Guto Puw


Guto Pryderi Puw is a Welsh composer, university lecturer and conductor. He is considered to be one of the most prominent Welsh composers of his generation and a key figure in current Welsh music. Puw's music has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and been featured on television programmes for the BBC and S4C. He has twice been awarded the Composer's Medal at the National Eisteddfod.
Puw's works include pieces for unusual combinations of instruments, such as a tuba quartet or a trio consisting of harp, cello and double-bass, as well as more traditional forces such as solo baritone and piano, choir or orchestra. He was associated with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales as its Resident Composer, the first holder of this title, from 2006 to 2010. Puw's own Welsh identity is a recurrent theme in his music: some of his pieces set Welsh-language poetry to music and one of his pieces, Reservoirs, is written about the flooding of Welsh valleys to provide water for England.

Biography

Born in Parc, Puw studied music composition at Bangor University with John Pickard, Andrew Lewis and Pwyll ap Siôn. Puw was awarded with a MMus degree in 1996 and a PhD degree in 2002. He was then awarded an Arts Council of Wales bursary and studied with the composer John Metcalf. Puw was appointed as a Lecturer in Music at Bangor University in 2006, having previously been a Teaching Fellow in Music from 2004. A Welsh speaker, he has been the Welsh Medium Teaching Fellow for the School of Music. He was the founding member and conductor for Côr Cyntaf i'r Felin, a Welsh-language choir based in Y Felinheli near Bangor.
Puw has received commissions from BBC Radio 3, the Welsh baritone Jeremy Huw Williams, the Bangor New Music Festival and the North Wales International Music Festival. He was appointed the first Resident Composer with BBC National Orchestra of Wales in 2006 and held this position until 2010. During this time, Puw wrote a concerto for oboe and an orchestral piece, ... onyt agoraf y drws..., which was first performed to critical acclaim at the 2007 Proms.
He has been active in the promotion of new music in north Wales through his involvement with the , being its Artistic Director and founding member since 2000. In 2014 he received the Sir Geraint Evans Award by the for his ‘significant contribution to Welsh music.’

Music

Welsh links

Puw's music is rooted in the language and literature of Wales, with a particular affinity to the poetry of R. S. Thomas. Welsh titles and settings of poetry in Welsh, such as Mecanwaith, Dawns y Sêr, and ... onyt agoraf y drws..., feature in his work. He has won the Composer's Medal at the National Eisteddfod of Wales twice, winning it first in 1995 for a harp piece, Ffantasia II. In 1997, when the Eisteddfod was held in Bala, he won the Medal for a string quartet, Mecanwaith – this piece was later featured in S4C's television series Y Cyfansoddwyr. Mecanwaith has also been performed by the Duke Quartet at the 1998 Bath International Music Festival and the 1999 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.

Orchestral works

Puw's oboe concerto was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and was premiered by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and their principal oboist David Cowley at Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon, on 27 April 2006. It takes its inspiration from different qualities of the human voice, including stutters and chatterboxes. Puw has said that "The second movement is inspired by talkative people who won't let you contribute to a conversation", represented by a repeated row of 13 notes played until "it gets rather unbearable". It was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 1 March 2007 as part of a programme of music by Welsh composers to celebrate St David's Day. The concerto won Puw the 2007 BBC Radio 3 Listeners Award at the British Composer Awards.
His orchestral piece Reservoirs was inspired by a 1968 poem by R. S. Thomas about the drowning of Welsh valleys such as Tryweryn and Clywedog to provide water for England. Puw had a particular affinity with the topic as his grandfather lost farmland in the Tryweryn flooding. Nevertheless, he has said that he "decided not to take the poem too literally because as a composer you can be subject to criticism for doing that." It was nominated in 2005 in the Large-Scale Composition category of the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards. The music was used in a BBC2 Wales documentary, "Drowning a Village", broadcast on 9 March 2006. A performance by BBC NOW was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as part of the 2005 Vale of Glamorgan Festival.
As part of his association with BBC NOW, Puw was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 to compose for the 2007 Proms. His orchestral piece,... onyt agoraf y drws... was premiered on 9 August 2007, conducted by David Atherton. It is based on a story from the Mabinogion, a collection of medieval Welsh tales, in which a group of warriors, lately returned from Ireland, feast in Harlech for seven years with the severed head of their leader at the head of the table. They then feast in Penfro for eighty years in a hall with three doors, and only remember the dreadful events that happened in Ireland when the third door opens. Each of the three doors in Penfro was represented by an instrument in a box in the Royal Albert Hall.
In recent years, each movement of his lyrical Violin Concerto - Soft Stillness uses quotations from the 5th Act of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice as inspiration. The orchestral work Camouflage is constructed from different layers of textures created by various instrumental combinations. The repeated two-note motif introduced at the beginning and later the ascending scales are gradually concealed within thick blocks of orchestral textures. Often these blocks have been constructed from layers of identical ideas that are repeated within a passage, similar to a pattern found in a typical camouflage.

Opera and Music Theatre

In 2009 Hadau was commissioned by the National Eisteddfod of Wales to be performed alongside an installation by artist Christine Mills at the Lle Celf pavilion. Scored for soprano, harp and narrator, the work was inspired by the strong Cerdd Dant tradition particularly found in rural communities of Meirionnydd and other parts of the country.
Earlier in 2017 Puw completed his first chamber opera Y Tŵr based on the play by the Welsh playwright, Gwenlyn Parry and to libretto by Gwyneth Glyn. The opera in three acts explores the relationship and emotions between two characters during three specific periods in their lives, during youth, middle age and finally, old age. The composer's use of atonal musical language, octatonic scales and the occasional tonal passage are directly linked with the various emotions of the characters and the unfolding of the drama.

Other works

Unusual instrumentation and unusual performance techniques, including elements of improvisation, are also important features of his work. In 1998 he composed X-ist, a piece for IST. It was described by reviewers as a "frighteningly frantic" and "challenging" piece. X-ist uses a graphic score and includes written directions to the players that act as "creative stimuli", containing notes and motifs to be followed. The piece also requires the cellist and double-bassist to tap their instruments, as well as use normal playing methods. Another piece requiring improvisation by performers was his commission for the 2001 Bangor New Music Festival, Trioled, which was written for ensemble and optional dancer. In his performing notes, Puw describes the pieces as a "stimulus for musical improvisation" in which any notes, normal or extended musical techniques and/or percussive effects may be applied. Trioled has two contrasting sub-sections, a and b, arranged in the form a-b-a-a-a-b-a-b to match the Welsh poetic measure of the same name, with the strings playing calmly in the "a" sections, and saxophone and keyboard playing in a more lively manner in the "b" sections. The musicians and the dancer are required to react to each other's contributions in each section to create a "multi-media" experience.
Visages, his 1999 piece for 2 tubas and 2 euphoniums, was described as "astringent, often whimsical but well written for these instruments". Puw said that in the piece "Freedom is granted to the performers to make any subtle facial expressions that add to the musical interpretation". Puw describes Ffantasia III as an "intimate reflection" upon the music of, and a tribute to, Robert Schumann, his "intricate compositional style" and "world of delicate expression". The music becomes "simpler and softer" throughout the piece, moving from the "rhythmic complexity" of the opening bars through to slow quavers transforming into triplets. An ensemble piece, different light was "inspired by the idea of moving a picture from one place to another, be it to another house, or from one room to the next, or even from one wall to another." As the picture is moved, it looks the same but is perceived in a different light. Puw attempts to convey this in musical terms by having each instrument enter separately with its own musical phrase in the first part of the piece. Then, in the second part of the piece, all the thematic material is repeated with the instruments playing simultaneously, so that the music is similarly perceived in a different light. different light was featured at the 2001 UKwithNY festival at the Angel Orensanz Center in New York City. His 2005 composition for the Bangor New Music Festival, Stereo Type, was written for amplified typewriters and tape. It was premiered by School of Music students from Bangor University in the Deiniol Shopping Centre, Bangor, on 5 March 2005.
In 2017 he composed Sustained Clusters for brass quintet and fairground organ, which was first performed by Onyx Brass at the Eastern Shelter, Barry during the Vale of Glamorgan Festival. The work features a series of chordal clusters, repeated descending modal scales and a playful tune, creating a humorous dialogue between the brass ensemble and the fairground organ. His latest piece for street organ was Ffantasia V and was premiere at the in May 2019.

List of compositions

A list of Puw's major compositions.
Date ComposedTitleInstrumentationNotes
1993Ffantasiaviolin
1993Becomingsoprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bassWords by R. S. Thomas; first performed by the London Sinfonietta Voices on 27 March 1994
1995Ffantasia IIharpWinner of the Composer's Medal at the 1995 National Eisteddfod
1996Sonataoboe and pianoCommissioned by the North Wales International Music Festival
1997Mecanwaith string quartetWinner of the Composer's Medal at the 1997 National Eisteddfod
1998X-istharp, cello and double-bassCommissioned and recorded by IST
1998Capel Celyntenor/high voice and pianoCommissioned by the North Wales Music Festival
1998The Loch Ness Monster's songunaccompanied SATB choirCommissioned by Adlais. View selected pages at
1998–9Ad Noctumflute, clarinet, violin, cello and pianoCommissioned by MusicFest Aberystwyth
1999Iddi Hitenor and piano/harpRecorded by John Eifion
1999Visagestuba quartetCommissioned and recorded by
1999'
piano
2000Blodeuweddbaritone and pianoWords by Nesta Wyn Jones; commissioned by Jeremy Huw Williams and recorded by him on "Songs for Jeremy"
2000'harp
2000Ffantasia IIIsolo pianoCommissioned by the , premiered by Ian Pace
2000'clarinet, violin, cello and pianoCommissioned by the Vale of Glamorgan Festival
2001' Improvisation for saxophone, guitar, harp, keyboard, cello, piano and optional dancerCommissioned by the
2001Dawns y Sêr
baritone and pianoWords by Nesta Wyn Jones, commissioned by Jeremy Huw Williams and the Arts Council of Wales; a version for baritone and orchestra was first performed on 16 March 2007 by Jeremy Huw Williams and BBC NOW conducted by Grant Llywellyn.
2002Reservoirsorchestral work for BBC NOWCommissioned by BBC Radio 3
2003Ffantasia IV solo organCommissioned by North Wales International Music Festival, premiered by Huw Tregelles Williams
2005Stereo Typeamplified typewriters and tapeCommissioned by the
2006Concerto for Oboe and orchestraoboe and orchestraCommissioned and premiered by BBC NOW, with oboist David Cowley.
2007... onyt agoraf y drws... orchestraOrchestral work for BBC NOW for 2007 Proms
2009Chwyrnu
SSAATTBB a cappella choirCommissioned by the . Premiered by Exaudi, directed by James Weeks, during the BNMF at Bangor Cathedral on 18 March 2009.
2009'narrator, mezzo-soprano and harpCommissioned by the 2009 National Eisteddfod, Y Bala
2009Agorawd 'Torri'r Garreg'orchestraCommissioned by Bangor University as part of their 125th anniversary celebrations, premiered by BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Listen to an extract
2010'two percussionistsCommissioned by The , 20 March 2010
2010Hologram''orchestraCommissioned by BBC Radio 3 for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, premiered during the , Prichard-Jones Hall by BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Grant Llywellyn on 26 March 2010
2010Noson Tân Gwyllt
baritone and pianoCommissioned by Jeremy Huw Williams and premiered at the North Wales International Music Festival, St Asaph Cathedral 22 September 2010
2012Digwyddiad Sugnwr Llwch
three performersPremiered by the Bangor New Music Ensemble at the , Powis Hall, 15 March 2012
2012Naid Sgi
one performerPremiered by the Bangor New Music Ensemble at the , Powis Hall, 15 March 2012
2013Trio
violin, cello and pianoPremiered by the Mozart-Vienner Trio, North Wales International Music Festival, St Asaph, 23 September 2013
2012–2014Concerto i'r Ffidil – Llonyddwch Tyner
solo violin and chamber orchestraCommissioned by and for the Bangor New Music Festival. Premiered by Madeleine Mitchell and , conducted by David Curtis, Bangor New Music Festival, Prichard-Jones Hall, Bangor, 14 March 2014
2014Tair Cerdd Dylan Thomas
I - Light breaks where no sun shines
II - Should lanterns shine
III - Sometimes the sky's too bright		SATB choir a cappellaCommissioned by The School of Music, Bangor University and Pontio. Premiered by the Bangor University Singers during the 'My Friend Dylan Thomas' Festival, Powis Hall, Bangor, 29 October 2014
2016Fy nghangen lân, fy nghowled glyd
flute, clarinet, violin, celloCommissioned by Reuben Pace for the 'Hearing Orpheus Today' event. Premiered by the Orpheus Ensemble at the Gozo Ministry Hall, Malta on 28 May 2016
2011-17Y Tŵr
chamber opera in 3 ActsCommissioned by Music Theatre Wales and Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru. Premiere at the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff during the Vale of Glamorgan Festival on 19 May 2017
2017 Clystyrau Parhaus
for brass quintet and fairground organCommissioned by The Vale of Glamorgan Festival. Premiered by at the Eastern Shelter, Barry during the Vale of Glamorgan Festival on 21 May 2017
2017'A gwaedd y bechgyn...'
flute, clarinet, harpCommissioned by Community Music Projects with financial support from Tŷ Cerdd. Premiered by Ellie Lighton, Sioned Eleri Roberts and Mared Emlyn at Beaumaris Parish Church, Anglesey on 18 November 2017
2017-18Camouflage
full orchestraA co-commission by BBC Radio 3 and Tŷ Cerdd. Premiered by BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Jac van Steen as part of the series at Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff on 28 March 2018
2018Uwchsonig
ensembleA commission by . Premiered by UPROAR under Michael Rafferty at Chapter, Cardiff on 26 October 2018
2019Ffantasia Vstreet organA commission by Vale of Glamorgan Festival.

Awards and nominations