Morgan Hayes: Viscid

Reviews

... the music had been powerfully imagined, with glamorous sounds, big gestures, and a suggestion of Birtwistle reheard through a glass darkly. For me this was the evening's real discovery, not so much for what it was as for what it promised.

Michael White, The Independent on Sunday, 12 January 1997

Hayes is still just 23, but in his Viscid he already exhibits a remarkably accomplished grasp of technique and an original ear for content. Played with full commitment by the Brunel players, this sinuous work created a fascinating musical representation of its title, full of note-bending and microtones of youthful vitality.

Matthew Rye, The Daily Telegraph, 11 January 1997

The single movement ... is a poetic flow of often quarter-tonal melodic ideas, thickening and thinning, underpinned by more solid harmony, inflected by prepared piano and tuned percussion, and coming to a sudden, but satisfying, halt.

Paul Driver, The Sunday Times, 12 January 1997

The new work was Viscid ... a great title and a promising piece, unfolding tangled skeins of melody over dark block chords.

Andrew Clements, The Guardian, 7 January 1997