yorkshire Dales often emphasise the isolation she feels in “a world without sound”. Emma was chosen by Ruth to visually represent ‘Composition’.
Working together with Danny Lane, Deaf composer, three of Emma’s photographs have been transformed into a musical art form.
Using her native language, British Sign Language, Emma talked in great detail about her background and upbringing and how it relates to her photography. Danny’s subsequent composition, ‘The Amsden’s Yorkshire Suite’, captures the essence of each chosen photograph whilst encompassing Emma’s background, life story, and passion for photography.
Each photograph is accompanied by one movement of The Amsden’s Yorkshire Suite. Ruth asked Danny to write the suite for The Forte Ensemble, a UK-based classical ensemble consisting solely of Deaf musicians. The composition was written for flute, violin, flugal horn/cornet/trumpet, and piano.
The Ribblehead of Runscar represents the oppression and isolation that Emma felt during one particularly dark period of life. Her deafness means that society does not understand her or communicate with her, causing isolation and frustration. The music can be heard to tie in closely with and represent the photograph – the dark rocks are heard at the forefront of the composition on the piano, whilst the flute’s quick ascending and descending scales depict the arches of the bridge. The flat planes are represented by the stillness of the violin and cornet.
Reaching Tree Come embodies a turning point in Emma’s life, illustrating a time when she was moving on from her past and yearning for happiness. For this movement, Danny used traditional Yorkshire folk melody, The Song of the Swale, heard at the beginning and the end of the movement. The melody is played with thought and reflection by the flugelhorn which injects a sense of warmth into the music. Also tying in with the music is that fact that Yorkshire has a strong heritage of brass bands, making the prominent flugelhorn solo even more poignant.
The Wild Garlic Flowers is a photograph taken in a moment of joy. Emma’s sense of discovery and happiness can be felt in the bright colours of the photograph as the whites and greens stand out against the darkened backdrop of the woods. This is the most upbeat movement of the suite. Written in 11/8, the movement maintains a slightly off-beat ‘wobble’, giving it a sense of excitement and anticipation. In this movement, The Song of the Swale is picked up once more playing freely with a jazz swing (giving it a rebellious edge!), punctuated by the percussive rhythm on the violin. The suite ends in unison on a high note.
The FORTE Ensemble had the privilege of performing The Amsden’s Yorkshire Suite at the Dean Clough Gallery in Halifax, Yorkshire – not far from Emma’s own home. It was performed as part of Music and the Deaf’s Winter Recital where Emma and her partner, Tony, were guests. The special performance began with a short BSL presentation about Emma’s work by Ruth Montgomery. The FORTE Ensemble then performed the music whilst words (which were projected onto a large screen along with the photographs) were interpreted into BSL. What was most striking was the level of feedback from the audience - many deaf people commented that they hadn’t realised that music can represent shapes, emotions, and even stories. Emma and Tony were also very moved, saying that it was a unique and emotional occasion.
