by Lauren Hill; original composition for piano, flute, clarinet, violin and cello. Performed by players from the CHROMA ensemble. Score to be found here.
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The Sound of Instability
by Lauren Hill Dissonance pervades our world. Tensions and conflict can tear apart the perceived stability of our lives, shifting harmony and order into a harsh cacophony of sound. In relation to psychology, cognitive dissonance can be explained as the inner mental conflict which results from simultaneously holding contradictory and incongruous beliefs; in order to […]
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Wave
An original composition for piano, by Chris Hill. Download the score here
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Damn! That’s Crunchy: Very Brief Thoughts on Dissonance in Jazz
by Josh Cottell I sit down at the piano and play two chords. It’s a C7(♭9) leading to a F▵(add9). Damn! That’s crunchy. Hearing these chords would make many think immediately of jazz. But why? What is it about these chords that makes us think of jazz? The answer to this question is in the essence […]
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Resolution
An original composition for piano, by Chris Hill. Download the score here
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It’s True – Out Of The Blue Just Aren’t as Gay as They Used to Be
Clickbait Investigative journalism by Alex Waygood. Featured image by Out Of The Blue. Out Of The Blue’s recent Christmas single, ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’, is as fun, frivolous and festive as ever. And yet, watching it, I couldn’t help feel as though there were something missing. Namely: where did the gay go? Out Of The Blue’s music videos […]
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Memory
An original composition for piano, by Chris Hill. Download the score here
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Gravity
An original composition for piano, by Chris Hill. Download the score here.
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After the Rain: Album Review
by Jenny Potter It’s 5:15pm and we’re standing amongst rows of records, reeling in the late-summer-evening humidity and pretending to browse through DVDs. There are perhaps a dozen people scattered throughout the shop in the same state of pretence. Approximately twenty minutes later, Leftwich appears and we form a misshapen semi-circle around the corner where […]
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Rituel in memoriam Pierre Boulez
by David Maw Thursday’s Child Pierre Boulez was born on Thursday 26th March 1925 in the quiet provincial Loire town of Montbrison. An older brother of the same name had been born in 1920 but survived only a few months. His older sister, Jeanne, born in 1922, was to be a staunch supporter and confidante […]
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Remembering Bowie: ‘I’m not a pop star… I’m a blackstar’
by Alex Waygood Legacy Monday morning, 0th week, Hilary Term 2016. A text wakes me at 7:47am. That’s about five hours before I usually get up. Groggily, I spot something from my mum about Bowie flash across the screen, and roll back into bed. I resolve to read it later; presumably she’s just heard his […]
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‘The Busker’s Protest’ – Keeping Oxford ‘Live’
by Serena Yagoub The busker’s voice is one of the most prominent and defining sounds of Oxford’s centre; their melodies have wafted between Cornmarket’s side roads and become engrained within their stone-walls. But this music is not simply a characteristic of the city, it is an intrinsic part of the musicians that produce it. This […]
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Oriel Arts Week does Daily Music
by Lizzie Searle All through Oriel Arts Week 2015, we’re providing a daily shot of musical inspiration to set you off to a good start! Make sure you come back daily for your music recommendation & explanation provided by Oriel College Music Society members. 14th century song does have the potential to sound pretty dry […]
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Oriel Arts Week does Daily Music
by Edward Wren All through Oriel Arts Week 2015, we’re providing a daily shot of musical inspiration to set you off to a good start! Make sure you come back daily for your music recommendation & explanation provided by Oriel College Music Society members. Intelligent and soulful, ‘Neon’ and Mayer’s debut album Room For Squares […]
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Oriel Arts Week does Daily Music
by Emily Essex All through Oriel Arts Week 2015, we’re providing a daily shot of musical inspiration to set you off to a good start! Make sure you come back daily for your music recommendation & explanation provided by Oriel College Music Society members. Schicksalslied means ‘Song of Destiny’ and this piece thoroughly deserves an […]
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Oriel Arts Week does Daily Music
by Maks Adach All through Oriel Arts Week 2015, we’re providing a daily shot of musical inspiration to set you off to a good start! Make sure you come back daily for your music recommendation & explanation provided by Oriel College Music Society members. A family of four from Barnes are enjoying a short trip […]
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Oriel Arts Week does Daily Music
by Alasdair Cameron All through Oriel Arts Week 2015, we’re providing a daily shot of musical inspiration to set you off to a good start! Make sure you come back daily for your music recommendation & explanation provided by Oriel College Music Society members. Think folk music and phrases like ‘preservation of tradition’ might readily […]
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Oriel Arts Week 2015 – What’s On!
by Jacob Warn – Arts Rep. “In the undergraduate body alone, there is a phenomenal wealth of talent and an overflowing energetic drive in artistic fields.” The Oriel Arts Week is quite simply a week-long celebration of the arts. It is an opportunity to showcase and celebrate the wide-ranging artistic talents of Oriel students and […]
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The Blossom – William Blake
Music by Chloe Cheung
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The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: What Henry has to say about one of last year’s uprising genres.
by Henry Bruce-Jones The other day a friend asked me, “Why do you only listen to ugly music?” In his defence, I was listening to one of the more improvisational tracks from Arca’s Blade Runner OST by way of Berghain, Xen. Yet, it still seemed to me an odd question considering some of the most important and influential […]
Read moreA master class with visiting musician Tim Garland
As Christmas festivities gradually turn the academic battle in favour of the hardworking student, last week jazz musicians and enthusiasts alike welcomed reinforcement in the form of a delightful master class given by the college’s visiting musician, Tim Garland. Audience and performers gathered in anticipation of an evening of musical instruction and production that offered something to […]
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Original Music Compositions
Utterly provoking and lyrically fantastic – take a moment to check out some of Ed Wren’s original compositions. This is music that demands serious listening that simply can’t be missed!
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Oxford Jazz: A ‘Comprehensible’ Survey
When our parents were young, and punk-rock had captured the hearts and minds of a generation, there must have existed at least one or two thoughtful individuals who would have mused at some point or other, disillusioned with the heady musical vogues of their own day; “whatever did happen to jazz anyway?” But these days, […]
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