Richard Gavin Bryars (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer and double bassist. He has worked in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

free improvisation Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any general rules, instead following the intuition of its performers. The term can refer to both a technique—employed by any musician in any genre—and as a recognizable genre of ...

, minimalism, historicism,

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

, and

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

Early life and career

Born on 16 January 1943 in

Goole Goole is a port town and civil parish on the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town's Historic counties of England, historic county is the West Riding of Yorkshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom censu ...

, in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...

, England, Bryars attended Goole Grammar School. He studied philosophy at Sheffield University but became a jazz bassist during his three years as a philosophy student. The first musical work for which he is remembered was his role as bassist in the trio Joseph Holbrooke, alongside guitarist Derek Bailey and drummer

Tony Oxley Tony Oxley (15 June 1938 – 26 December 2023) was an English free improvisation, free improvising drummer and electronic musician. Born in Sheffield, Oxley moved to London in 1966 and became house drummer at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club where he ...

. The trio began by playing relatively traditional

– they toured with saxophonist Lee Konitz in 1966 – before moving into

. Bryars became dissatisfied with this when he saw a young bassist (later revealed to be Johnny Dyani) play in a manner that seemed to him to be artificial, and he abandoned improvisation, becoming interested in composition instead. In 1998 the trio reformed briefly, giving two live performances and making recordings. Bryars's first compositions owe much to the New York School of

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and Extended technique, non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one ...

(with whom he briefly studied), Morton Feldman, Earle Brown and minimalism. One of his earliest pieces, '' The Sinking of the Titanic'' (1969), is an indeterminist work that allows the performers to take a number of sound sources related to the sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'' and make them into a piece of music. The first recording of this piece appeared on

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

's Obscure Records in 1975. The 1994 recording was remixed by

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), known professionally as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, composer and DJ active in electronic music since 1988. His idiosyncratic work has drawn on many styles, including techno, ambient music, ambi ...

as ''Raising the Titanic'' (later collected on the '' 26 Mixes for Cash'' album). In 2012, the centenary of the Titanic's sinking, Bryars made a new extended version, with film projections by Bill Morrison and Laurie Olinder, that included his four children as a low-string ensemble (viola, 2 cellos, bass) and turntablist Philip Jeck, subsequently released on GB records (BCGBCD21 2013) Another well-known early work is ''

Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet ''Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet'' is a 1971 composition by Gavin Bryars based on a Tape loop, loop of an unknown homeless man singing a brief improvised stanza. Rich harmonies, comprising String instrument, string and Brass instrument, bras ...

'' (1971), which has as its basis a recorded loop of a homeless man singing a musical fragment that the old man had improvised. On top of that loop, rich harmonies played by a live ensemble are built, always increasing in density, before the whole thing gradually fades out. A recording of this work was made in 1993 with

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

singing along with the original recording of the vagrant during the final section. Bryars was a founding member in May 1970 of the Portsmouth Sinfonia, an orchestra whose membership consisted of performers who "embrace the full range of musical competence" – and who played popular classical works. Its members included

, whose Obscure Records label would subsequently release works by Bryars. In one of the label's first three releases, Eno's album '' Discreet Music'', Bryars conducted and co-arranged ''Three Variations on the Canon in D Major by Johann Pachelbel'', which constitutes the second half of the album. The 1992 composition ''A Man in a Room Gambling'' was written on commission from Artangel. Bryars's music is heard beneath monologues spoken by the Spanish artist Juan Muñoz, who talks about methods of cheating at card games (drawing on '' The Expert at the Card Table'' by S. W. Erdnase). The ten short works were played on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

without any introductory announcements, and Bryars wrote that Muñoz hoped they would appear to the listener in a similar way to the '' Shipping Forecast'', "bemused by this fleeting and perhaps enigmatic curiosity." Bryars has written many other works, including five operas, and many instrumental pieces, among them four

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

s and several concertos. He has written several pieces for dance, including ''Biped'' (1999) for Merce Cunningham, as well as works for William Forsythe, Carolyn Carlson, Edouard Lock and David Dawson. In 1981–1984 Bryars participated in '' the CIVIL warS'', a vast, never-completed multimedia project by Robert Wilson, who also directed his first opera, ''Medea''. His cello concerto ''Farewell to Philosophy'' was recorded in 1996 by Julian Lloyd Webber. He has also written a large body of vocal and choral music for groups such as the Hilliard Ensemble, the Latvian Radio Choir, the Estonian National Men's Choir, Red Byrd, Trio Mediaeval, Singer Pur, Nordic Voices and The Crossing, whose recording of "The Fifth Century" won a Grammy in 2019. He has written a great deal for early music performers including six books of madrigals, several works for viol consort and a collection of 54 "laude" based on a 12th century manuscript. Bryars' ''When Harry Met Addie'' (a tribute to jazz singer Adelaide Hall and saxophonist Harry Carney) was premiered at the

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

Memorial Concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, on 1 May 1999. The piece was performed by the London Sinfonietta Big Band and commissioned by the baritone saxophonist/bass clarinettist John Surman. Cristina Zavalloni sang the soprano and the London Sinfonietta Big Band was conducted by Diego Masson· Bryars founded the music department at Leicester Polytechnic (now

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body ...

), and was Professor of Music there for several years. He left in 1994 to concentrate on composition and performance. He lives in England, and, for part of the year, on the west coast of Canada. Since 1986 Bryars has run The Gavin Bryars Ensemble with his preferred musicians, consisting chiefly of low strings. Now, in addition, this regularly includes his children (2 cellos, piano and double bass) Since 1974 Bryars has been a member of the Collège de 'Pataphysique and was elected Regent in 2001. In 2015 he was named Transcendent Satrap, the highest honour in the Collège, a position he shares with Marcel Duchamp,

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American naturalized French visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, ...

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; ; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre#Avant-garde, French avant-garde th ...

, Umberto Eco, and others. In 2020, Bryars composed ''Altissima Luce'' for Sound World’s Coronavirus Fund for Freelance Musicians, a project supporting struggling musicians during the UK’s Covid 19 lockdown. It was included on the album ''Reflections'' alongside specially written pieces by other composers such as Nico Muhly, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Evelyn Glennie and Sally Beamish. In 2023, Bryars collaborated with Goole band Sandra's Wedding on their new EP, "Another Rugby League Town". Also in 2023, Bryars provided a special guest vocal for experimental composer Bill Vine's work, "Norwich Under the Water". The piece premiered at Norwich Cathedral in August 2023. In November 2024, Bryars received the

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

for Innovation, presented in association with the Musicians' Union, at The Ivors Classical Awards.

Personal life

Bryars is married to Anna Tchernakova, a

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n filmmaker, and has a stepdaughter and son. Bryars has two daughters from his first marriage.

Selected works

* '' The Sinking of the Titanic'' (1969, first performance: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 1972) * '' Necropolis'', soundtrack for Franco Brocani film (1970) * ''

'' (for pre-recorded tape and ensemble), 1972 * ''Medea'' (opera, libretto after Euripides), 1982, revised 1984 and 1995 * ''CIVIL WarS'' (incomplete opera collaboration with Robert Wilson), 1984. Some sections of the music exist in completed form, as follows: ** ''On Photography'' for Chorus (SATB), harmonium, piano ** ''2B'' for Percussion ensemble ** ''Arias For Marie Curie, The Queen of the Sea, Captain Nemo, The Japanese Bride'' * String Quartet No. 1 ''Between the National and the Bristol'', 1985 * ''Cadman Requiem'' (dedicated to Bill Cadman, his sound recordist, who perished in Pan Am 103), 1989 * String Quartet No. 2, 1990 * ''A Man in a Room, Gambling'', for speaking voice and string quartet (text: Juan Muñoz), 1992 * ''The War in Heaven'', cantata for soprano, counter tenor, chorus and orchestra * ''The North Shore'' for viola and piano, 1993 * ''Three Elegies for Nine Clarinets'', 1994 * ''Cello Concerto Farewell to Philosophy, 1995 * ''Adnan Songbook'', 1996 * '' Doctor Ox's Experiment'', opera, 1998 * ''String Quartet no.3'', 1998 * ''Biped – music for the dance by Merce Cunningham'', 1999 * ''When Harry Met Addie'' - music for soprano voice (vocalise) and big band, 1999 * ''G'' (''Being the Confession and Last Testament of Johannes Gensfleisch, also known as Gutenberg, Master Printer, formerly of Strasbourg and Mainz''), opera, 2002. *''I Have Heard It Said That a Spirit Enters'', 2002 * ''Nothing like the Sun – 8 Shakespeare sonnets'' for soprano, tenor, speaking voice, eight instruments, 2007 * ''Piano Concerto ("The Solway Canal")'', 2010 * ''Marilyn Forever'' - opera, 2013 * ''Hövdingar hittast (Heroes Meet)'', 2014 with Rúni Brattaberg (bass) and Eivør Pálsdóttir (soprano) - A collection of pieces based on Faroese and Icelandic sagas * ''Pneuma'' - ballet, 2014, with Carolyn Carlson * ''The Seasons'' - ballet, 2014, with Edouard Lock * ''11th Floor'' - ballet with Edouard Lock * '' The Fifth Century'' - cantata for choir and saxophone quartet, text from Thomas Traherne, 2014 * ''The Heart of August'' - ballet with Eduard Lock * ''The Collected Works of Billy the Kid'', chamber opera, text by

Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer and essayist. Ondaatje's literary career began with his poetry in 1967, publishing ''The Dainty Monsters'', and then in 1970 the critically a ...

, 2018 * ''Requiem'' - ballet with David Dawson Dutch National Ballet, for full orchestra, choir and four soloists 2019 * ''A Native Hill'' - large a cappella choral work for The Crossing, setting Wendell Berry 2019 * ''Altissima Luce'' - trio for bass-clarinet, viola and cello * ''String Quartet no.4'', 2020 * ''Wittgenstein Fragments'' for soprano, flute and string quartet 2021 * ''In Là'' collaboration for installation with sculptor Massimo Bartolini, Prato, Italy 2022 * ''Strng Sextet ("The Bridges of Könisberg")'' 2022 * ''Three New Gnossiennes (after Satie)'' in memoriam Ornella Volta 2022 * ''The Bridges of Königsberg'' 2023

References

Annexes

Bibliography

* Jean-Louis Tallon, ''Gavin Bryars, en paroles, en musique'', le Mot et le reste, 2020 ()

Filmography

* Jacqueline Caux, ''Dolce voce'', 2012 *
ECM50 , 1990 Gavin Bryars
' (2019), a short film portrait of Gavin Bryars and his work with ECM Records, shot at his house in Leicestershire

External links

*
BBC interview (2004)

* ttps://ethaniverson.com/interview-with-gavin-bryars/ Interview with Gavin Bryars(2017) by Ethan Iverson
Cello Concerto Reviews
* :lt:Gavinas Bryarsas {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryars, Gavin 1943 births 20th-century British classical composers 20th-century English composers 21st-century British classical composers Academics of De Montfort University Alumni of the University of Sheffield Contemporary classical music performers ECM Records artists English classical composers English double-bassists British male double-bassists EMI Classics and Virgin Classics artists English experimental musicians English opera composers Experimental composers Historicist composers Living people English male opera composers Minimalist composers Musicians from Yorkshire People from Goole Postminimalist composers 21st-century British double-bassists 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians Joseph Holbrooke (band) members