Matthew Ingvald Dewey was born in 1984 Austrialia. He is a composer and preformer. Matthew began his studies in composition with a professor,
Douglas Knehans and for the last four years he has been the apprentice in composition preformance and theatrical design of the composer and
artistic director of IHOS music theatre and opera, Constantine Koukias.(
http://www.matthewdewey.com/bio.htm) For the last three of the four years, Dewey has been Koukias personal music
typesetter and scored the opera " TESLA - Lightening in his hand" and other chamber music works.
Matthew attended the Tasmanian conservatorium of music where in his first first year of attendance he received the Hobart City Council
Don Kay Scholarship for Music Composition. Other awards Matthew has won consist of the IHOS Music Theatre and Opera Young Artist Bursary
(2004), Shuey Prize in Music(2000) & he was also Elected Writer Full Member of Australasian Performing Right Association(2005).
Dewey is greatly interested in the furthering of new musical initiatives and ideas having during his first year at the Tasmanian
Conservatorium, established the ten piece "New Music Ensamble" for students which is an ensamble led by student conducters and designed to
help further student composers. Also Matthew is the Co founder of the "tasmanian composers collective", in which he and other memebers use the
orginazation to provide preformance, recording and broadcast opportunities to other tasmanian composers. The tasmanian conservatorium group
, has premiered two of Deweys pieces. One Being, "Voyage" which was written for ensamble with bass clarinet emphasis and solo in which the
premiere solo preformance was exicuted by world reknown bass clarinetist, Harry Spaarnay, and the other peice premired by the conservatoriums
ensamble was titled " A Dance on Five Claps.(
http://www.answers.com/topic/matthew-dewey)
Matthew Dewey works mostly in contemporary opera nad musical theatre genres and has written compostions for many operatic and
theatrical scores He is currently working on commision from the sydney childrens choir to write for them a series of compostions based on a text
of there chosing by an australian poet. Not only does he write and preform his own music Matthew has been closely involved in the premieres of
many other new works either as a preformer conducter singer or tech.
Some of Deweys Major Works are - (
http://www.matthewdewey.com/works.htm)
Opera.
Solo Voice.
Chamber
Orchestral
Libretti
(*
http://www.matthewdewey.com/works.htm)
I have Selected Insomniac - A Song for solo Baritone on the poem of the same name by sylvia plath (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Dewey) I chose this song to find and discuss
because sylvia plath is an amazing poet and the poem Insomniac is actually one of my favorite poems ( after having to assist a friend of mine in an analysis on sylvia plaths work, last
semester...)and I was intrested to hear how her ingenious words would sound set to the music of someone like Matthew Dewey, let alone excited just to see that my poem actually had
music to go along with it . Needless to say, I was not let down. I thought that the peice Insomniac was a good representative of Deweys musical styles. The lyrics tend to flow along with
everything. The meaning behind the poem is conveyed not only through the words but through the music. I believe that without the music, the picture would still be vivid in my mind.
"The night is only a sort of carbon paper,
Blueblack, with the much-poked periods of stars
Letting in the light, peephole after peephole . .
.
A bonewhite light, like death, behind all things
.
Under the eyes of the stars and the moon's rictus
He suffers his desert pillow, sleeplessness
Stretching its fine, irritating sand in all directions." -Sylvia Plath. Music by: Matthew Ingvald Dewey.
The Death of Chatterton - A Mythography in One Act for One Man based on a concept by Robert Jarman, Music by Matthew Dewey.
A Priest’s Passion - A One-Scene Chamber Opera, Music by Matthew Dewey
The Creation and Dismissal - A Cantata for Soprano and Bass-Baritone soloists, SATB Chorus and Chamber Orchestra.
The Matrix of Humanity - For Solo Soprano and Orchestra.
String Chamber Symphony - Two Movements
Three Contemplations - For Solo Harp in 3 movements (I Prelude, II Phantasm & III Arabesque).
Lokk - For Solo Pipe Organ in 1 movement.
A Dance on Five Claps
Voyage
Fold - For Solo Piano
To Sky lark
Isolated States
Elgey
Insomniac
The Death of Thomas Chatterton - A Mythography in One Act for One Man.
A Priest’s Passion - A One-Scene Chamber Opera.