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.
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.
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).

List of Works (Selected)
BALLADE FOR EIGHT PLAYERS (1997)
(fl, ob , bn, hn, perc, vl, vla, vc) - 7 mins audio
EPICYCLE
for chamber orchestra (1999/rev. 2004) - 10 mins audio
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
THE ECHOING SKY
for piano and electronics (2001) - 10 mins audio
MICHELANGELO PIECES
for piano, electronics and CD (2002) - 14 mins audio
FASHIONISM - SCENES FROM YOUTH
for electric guitar, piano, percussion and electronics (2003) - 15 mins
PURGATORY PIECES
for string quartet (2004) - 18-20 mins audio
NOCTURNES
for violin and piano (2005) - 11 mins audio
SCENES FROM DREAMS
Five pieces for solo piano (2006) - 12 mins
GRAND PARTITA
for speaker and orchestra (2007-8)
(texts; Hans-Georg Gadamer) - 20 mins
IMPROVISATION No. 1 'The Time of Day'
for piano and cello (2009) - 10 mins audio
THE BALLAD OF OSCAR WILDE
improvisation for piano and cello (2009) - 10 mins
SHARDS AND SHIMMERS
cycle for solo piano (2009-10) - 25 mins +
ARIA
for flute and piano (2010) - 10 mins
FOUR SACRED PIECES
for various instruments (2011) - 14 mins
MONODRAMA
for solo violin (2011) - 11 mins
PRELUDE-ETUDE-FANTASIE
for keyboard (2012) - 10 mins
OTHER SPACES
for viola and bongos (2012) - 8 mins
HOOTENANNY
for flute and electronics (2013) - 9 mins
HOMAGE A MONDRIAN
for piano (2014) - 5 mins
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
OUR WONTED HYMN (2019)
for chorus and organ - 4'40 mins
(text/trans: Robert Bridges)
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
EVERY MAN
for chorus and orchestra (2021)
(text: W Kandinsky) - 6'30 mins
Fanfare for the solitary man (2021)
for solo cornet - 4 mins