(b. 23 April 1943, Exmouth, East Devon – d. 1 January 2005, London).
British composer of mostly chamber, electroacoustic and multimedia works that have been performed throughout the world; he was also active as an instrument inventor, researcher and writer.
Mr. Davies studied counterpoint and harmony with Edmund Rubbra and music history with Frank Harrison at the University of Oxford from 1961–64 and there earned his BA.
Among his honours were the Honorary Logos Award in Belgium (1972), honorary citizenship of the city of Baltimore (1988) and the medal of the city of Bourges (1990). His sound sculptures and sound installations have been exhibited in Europe and North America.
As an inventor, he built more than 150 musical instruments, some in collaboration with the visual artist John Furnival early in his career, and has often performed on them as a soloist and in numerous ensembles for improvisation.
As a researcher, he was active at the Groupe de Recherches Musicales in Paris in 1966–67. He founded the studio for electronic music at Goldsmiths, University of London in 1967 and served as its director from 1967–86. He also served as a consultant researcher there from 1986–91 and as the external consultant for electronic musical instruments at the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag from 1986–93.
As a writer, his books include Répertoire international des musiques électroacoustiques/International Electronic Music Catalog (1968, MIT Press; also as issue 2/3 of Electronic Music Review, 1968) and Sounds Heard (2002 [with CD], Soundworld). He has also contributed numerous articles on electronic music, its history and its instruments for various publications.
He was also active in other positions. He served as assistant to Karlheinz Stockhausen in Cologne and performed with the Stockhausen Ensemble from 1964–66. He served as a committee member of the New Macnaghten Concerts from 1968–71, of New Activities of Arts Council England in 1969–70, of the Electroacoustic Music Association from 1977–84, and of the International Confederation for Electroacoustic Music from 1982–92, for which he also served as secretary from 1982–86. In addition, he served on the board of directors of the Artist Placement Group from 1975–89.
He taught as a visiting lecturer in sonic arts at Middlesex University in London from 1999–2004.
SELECT LIST OF WORKS
CHAMBER MUSIC:
Trigon, flute, 1961–62
Episodes I, flute, clarinet, 1962
Episodes II, clarinet, 1962
Rhapsody, violin, 1963
Moonlight, variable ensemble (alto saxophone, trumpet, trombone, electric guitar, accordion, cymbal [or other instruments with a similar range]), 1964
Mobile with Differences, 5 portable concert instruments with a specific range, live electronics, 1973, revised 1982
Differentials, 3 high wind instruments with a specific range, 1973–75
Meldoci Gestures, flute/violin, cello, piano, 1978
Meldoci Gestures from the British Isles, flute, tuba/other bass instrument, 1979
Three Handelian Angels Intertwined, clarinet, violin, cello, 1980
Fanfare, 5 trumpets, 1991
Natural Images, any number of amplified instruments (+ amplified objects) (1 player), fixed media (2 tracks), 1992 (version of electroacoustic work)
Inventio, any improvisational player, ensemble (flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet/bassoon, viola, 2 cellos, synthesizer/electric piano, accordion/electronic keyboard), 1994
CHORAL:
Three Carols on Latin Texts (texts from anonymous sources), female chorus, 1963
Choireography (text by the composer), 16 mixed voices, 1974
VOCAL:
Vom ertrunkenen Mädchen (text by Bertolt Brecht), soprano, flute, clarinet, piano, 1964
Haiku (text by the composer), soprano, piano, 1974
Ex una voce (texts by the composer, anonymous sources), tenor, synthesizer, 1979
Four Songs (texts by the composer, anonymous sources), voice, any melody instrument with the same range, 1979–81
Rapport (text by the composer), soprano, flute, piano, 1981
PIANO:
Three Pieces, 1962
Variations, 1962
Contact, 1963
Raisonnements, 1973
Master Domenico's Humpback – Interrupted Tango, 1985
Trois Amorces en forme de poireau (Three Beginnings in the Form of a Leek), 1995
ORGAN:
Kangaroo, 1968
ELECTROACOUSTIC:
Taken for a Ride!, fixed media (1 track), 1967
Quintet, live electronics (5 players), 1967–68
Interfaces, fixed media (4 tracks), live electronics (6 players), 1967–68 (also version for fixed media [4 tracks], live electronics [2 players], 1967–68)
Natural Images, fixed media (2 tracks), 1976 (also version for any number of amplified instruments [+ amplified objects] [1 player], fixed media [2 tracks])
Tapestries, fixed media (2 tracks), 1982–83
Vision, fixed media (4 tracks), 1987 (also version for fixed media [2 tracks], 1987)
Celeritas, fixed media (2 tracks), 1987
From Trees and Rocks, fixed media, 2000 (music for exhibition at Kolumba, Cologne)
Postojnski Zvoncert – Postojna Bell-Concert, fixed media, 2003 (concert version of sound installation)
MULTIMEDIA/PERFORMANCE:
Music for Car-Horns, 15 or more car horns, 1967–69
The Birth of Live Electronic Music, 2 vocal noisemakers, Stroh violin, sound balancer, 1971
Beautiful Seaweeds, 2–6 dancers/mimes, any 2–6 players, slide projections (from book Beautiful Seaweeds by James Cook), 1972–73
The Musical Educator (text by the composer, after anthology The Musical Educator), speaker, 2 dancers/mimes, piano, harmonium, slide projections (from anthology The Musical Educator), 1974
The Pianoforte (text by the composer, after anthology The Musical Educator), speaker, piano, 1974
The Search for the Music of the Spheres (text by the composer; actors also wear specially-made amplified laboratory coats), 4 actors (all with specially-made amplified props), sound balancer, slide projections (by the composer), 1978
At Home, any number of invented instruments (1 player), 1978
I Have a Dream, dancer/mime (with specially-made props, specially-made amplified props), fixed media (4 tracks), slide projections (compiled by the composer), 1984–85 (also version for dancer/mime [with specially-made props, specially-made amplified props], fixed media [2 tracks], slide projections [compiled by the composer], 1987)
Tintinnabularia Coloniensis (sound installation: a great variety of bells from throughout the world, including some homemade, installed in the underground ruins of the prætorium in Cologne, played by visitors with remote controls; also 2 bells in the foyer sounded by a pair of rotating electric fans), 2001
Soft Winds Do Blow (sound installation: a gallery room containing invented instruments and sound objects played by any small number of rotating electric fans, also by visitors with a foot pump; outdoors, a large Aeolian harp with strings struck by weighted flags), 2002
Postojnski Zvoncert (sound installation: bells from throughout the world, including some homemade, installed in a cave in Postojna, Slovenia, played by visitors with remote controls; fixed media), 2003 (also concert version for fixed media)
WORKS FOR INVENTED INSTRUMENTS:
Shozyg I, player, 1968
Shozyg II, player, 1968
Shozyg I+II, 2 players, 1968
Spring Song, player, 1970
Shozyg Sequence No. 1, player, 1971
H. D. Breadbins, 4/5 players, 1972
Gentle Springs, 4/5 players, 1973
Music for Bowed Diaphragms, player, 1973
My Spring Collection, player, 1975
Salad, player, 1977
Shozyg Sequence No. 2, player, 1977
Jigamaree, any youth ensemble (with self-built instruments), 1977
Music for a Single Spring, player, 1977
Music for Two Springs, player, 1977
Music for Three Springs, player, 1977
Organic Rhythms, player, 1981
Strata, player, fixed media (2/4 tracks), 1987
Shozyg Sequence No. 3, player, 1990–92
Embellishments, player/2 players, 1994, revised 1997
Porcupine, player, 2000
ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS/DOCUMENTATION (verbal listening and realisation scores based on environmental sounds and objects):
Environmental Music Projects (4 environmental projects), 1969–78
Sounds Heard, 1969–2004 (unfinished)