Sydney Vale

Senior Citizen

Composer/Lyricist:	Composer
Genre:	Concert
Email:	svale@zoom.co.uk

Biography

Born in London 1931, but lived the early part of his life in Brussels and Paris before finally settling in England at the age of 14. He studied Composition, Piano and Conducting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London where he graduated in Harmony and Counterpoint. His composition teachers were Robert Barclay-Wilson, Alfred Nieman and later at, Morley College, Jeremy Dale-Roberts and Harrison Birtwistle.

Sydney Vale is a unique musical and literary authority on Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891), a renegade and mystic French poet whose work extended far into the realm of new visions and prophetic utterances for the future.

He was a member of possibly the first avant-garde "Group Improvisation" ensemble in England in the sixties, directed by Alfred Nieman.

After his conservatory days, an early flirtation with avant-garde and serial techniques soon gave way to a more tonally free and dramatic style with an undoubted influence from French composers.

His works includes orchestral, vocal and instrumental pieces as well as scores for video productions.

He is a founder and active member of New Music Brighton, a city where he now resides. His works are often performed there and in London and, in particular, in the framework of the international Brighton Festival. One of his most powerful recent works are four arias from his opera "A Season in Hell", a work in progress, with a bi-lingual libretto by the composer, retracing the life of Arthur Rimbaud with settings of many of his poems.

All the below works are published by:
Modus Music, 21 Canonbury Road, Enfield, Middlesex EN1 2ES Tel: 020 8363 2663 www.modusmusic.org
unless otherwise indicated.

Important Works		Performances
Quatre Poemes de Rimbaud (1965) High voice and piano (unpublished) Piano Sonata No.1 (1967) (unpublished) Baga (1973) A Music Theatre piece for tenor, baritone, two sopranos, flute, clarinet, piano, two percussion and 'cello (text in French by Robert Pinget, with an English translation by the composer) (unpublished) Sinfonia (1977) for string orchestra Octet (1981) for clarinet in B flat, bassoon, horn, two violins, viola, 'cello and double bass L'Ultima Porta (1986) for solo vibraphone Towards the Lighted Town (1993) for flute, clarinet in B flat, vibraphone, violin and violoncello Four Guitar Preludes (1997) 1. Celebration; 2. Night Rain; 3. Shadows; 4.El Huerto del Cura Mr Gould, Mr Goldberg still cannot sleep (1999) for solo piano Quatre Airs de Rimbaud (pour tenor et orchestre) (1999) (extraits de l'opera "Une saison en enfer") Four Rimbaud Arias (for tenor and orchestra)(1999) (from the opera "A Season in Hell") Momentum (1999) for solo guitar December Sun (2001) for flute, guitar and viola Piano Sonata No.2 (2004)		None added