Michael L. Roberts

Michael L Roberts is a composer, performer and poet and St Martin-in-the-Fields is delighted to host the premiere and CD launch of his Avocatus Suite as part of our New Music Series. Between sessions in the studio, Michael took time out to talk to In the Pipeline.
ITP: Michael, thank you so much for taking the time out to have a quick chat with us. It may be the first time we’ve had the pleasure of chatting with a (and I hope we’ve got the term right) bona fide ‘Jazz Cat’. I hope you don’t mind if we dive right in and ask, should we be expecting something ‘a bit jazzy’ from your concert on Tuesday 28 September?

MLR: Jazz cat... I like..!

Well, in terms of certain structural and harmonic elements of the suite, my language as a composer is always born out of my experiences as an all-round musician. All composers, whichever genre they consider themselves immersed in, are improvisers until they put pen to paper, however, the stylistic approach of the Avocatus Suite is not ‘jazzy’ in any way.

ITP: In that case, maybe we’ll drop the ‘cat’ and stick to ‘Michael’! So what will we hear?

MLR: Avocatus is written for solo soprano voice and piano within the spirit and tradition of the European Classical/Romantic Art Songs and Song Cycles.  As a jazz musician, influence from the likes of Debussy, Ravel, Shostakovich, and Rachmaninov is, of course, ever-present, but it was a combination of hearing Debussy’s beautiful work of art the song cycle Songs of Bilitis and Strauss’ epic Four Last Songs back-to-back one evening that first inspired me to venture into similar territory. As is always the case with great music, the more you listen the more you learn! Upon hearing the Four Last Songs that night I considered again the thematic reasoning behind their creation – themes of death and journey’s end that, in Romantic terms, would ordinarily be treated with a sense of bravado and defiance but, in this case, are almost caressed with a sense of calm and gentle acceptance.
Having endured a sustained and cathartic life threatening illness in 2003, I’m all too familiar with the necessary elements of calm acceptance and quiet contemplation, and my poetry writing over the last seven years has more often than not reflected my imagining of life’s experiences and imagery.

ITP: So we will hear not only your musical voice but also the voice of Michael the poet?

MLR: Yes. The text of the Avocatus Suite Part 1 is a somewhat mythological reading of my experiences during that time of illness inspired stylistically by the likes of Pablo Neruda, Octavia Paz, Gabriel Garcia Lorca and the expressive freedom of the Beat Poets.  I crafted a musical language around the text that I had written over 7 years in moleskin notebooks and on scraps of paper here and there. It represents an almost reverse journey to that presented in Strauss’ work.  Rather than depicting the slow descent into death I begin with a death, sending the soul, as protagonist, on a journey through an afterlife of imagined trials and landscapes.

ITP: How did these two voices develop into your artistic voice from the towering influences you’ve cited?

MLR: Musically, I would say that the compositional and stylistic language of those great names mentioned above has always been a part of my creative consciousness, just as prominently as, say, the language of such jazz luminaries as Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane etc. It’s always a case of channelling those influences and creating your own soundscape that, while remaining true to that which came before it, speaks honestly out of your own centre and provides a creative definition of who you are and what myths you live by!

ITP: You’ll be performing alongside soprano Elisabeth Toye. Was she also involved in any way in the creative process?

MLR: Elisabeth and I had taught in adjacent practice rooms at Wellington College in Berkshire for a few years and, upon deciding to embark on this project, there was no doubt in my mind that hers would be the voice to interpret my compositional efforts.  She possesses an ideal balance of beauty and gravitas that I felt lent itself to the subject matter.

I presented the first of my songs to her for her appraisal and she sight read the handwritten manuscript with an expressive and impassioned tone. As a result I quickly set about writing more and more and the suite was born! Her contribution was very much centred around the contours of her voice and how I could make adjustments to provide the best vehicle for her to express the sentiment of the given lyric.  It is certainly true that the work would not have gained so much momentum compositionally for me had it not been for her very strong and assured first time readings of each song.  They really made me want to hear more!!

ITP: One fascinating aspect of the New Music Series at St Martin’s is to hear new music in a historic setting. How do you think St Martin’s long musical history will contribute to Avocatus in performance?

MLR: As a musician, there are few greater privileges in life than to see your compositions realised in a historical setting that so many truly great Masters have graced before you and there is no doubt in my mind that my suite will benefit considerably from having its premiere performance, and indeed Record Launch through the ‘Notabene’ Label,  at so prestigious a venue as St Martin-in-the-Fields. The New Music Series is a wonderful example of a supportive initiative that serves the continued development and enjoyment of music in the best possible way and I’m delighted to be a part of it!

ITP: And we feel genuinely privileged to be a part of the unveiling of this extraordinary new work. Thank you.

What: Michael L. Roberts’ Avocatus Suite – premiere and CD launch.

When: Tuesday 28 September, 1.00pm

Where: St Martin-in-the-Fields – Free Entry.