PM Music promotes the work of Scottish composer and producer Peter MacCalman.
His work as a composer includes commissions for national TV (CH4/ CH5), installations, animations, short film and Theatre. Among other projects, his most recent composition work includes Counterpoise: commissioned by the Arches Live! Festival 2007, theatre play We're The Belivers held in the Arches in 2008 and string arrangements for Unkle Bob's 2nd album in 2009. Some samples that highlight his work are available below and a full list of credits is available by request.
Fleeting Symphony
Written for the Cinematic Journeys showreel which was recorded when he first started working professionally. This helped him to win many of the commissions over the next few years. Fleeting Symphony is string arrangement recorded with a string quartet but is intended for a larger ensemble. It is loosely in classical symphonic sonata form but in microcosm as it exposes, develops, and recapitulates in around two minutes.
Glasgow Style Exhibition
Opening Title Music for The Glasgow Style Exhibition, Hutcheson Hall,
Glasgow.
An exhibition of work by emerging designers and artists. Commissioned
by Wark Clements Ltd to write a score for the exhibition and accompanying
film.
Bone Dance
Bone Dance
Created originally for an animation for four dancing skeletons, it
is a piece in 7/4 for two xylophones and two marimbas (samples in the recording)
with each Skeleton relating to a part in the score. Each part has it’s
own rhythm and tune which combine to make a makro rhythm. It begins with one
Skeleton, then another and so on. They start gently and simply then build
up into a frenzy until the four skeletons collide and explode at the end!
Evil Dead II
Originally created for the demo's for the Evil Dead II project which won the commission to compose a score for the game. Recorded by a quintet on downtime during another recording session, it was composed with a much larger ensemble in mind than the five players that perform the piece, more like a 60 strong symphonic orchestra.
The Stroma Exhibition
Fading Light on Storma
Fading Light on Stroma for the Stroma Exhibition, Thurso
Caithness artist Julian Smith took the unusual step of taking his paintings
beyond the canvas and into the digital world by turning them into evocative
animations. Julian, who has lived and worked in Caithness for most of his
life, takes his inspiration from the area's wildlife and landscapes. He commissioned
Peter MacCalman to create a score to suit one of the pieces, "Fading
Light on Storma" for an exhibition he was holding of his work in Thurso,
Scotland.
String Arrangement for Brighter by Unkle Bob
Recorded in Cava studios with a Scottish Arts Council grant, the band commissioned five string arrangements for their songs including Brighter and Swans which was later featured on Greys Anatomy. One of the most gorgeous, uplifting, lonely and revealing bands on the planet.
Falkirk Flythrough Animation
Falkirk Flythrough Animation
A score specifically created for a digitally animated flythrough sequence
along the Forth and Clyde canal ending with a visualisation of a proposed
£50m development. The area is a mix of regenerated countryside and industrial
facilities, both of which are represented in the score.
The music supported and enhanced the animation perfectly throughout, helping our clients to suspend belief and visualise the potential of the proposed project
Keppie Architects
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Press Comments below...
At just 20 minutes long, Counterpoise was one of those quintessential Arches Live! delights; sonorously atmospheric live music composed for string quartet by Peter MacCalman, an installation of titled metal railings, angled planks and various light sources (Danny Holcroft) and three female dancers working down the length of a vast arch, placing sculptural movements – balances, yogic stances, stretches – in considered juxtapositions against inanimate objects. A simple idea, maybe, but caringly thought through so all the elements came together effectively, proving memorable for all the right reasons.
Mary Brennan, The Herald
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Other notable work includes a full orchestral score for a PlayStation/X-Box game based on cult horror classic Evil Dead II (written in 2002/2003 and released globally in 2004) and Beasts at the Arches Theatre Festival 2006 (left).
The melodies are straight out of a horror film (think frantic), and build the sense of urgency and danger.
IGN, offical reviewer of Playstation Games - Evil Dead II Review
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I loved the emotive, soaring string arrangement of Unkle Bob's Brighter
Folking.com review - http://www.folking.com/reviews/reviews/748.shtml
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