Scottish Ensemble Releases New Film, Pardes, by Artist Jyll Bradley Feat. Music by Anna Clyne Performed by Violist Jane Atkins

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katy Salomon | Morahan Arts and Media
katy@morahanartsandmedia.com | 863.660.2214

 
Scottish Ensemble Commissions New Film, Pardes,
in Association with The Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh 

A Digital Project by Artist Jyll Bradley in Collaboration with Composer
Anna Clyne and Violist Jane Atkins that Explores our Relationship
with the Ever-Changing Natural World

Watch the Film 

“When a powerful light is concealed and clothed in a garment, it is revealed.
Though concealed, the light is actually revealed, for if it were not concealed, it could not be revealed.”

– From Pardes Rimmonim (Orchard of Pomegranates), Moses Cordovero, (1522-1570)

www.annaclyne.com
 

New York, NY (December 1, 2020) – Today, the UK’s leading string orchestra, Scottish Ensemble (SE), and Edinburgh’s The Fruitmarket Gallery release the world premiere of Pardes, a film by artist Jyll Bradley in collaboration with composer Anna Clyne and violist Jane Atkins. Part of SE’s Solo Collaborations, a series of audiovisual works born out of lockdown that celebrates cross-artform collaboration and embraces the unique possibilities of digital, Pardes uses Moses Cordovero’s (1522-1570) Pardes Rimmonim (Orchard of Pomegranates) as a starting point to create a meditation on creative potential, light and growth. Working together closely throughout the process, while adhering to all COVID-19 restrictions, Anna Clyne created new music which was then recorded at home by Scottish Ensemble violist Jane Atkins before artist Jyll Bradley created a filmed visual response. Watch Pardes. 

The film opens with the hand-making of a small-scale model of an artwork incorporating string, balsawood and twigs with light-reactive plexiglass. A mysterious, leaning structure emerges, registering between shelter, plant trellis, and stringed instrument. Placed in the light and filmed over the course of a day through time-lapse photography, the model comes alive as an organic, generative framework. Casting ever-changing colour, pattern and allusive shapes it makes visible both the sun’s powerful agency and its own creative potential. Weaving through and informing the visual realm of Pardes is a richly composed world of new music, ancient, mystical text and everyday human life. 

Pardes will be realized as a major installation for The Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland. Delayed by COVID 19, it will now be presented in November 2021. Commissioned for The Fruitmarket Gallery’s newly renovated warehouse, where fruit was once stored, Pardes draws its form from Scottish fruit growing heritage, in this case a simple, practical screen of wood, string and branches invented by a Scottish gardener to bring both sunlight and protection to their wall-growing fruit. During its life at The Fruitmarket, Pardes will also make a space for new creation and collaboration.  

Jyll Bradley says, “Pardes is a six minute meditation on making the invisible visible. The model structure revealed through the film – and which will grow in size for next year at The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh – is based on a minimal wooden screen designed by a Scottish gardener to harness the power of the sun for their wall-grown fruit. This metaphor – of the practical, spiritual and emotional ‘graft’ involved in creating a framework through which something may be revealed, be it a fruit or an artwork – lies at the core of Pardes. 

What I needed to do with the film was simple – to create a generative space for Anna and Jane. I will never forget the morning when Anna’s first music featuring Jane’s playing arrived. I sat and cried. Miraculously, although we had never met in real life and we were thousands of miles apart, as artists we had understood each other’s intentions. There was real connection. This is the first time I have worked with a composer and musician and I am so grateful to Scottish Ensemble for the gift of collaborating with two such extraordinary women creatives.”

Anna Clyne expresses, “It’s been a wonderful opportunity to create a new work in collaboration with artist Jyll and violist Jane, and to find a real creative and personal connection across the globe during this strange period of time. When I first saw Jyll’s film, I knew that I wanted the music to create a thread through the development of the film and so I sought to create a continuous stream of quavers to outline shifting harmonies and tonal centres. Jane recorded this music to a click track and from this I was able to create a delay effect – so that one voice became five – offset by a quaver and panned out in a stereo array. I was also interested by the environmental sounds of both the film (inside and outside) and also from Jyll’s studio, which included the sounds of cutting wood, background music whilst working, and sounds outside such as walking on leaves. Jyll invited a group of women, young and old, to recite and record the text from Pardes Rimmonim, which provided another layer and context to the audio. Sometimes the voices are heard alone, and other times they are layered in canon with each other. Toward the end of the film, when the imagery derived from Jyll’s art becomes more abstract and dream-like, I was able to add more layers and build a climax to the music. Thank you to the Scottish Ensemble for connecting us!”

Jenny Jamison, Chief Executive at Scottish Ensemble, said: “We are thrilled to be announcing the second in our Solo Collaborations series, particularly as it comes at a time when access to both new music and art continues to be limited. Commissioning and cross-artform collaboration are at the heart of Scottish Ensemble's identity and being able to unite artists across both art-forms and continents on this project has been a real privilege. The beautiful film that Jyll, Anna and Jane have created without ever meeting in person is testament to the power of human relationships and creativity to transcend many barriers. We look forward to seeing Pardes in situ at the Fruitmarket Gallery in November 2021.” 

About Jyll Bradley
Jyll Bradley’s installations, films, drawings and sculptures bring together the formal vigour of Minimalism with a highly personal exploration of identity and place. Light is an important protagonist in her practice, and she talks of using it to “bring things into the present.” Her work combines craftsperson-ship with industrial fabrication through dynamic pairings of materials from different art histories or traditions – for instance fluorescent Edge-Lit Plexiglas with repurposed timber. 

Bradley’s work often engages with site and the creation of new spaces. Her acclaimed public realm commissions – including Green/Light (for M.R.) for The Folkestone Triennial and Dutch/Light for Turner Contemporary – reference generative structures such as hop gardens and glasshouses, expressing what she sees as the practical, spiritual and emotional work involved in growing a sense of self, place or community. Bradley’s works have increasingly become sites of activity such as performance and, over 2021, this is further developed through the creation of a new suite of films which explore their world and ecology. These innovations reflect Bradley’s interest in sculpture as a potent gathering place of people and ideas.

Jyll Bradley studied at Goldsmiths College (1985–88) and The Slade (1991–3). Since the early 1990s she has exhibited in the UK and internationally including: The British Art Show, Hayward Gallery, London (1990); Museo De Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia (2004); Vitamin Creative Space, Guangzhou, China (2004); Arnolfini, Bristol, (2005); the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (2008); Newlyn Art Gallery (The Exchange), Penzance (2010); the Bluecoat, Liverpool (2011); The National Library of Australia (2013); The Drawing Room, London (2015, 2017, 2019, 2021); New Art Centre, Roche Court (2017); Sculpture in the City, London (2018, 2019, 2020). Her forthcoming exhibitions include a solo presentation at The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh in 2021.

Bradley’s work is held in numerous national and international private and public collections including the Government Art Collection, UK; Folkestone Art Works, UK, the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool; the National Library of Australia and Canberra Museum and Art Gallery. Learn more at http://jyllbradley.com/ 

About Anna Clyne
London-born Anna Clyne is a Grammy-nominated composer of acoustic and electro-acoustic music. Described as a “composer of uncommon gifts and unusual methods” in a New York Times profile and as “fearless” by NPR, Clyne’s work often includes collaborations with cutting-edge choreographers, visual artists, filmmakers, and musicians.

Clyne has been commissioned by a wide range of ensembles and institutions, including BBC Radio 3, BBC Scottish Symphony, Britten Sinfonia, Carnegie Hall, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Houston Ballet, London Sinfonietta, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, and the Southbank Centre. Her work has been championed by such world-renowned conductors as Marin Alsop, Pablo Heras-Casado, Riccardo Muti, Leonard Slatkin, André de Ridder, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Osmo Vänskä.

From 2010–2015, Clyne served as a Mead Composer-in-Residence for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Music Director Riccardo Muti lauded Clyne as “an artist who writes from the heart, who defies categorization, and who reaches across all barriers and boundaries. Her compositions are meant to be played by great musicians and listened to by enthusiastic audiences no matter what their background.” She has also been in residence with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, L’Orchestre national d’Île-de-France, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Berkeley Symphony, and National Sawdust. Clyne serves as the mentor composer for the Orchestra of St Luke's DeGaetano Composer Institute. Clyne is currently serving a three-year residency as Associate Composer with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, through the 2020-2021 season. The residency includes plans for a series of new works commissioned over three years.

Stride, a new work for string orchestra inspired by Beethoven's Sonata Pathétique, was recently premiered by the Australian Composers Orchestra and River Oaks Chamber Orchestra. The Knights premiered Clyne’s Shorthand for solo cello and string quartet string orchestra – a piece inspired by Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata, Janácek's first String Quartet and Tolstoy's novella The Kreutzer Sonata – at Caramoor, followed by the Orlando Symphony’s world premiere performance of the version for cello and string orchestra. Last season saw the premiere of Sound and Fury, premiered by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Pekka Kuusisto in Edinburgh; Breathing Statues, a new string quartet for Calidore Quartet, and Shorthand for solo cello and string orchestra, premiered by The Knights at Caramoor in New York. Other recent premieres include her Rumi-inspired cello concerto, DANCE, premiered with Inbal Segev at the 2019 Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, led by Cristian Macelaru; Snake & Ladder, a work for saxophone and electronics premiered by Jess Gillam at the 2019 Cheltenham Music Festival; Beltane with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Thomas Dausgaard; Three Sisters, her mandolin concerto for Avi Avital and the Kremerata Baltica; and Restless Oceans with the Taki Concordia Orchestra and Marin Alsop at the Opening Ceremony of the World Economic Forum in Davos. In July 2019, Clyne wrote and arranged music from Nico’s Marble Index for The Nico Project, a theatrical work presented by the Manchester International Festival.

Upcoming premieres include Color Field, a new work inspired by the artwork of Mark Rothko for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Overflow, a new work for wind ensemble inspired by the poetry of Emily Dickinson, for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra; The Heart of Night for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra Chorus; and Fractured Time for the Los Angeles-based Kaleidoscope Ensemble.  

Clyne is the recipient of the 2016 Hindemith Prize; a Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; awards from Meet the Composer, the American Music Center, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and the Jerome Foundation; and prizes from ASCAP and SEAMUS. She was nominated for the 2014 Times Breakthrough Award (UK).

Clyne’s music is represented on AVIE Records, Cantaloupe Music, Cedille, MajorWho Media, New Amsterdam, Resound, Tzadik, and VIA labels. Recent releases include Mythologies featuring five live performances of Clyne's works by the BBC Symphony Orchestra; DANCE/Cello Concerto featuring Inbal Segev, Marin Alsop, and the London Philharmonic; The Violin, an album of her works for multi-tracked violins with animations by artist Josh Dorman; Blue Moth, an album of her instrumental music for ensemble and tape; Night Ferry with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Riccardo Muti; and Prince of Clouds featuring Jennifer Koh and Jaime Laredo with the Curtis Chamber Orchestra on Cedille Records. Both Night Ferry and Prince of Clouds were nominated for 2015 Grammy Awards. Clyne's music is published exclusively by Boosey & Hawkes.

About Scottish Ensemble
Scottish Ensemble (SE) is the UK’s leading string orchestra; a core of outstanding string players who perform together under Artistic Director Jonathan Morton. Based in Glasgow, Scotland, SE inspires audiences in the UK and beyond with vibrant performances which are powerful, challenging and rewarding experiences, crossing genres, styles, musical periods and artistic forms to offer fresh perspectives on classical music.

SE regularly collaborates with high-profile guest artists, from trumpeter Alison Balsom and mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly to cellist Pieter Wispelwey and violinists Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Nicola Benedetti. SE is also becoming increasingly known for its international collaborations with artists from other disciplines, from dance and theatre companies to visual artists. Starting in 2014, their series of annual cross-artform collaborations has so far included immersive projects with visual artist Toby Paterson; Swedish contemporary dance company Andersson Dance; electronic-classical crossover composer Anna Meredith and visual artist Eleanor Meredith; and, Scottish theatre company Vanishing Point.

Alongside performances across Scotland, SE presents concerts across the UK, London and the globe. Recent invitations to tour abroad have resulted in engagements in Taiwan, China, Brazil, the USA and across Europe, performing at prestigious venues from the Shanghai Concert Hall (China) and the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts (USA) as well as festivals including the Edinburgh International, Edinburgh Fringe and Thuringia Bach Festivals.

SE is also committed to expanding the string repertoire, with recent commissions including new works from John Tavener, James MacMillan, Sally Beamish, Martin Suckling and Anna Meredith. Learn more at https://scottishensemble.co.uk 

About Fruitmarket Gallery
The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh is currently closed for redevelopment, they are getting ready to open again in Spring 2021 – with more space for art; a new space for cross artform collaborations; better facilities for all; and a new learning studio. The new Fruitmarket was originally due to open in summer 2020, but the coronavirus crisis seriously challenged the timing of the project. 

The Fruitmarket Gallery is committed to providing exciting opportunities and a supportive environment for artists; to creating free, welcoming, inspiring and accessible social spaces for people; and to growing and diversifying the audience for contemporary art and culture.

Since opening in 1974, the Fruitmarket has shown a wide range of artists, championing Scottish and international artists including Marina Abramovic, Jean Michel Basquiat, Claire Barclay, Phyllida Barlow, Louise Bourgeois, John Cage, Jacqueline Donachie, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Ellen Gallagher, Cai Guo-Qiang, Eva Hesse, David Hockney, Callum Innes, Jim Lambie, Gabriel Orozco, Shirin Neshat, and Mark Wallinger. During 2020, the Fruitmarket continued to innovate, offering Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller’s specially commissioned Nightwalk for Edinburgh as a naturally socially distanced outdoor digital experience as gallery doors remained closed. Learn more at www.fruitmarket.co.uk. 

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*Photo Credit: Jyll Bradley/Will Martin 2020.  

IMAGES available to download here (credit Jyll Bradley/Will Martin 2020)