(b. 15 January 1966, Birmingham, West Midlands).
British composer, now resident in the United Arab Emirates, of mostly chamber, vocal and piano works that have been performed throughout Europe and in the Middle East; he is also active as a pianist.
Mr. Lesser studied composition with Philip Cannon at the Royal College of Music in London in 1985–86, where he also studied recorder with Ross Winter from 1985–90 and piano with Robert Sutherland from 1985–95. He then studied composition with Margaret Lucy Wilkins at the University of Huddersfield from 1991–93, where he earned his MA. He also studied composition privately with Simon Bainbridge from 1986–88, Michael Finnissy in 1993 and James Dillon in 1994 and recorder privately with Paul Clark from 1982–85 and Alan Davis from 1989–91.
As a pianist, his specialty is contemporary music and he often works with his wife, the coloratura soprano Clare Lesser.
He is also active in other positions. He sang as a chorister and later as head chorister at St. Martin in the Bull Ring in Birmingham from 1978–82. He served as ensemble director in the première in the UK of Sternklang by Karlheinz Stockhausen in 1992 and later served as joint regional coordinator for the organisation Contemporary Music for All.
He taught as a tutor at the arts centre mac in Birmingham from 1986–93 and as a lecturer at the University of Warwick in Coventry from 1993–99, where he was a part-time tutor from 1994–2005, a senior teaching fellow from 2000–05 and Open Studies Certificate Coordinator from 2005–07. He also taught piano and recorder for the Lyndon Humanities College in Solihull, the Lyndon Music Centre in Solihull and the Solihull Music Service from 1993–2007. He later lectured at the American University in Dubai and the American University of Sharjah.
He has lived in the United Arab Emirates since 2007.
COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS
ORCHESTRAL:
Wavedark, recorders, 1985
Darkening Images, 1990
CHAMBER MUSIC:
Te lucis ante terminum, bass recorder, piano, 1984
Three Pieces, oboe, piano, 1984
Passion Tropes, oboe, 1984, revised 2000
Scape, cello, 1985
The Dawn of Dreams, viola, 1987
Words in the Dark, alto recorder, 1988
Gloria tibi trinitas, recorders, 1988
Ghosts, cello, 1988
Pages Condamnés, alto recorder, piano, 1989
Spells and Incantations, oboe, piano, 1991
Five Fantasias from 'Haiku', flute (+ alto flute), clarinet (+ bass clarinet), harp, violin, viola, cello, marimba, 1992 (shorter version of Haiku)
Liber Hymnorum I, cello, 1993 (shorter version of Hymns and Fragments)
Orkney Aphorisms, A-clarinet obbligato, ensemble (flute, violin, viola, cello), 1993
Liber Hymnorum II, cello, 1994
Snare, flute, piano, 1994
Gestures of Loss, recorders, 1994
Charlie's Farewell, clarinet, 1995
Remembrances of Nothing, flute, alto flute/fixed media, 1996
Deus miserere – Si ascenderò, alto recorder, 1997
Sorge (two studies), violin, viola, cello, 1998
Elegies III, flute (+ alto flute, stones), A-clarinet (+ stones), bass clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano, percussion, 1998
Call, French horn, 1998
Rain and Stone (In Memoriam – Ted Hughes 1930–1998), bass flute, harp, viola, percussion, 1998
Beginning, cello, 1998 (also version for viola, 1998)
Discourses Inscribed in Air, soprano recorder (+ alto recorder), alto recorder (+ tenor recorder), tenor recorder (+ bass recorder), 2000
Mobile, B-flat trumpet, 2000
'...für einen Augenblick die Tanzfigur...', tenor recorder, 2001
Shroud Tracing, 3 alto recorders (all + stones), 2002
Briefe an..., amplified bass recorder, live electronics, 2003
Advent, piccolo, B-flat flügelhorn, 2003
Andachtsbild I, bass clarinet, trombone, harp, viola, double bass, piano, percussion, 2004
Andachtsbild II, 2 flutes (both + piccolo), E-flat clarinet, clarinet, alto trombone, trombone, bass trombone, harp, viola, double bass, piano, percussion, 2004
Scar, French horn, double bass, 3 percussion, 2008
Two Inscriptions, clarinet, piano, 2008
Geschrieben an der Wand, alto recorder, oboe, bassoon, guitar, cello, percussion, 2008
Regenlieder, A-clarinet, viola, 2008
Altri lagrima lontanza, flute obbligato, ensemble (piccolo, bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano, accordion), 2009
Losing You, alto flute, oboe d'amore, double bass, 2010
Interrogating Night, alto recorder, violin, cello, fixed media, 2010
...Hirten und weißen Sternen, 2 amplified headjoints of a bass recorder, 2012
Shards, alto flute (+ bass flute, piccolo), bass clarinet, French horn, harp, cimbalom, 2 violins, viola, cello, 2012
Vestige II, any trumpet, 2012
CHORAL:
Anthem for an Anniversary (text by Kathleen Norcross), 4 mixed voices, organ, 1997
There is no rose (anthem), 4 mixed voices, 1999
VOCAL:
Haiku (text by Matsuo Bashō [translated by Lucien Stryk]), soprano, oboe obbligato, ensemble (flute [+ alto flute], clarinet [+ bass clarinet], harp, violin, viola, cello, marimba), 1992 (also shorter versions as Eight Haiku, soprano, oboe, 1992; Five Fantasias from 'Haiku', flute [+ alto flute], clarinet [+ bass clarinet], harp, violin, viola, cello, marimba)
Hymns and Fragments (text from an anonymous source in Anglo-Saxon [translated by the composer]), soprano, cello, 1993 (also shorter version as Liber Hymnorum I, cello)
Tränen... (text by Andreas Gryphius), high soprano, alto recorder, harpsichord, percussion, 1994
Virgil Settings (text by Virgil), female voice, 1995
Zwei Gedichte (text by Nikolaus Lenau), high voice, piano, 1995
O ignis spiritus (trope, text by St. Hildegard of Bingen, adapted by Clare Lesser), female voice, 1997
Avernus, soprano, piano, 1999
Branches (text by Arthur Rimbaud), soprano, clarinet (+ bass clarinet), trumpet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 2000
Three Ancient Names (text by Callimachus), soprano, clarinet, cello, 2000
Soleil Noir (text by Gérard de Nerval), soprano, bass clarinet (+ contrabass clarinet), cello, piano, accordion, percussion, 2000
Ferne Tränen I–III (song-cycle, text by Andreas Gryphius), mezzo-soprano, trombone, violin, piano, button accordion, 2001 (its three sections may be performed separately)
'...et fait l'abîme fleurant...' (text by Arthur Rimbaud), soprano (+ 3 suspended crotales), clarinet, double bass, button accordion, 2002
Concerning the Ibis (text by Ovid), soprano (+ finger cymbals), E-flat clarinet, button accordion, 2002
Vestige I (text by Georg Trakl), any voice, 2012
PIANO:
Nachtstücke, 1991
Schattenbilder, 1995
Feuilles, 1998
Je sais les cieux crevant en éclairs, 2001
Les Noirs, 2003
Andachtsbild III, 2004
La Trépigneuse, 2008
HARPSICHORD:
Elegies I, 1996