icoco.de / Sep 2023
Bruce uses motifs and theme fragments from three works by the great Frenchman and that of his father-in-law Michal Lambert to – as he puts it –"play" with them and develop his own from them. And in four different ways. Prerequisite: the material had to touch him and thus encourage extensive processing options:"slightly macabre" in the first movement ("Soul Shards "), completely changed and thrown"into a washing machine of rhythm" ("Earworms"), very distorted because read backwards and associated with the Internet movement Vaporwave (" Vaporwave Loops") or finally - designed as a "humorous and uplifting ending" and "dismantled into a thousand fragments and reassembled" (" The Cure for Melancholy "). What's more: Bruce has texts read out (via tape) before each sentence that explain and justify the respective intention. And then it becomes clear that he is not just interested in"playing around" with material. He asks (himself) questions that have to do with the nature of music and (indirectly) especially Lully's , with the effect of music, its ability to learn something about its respective creator. Last but not least, it's about the effect of music and the composer's desire to also have his music - like Lully's, albeit in a different way – spreading harmony and giving joy.
With a view to the reactions of the audience in Ulrichshusens Concert Barn seemed to be a complete success. Stormy applause for music that does without the"horror" of subversive modernity. Bruce sticks to important basics of baroque music-making practice, of course variably"alienated", imaginatively transformed, enriched with new processes such as minimal music and very clearly living from concise (traditionally baroque) metric-rhythmic models. He plays solo, chamber music, and orchestral, establishes sound surfaces that are attractive and have exciting motor skills, and knows varied phases of expression between delicate pizzicato continuous structures, delicate string sounds and sometimes a snappy musical mood. Its greatest advantage is actually a predominantly musical character. It appeals without being ingratiating in terms of sound, it is modern and yet somehow familiar, it activates, mobilizes, and makes following musical processes that seem to be stimulating and new an attractive task for the attentive ear. It is fitting that the solo part appears to be integrated into the orchestral action rather than as a literally outstanding part of the whole. Let us speculate that this would have to do with the nature of the dedicatee Daniel Hope is also particularly keen on being part of a larger whole. And this larger whole brought a lot of joy to this special evening.
With a view to the reactions of the audience in Ulrichshusens Concert Barn seemed to be a complete success. Stormy applause for music that does without the"horror" of subversive modernity. Bruce sticks to important basics of baroque music-making practice, of course variably"alienated", imaginatively transformed, enriched with new processes such as minimal music and very clearly living from concise (traditionally baroque) metric-rhythmic models. He plays solo, chamber music, and orchestral, establishes sound surfaces that are attractive and have exciting motor skills, and knows varied phases of expression between delicate pizzicato continuous structures, delicate string sounds and sometimes a snappy musical mood. Its greatest advantage is actually a predominantly musical character. It appeals without being ingratiating in terms of sound, it is modern and yet somehow familiar, it activates, mobilizes, and makes following musical processes that seem to be stimulating and new an attractive task for the attentive ear. It is fitting that the solo part appears to be integrated into the orchestral action rather than as a literally outstanding part of the whole. Let us speculate that this would have to do with the nature of the dedicatee Daniel Hope is also particularly keen on being part of a larger whole. And this larger whole brought a lot of joy to this special evening.
Online Merker / Sep 2023
"Lully Loops" is a clever-playful capriccio that places fragments of the Italian-French composer and violinist into new musical contexts – it's also a transformation into its own language.
The four parts are each introduced by a cracklingly recording.. The themes of Lully clearly emerge and repeat themselves like "loops". In the first part, variously articulated harmoniously consonant and tension-rich sustained notes engage with the theme; in the second, pizzicati comment on a more dance-like fragment. In the third, tones blossom from a kind of drone, condensing into a melody. The fourth reveals Lully's clear rhythm and ends with a mood drop, as if a tape is being slowed down. A harmonically dense fabric that certainly provides playful joy and captures the listener not without humor, delighting in discovery and alienation, but also with a hint of winked-at nostalgia.
The four parts are each introduced by a cracklingly recording.. The themes of Lully clearly emerge and repeat themselves like "loops". In the first part, variously articulated harmoniously consonant and tension-rich sustained notes engage with the theme; in the second, pizzicati comment on a more dance-like fragment. In the third, tones blossom from a kind of drone, condensing into a melody. The fourth reveals Lully's clear rhythm and ends with a mood drop, as if a tape is being slowed down. A harmonically dense fabric that certainly provides playful joy and captures the listener not without humor, delighting in discovery and alienation, but also with a hint of winked-at nostalgia.
Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten / Sep 2023
a composition called "Lully Loops" that was specially commissioned for this occasion from the British artist David Bruce. In this work, brief sequences from works by the baroque composer Jean-Baptiste Lully, who celebrated triumphs at the French court of Louis XIV, return again and again in four movements. Bruce takes them apart, interlocks them anew, changes rhythms, structures, mutual ones instrumental references - an effective kaleidoscope that listeners could also enjoy without any worries. Bruce also created the illusion of having created "an electronic work for analogue orchestra" (Daniel Hope). The orchestra and dedicatees played the piece with a great sense of its color and the attractive compositional twists, with dedication and attention to detail. The audience was very impressed.
Neue Westfalische Bielefeld / Sep 2023
It's incredible the colors that can be coaxed out of a string orchestra.
Bachtrack.com / Jan 2023
The world premiere came courtesy of David Bruce. Guitarist Miloš Karadaglić joined the orchestra on stage for The Peacock Pavane. Both ‘Peacock’ and ‘Pavane’ are redolent with a stately magnificence and there was a certain beauty in Bruce’s writing with a tinge of melancholy that sharpened the piece. Particularly lovely was the noise of the violins at points behind the guitar, the sound swooping in a way that evoked birdcalls, while Miloš skipped lightly across the notes, his touch deft, but mild. ... the accomplished blend of woodwind in the backdrop against the guitar stood out. A rewarding listen, though, and one felt the emotional complexity.
