The material for this first collection, “Ten Sketches of Light”, was written over a number of years and picked from a larger body of compositions. Placed together they form a complete whole. In this way Alexander would like to think of the collection as one work divided into ten movements.
The names of each track are of limited importance. He wanted to give the listener something to hold onto; something more familiar than ‘Movements 1, 2, 3’ etcetera. He has a love of nature and often finds inspiration in it but none of the music was written in direct connection to their titles; Alexander did not imagine a river and then compose Track 4 or the sea and write Track 5. All the music arose spontaneously at certain and usually unexpected moments, seemingly independent of the place and the time in which it was written.
Again, when coming to name the collection as a whole he wanted to give it an anchor, but without telling too much. Alexander believes music works in it own language, operating in a unique and precious way - especially instrumental music - and he wanted to preserve this quality as much as possible. The reference to “Light”, then, is partly because of light’s qualities; being ephemeral, mysterious and unbounded.
Alexander’s musical story is presently short and simple. He was born in June 1988 on the island of Guernsey. He began piano lessons at the age of seven and continued tuition until he was eighteen. Around the age of twelve Alexander began to experiment with some of the pieces that he was learning; he would add a few notes here and there, and on occasion add whole new passages. Within a couple of years he began composing his own pieces; they were simple and short, with an emphasis on the melody. Soon things began to expand and his learning took on a life of its own. Alexander began to spend less time on the repertoire he was given to learn, practicing just enough to pass the yearly exams. In its place he spent hours of each day improvising, and through this improvisation more compositions began to emerge.
The end of school came and Alexander found himself with a place to study music at university. At the last moment, however, he decided he needed time away from music establishments in order to continue with the music that was coming naturally to him, and which, he believed, needed space and time in order to grow and flourish. He moved to the north coast of Scotland where he divided his time between composing and working as a chef. He remained there for three years, and then at the beginning of 2010 began composing full time.
2012 marked a shift in his music and indeed his way of life. The quiet hours of solitary composing needed to be balanced with an effort to make his music available in the world. This is what he is now dedicating his days to, alongside the continual work of composing new material.
