by Caroline Besterman | Jul 6, 2014 | Choral pieces
I won a national competition to compose a song for a new work for community choir on the subject of nature and the environment. The premiere concert of the whole work will be in Stevenage in September. My piece is entitled ‘There is Another...
by Caroline Besterman | Jun 1, 2014 | Instrumental
I was asked to score ‘Journey’s End’ by Sherriff, a harrowing and heartfelt play about the First World War. Here, my music served to break up the scenes because the director chose not to have physical changes of scene. The music mirrors the bleakness of the main character’s psychological state and the outlook for the soldiers on the Front, with moments of great anguish and despair. The final track was to be looped until the last of the audience had left the theatre. To listen to the recording of ‘Journey’s End’, please click...
by Caroline Besterman | Jun 6, 2013 | Instrumental
‘Antigone’ by Sophocles, directed by Brian Parsons, featured an eerie Dali-esque setting in an undefined 1960s totalitarian location. The chorus, traditionally old men, were in this case war widows with defined personalities who delivered the choric odes a few lines each in turn. The music needed to be subtle and unobtrusive, yet underline the message and mood of each ode. Antigone’s appearances were underscored by extracts of John Tavener’s music, and this certainly influenced the style of my writing. A review by Richard Hudson stated: “Such was the intensity of this production that it was hard to believe that all was over in 70 minutes. The set, lighting, (…) not to mention music to accompany the musings and moralisings of the chorus composed by Caz Besterman… it was often difficult not to imagine oneself in a professional production.” To listen to the recording, please click here....
