​COMPOSITION
​​Stephen Beville's music announces no particular theory he wishes to impart (and if anything he would rather evoke an absence of theory). However, Beville's work may broadly be situated in the post-1960s European classical tradition.
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Beville is often inspired by philosophy and the other arts (especially poetry, painting and sculpture) and - while he respects each of their claims to autonomous expression and meaning - they often serve as starting points for his own expressive aims. Beville's compositional style makes pervasive use of free chromaticism and a considerable rhythmic and textural variety, although he would hope without some of the 'density overload' of some contemporary expressionist composers. Important for Beville are clear musical structures (sometimes incorporating cross-references); allusions to the classical in the contemporaneous sense of the word, as Gadamer says. No less important to his creative process are the roles played by intuition and improvisation - the search for the new. Beville says he often tries to seek out a sort of serenity and religious sense of wonder (as in Purgatory Pieces, Nocturnes, Aria, Other Spaces), Above all he feels music should exude a sense of spirit.
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The composers Beville especially admires (however stylistically divergent from his own music) include Elliott Carter and Arvo Part. Beville's compositions range from solo and chamber pieces (The Echoing Sky, Michelangelo Pieces, Fashionism-Scenes of Youth, Monodrama) to orchestral works (Epicycle, Grand Partita).​
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List of Works (Selected)
​BALLADE FOR EIGHT PLAYERS (1997)
​(fl, ob , bn, hn, perc, vl, vla, vc)​ - 7 mins audio​
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EPICYCLE
for chamber orchestra (1999/rev. 2004) - 10 mins audio
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MEDITATIONS AT THE CROSS
for large ensemble (2000)​
(pc, fl, cl, t tb, b tb, 2 perc, hp, pn, vl 1, vl 2, vla, vc, vcb) - 25 mins​​​​
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THE ECHOING SKY
for piano and electronics (2001) - 10 mins audio
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MICHELANGELO PIECES
for piano, electronics and CD (2002) - 14 mins audio
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FASHIONISM - SCENES FROM YOUTH
for electric guitar, piano, percussion and electronics (2003) - 15 mins
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PURGATORY PIECES
for string quartet (2004) - 18-20 mins audio
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NOCTURNES
for violin and piano (2005) - 11 mins audio
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SCENES FROM DREAMS
Five pieces for solo piano (2006) - 12 mins
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GRAND PARTITA
​for speaker and orchestra (2007-8)
(texts; Hans-Georg Gadamer) - 20 mins
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IMPROVISATION No. 1 'The Time of Day'
for piano and cello (2009) - 10 mins audio
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THE BALLAD OF OSCAR WILDE
improvisation for piano and cello (2009) - 10 mins
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SHARDS AND SHIMMERS
cycle for solo piano (2009-10/2022) - 40 mins
​ARIA​​
for flute and piano (2010) - 10 mins
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FOUR SACRED PIECES
for piano (2011) - 18 mins
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​MONODRAMA
for solo violin (2011) - 11 mins
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PRELUDE-ETUDE-FANTASI
for keyboard (2012) - 10 mins
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OTHER SPACES
for viola and bongos (2012) - 11 mins
HOOTENANNY
for flute and electronics (2013) - 9 mins
HOMAGE A MONDRIAN
for piano (2014) - 5 mins
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JERUSALEM VISIONS
for chorus and orchestra (2016)
(text: William Blake) - 8 mins
TRIPTYCH
Three Pieces for Church Organ (2017) - 20 mins
TWO PAINTERS (MONDRIAN AND NICHOLSON)
for piano solo (2018) - 9 mins
ANTHEM for male voice chorus (2018)
(text: T. S Eliot) - 3'40 mins
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OUR WONTED HYMN (2019)
for chorus and organ - 4'40 mins
(text/trans: Robert Bridges)
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L'Education Philosophique (2019)
for clarinet, metallic percussion and speaker. - 15 mins
(text: taken from Bernard Stiegler)
Portrait of the Angel Raphael
for piano solo (2020) - 6'30 mins
KYRIE
for solo singers, chorus and orchestra (2020) - 16 mins
HOLY SONG
for chorus and organ (2021) - 4'30 mins
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EVERY MAN
for chorus and orchestra (2021)
(text: W Kandinsky) - 6'30 mins
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Fanfare for the solitary man
for solo cornet (2021) - 4 mins
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THE WORD
for chorus and organ (2022) - 4' 30 mins
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JESUS, LAMB OF GOD
for a capella chorus (2022) - 4 mins