Close-up – Studio6 Oxford

Close-up for electroacoustic sextet (recorder, trumpet, accordion, harp, cello and computer) is the result of a close collaboration between Richard Barrett and Ensemble Studio6 which began in April 2013.

Each of its six parts explores a different angle on the relationship between pre-composed and spontaneously improvised musical actions – sometimes one, sometimes the other, sometimes in distinct combinations and sometimes merging together.

While not being in any way programmatic or illustrative, many aspects of close-up derive from a contemplation of natural and biological phenomena, from the complexity of forests to the microscopic details of their smallest inhabitants (hence the title).