Emily Hall
Emily Hall has made her name by taking an often unconventional approach as a composer. With five mould-breaking operas and numerous song cycles under her belt, composing for Onyx Brass has been a fresh challenge. Two works, Eternity and Blackcurrant River, feature on the ensemble’s new album, out on 23 June on NMC.
When I was a kid, one of my neighbours was Jonathan Harvey. I remember my Dad would be like, ‘Show him your sketch!’ and I’d be like, ‘Uhhhhhh!’ But Jonathan was lovely to me. So I had really positive associations with a composer and I think that was probably quite formative, to be honest.
I love writing songs. I love collaborating, working with other people’s words and working with a singer in mind. I think that’s my ultimate collaborative triangle. I’m always on the lookout for things to set.
I wrote Eternity in 2009/10. My husband did a sound installation at an old Nazi submarine base in Bordeaux, and he wanted me to set something which dealt with eternity and infinity – because it’s a vast, cavernous space and the reverb is never ending. I found a poem by Rimbaud and actually wrote it very quickly. Onyx Brass did a lovely version of it during the pandemic, and they asked me if I would write a partner piece to go with it.
I like to feel the music beneath my fingers. I’ve just written for electric guitar, so I borrowed one from a neighbour. The brass piece was a bit strange for me, though, because I don’t have any experience with it. That was more of a ‘hope for the best’ situation, but I think that because their version of Eternity worked well, I felt I knew the approach to take. I’m in the middle of studying to be a music therapist. During the pandemic, when work was feeling like it was really slipping away from me, I made the decision to do it and I’m nearly at the end of my second year now. I think it’s very compatible with composing. My studies have made me think about how people listen to music, and how subjective it is. I’ve never really loved doing programme notes and telling people what pieces are about.
The older I get, the more I realise I want to try not to prescribe too much. Maybe they had it right in Classical times when they just called things ‘Sonata No. 1, 2, 3…’, not giving too much away!