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This is a short composition of mine called Taxus Baccata  for double bass and carnyx - carnyx played here by my friend John Kenny who was the first to re-awaken the primordial voice of the carnyx after 2000 years of  silence.   In this piece I hoped to convey some of the more subtle qualities of the carnyx as it may have been played beneath the yew tree during Ritual.   The opening theme of Taxus Baccata grows out of a short improvisation on the acoustic bass before establishing a simple and haunting melody.   The bass represents the 'voice' of the yew tree.  Before long the carnyx enters, mirroring, reversing and enhancing the sliding tones and two note chordal figures of the yew/bass melody.   The yew/bass then  establishes a repetitive and hypnotic central theme as John sets aside the carnyx temporarily for the trombone.   At the conclusion of the trombone solo, the yew/bass deconstructs part of the opening theme, inviting and even challenging the carnyx to return in a roaring and ferocious improvisation that eventually resolves back to the original theme.  The Ritual is almost over as the two forces, having challenged one another, return to a state of grace and harmony. 

Taxus Baccata was composed as part of a project called Scot Free that was designed by John kenny to bring the carnyx together with a jazz ensemble and jazz composers, contemporary classical composers, the amazing electronic sound world of John Whiting and visual artists.    Scot Free was premiered at the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh in 1998.   I had initially intended that Taxus be played by the entire Scot Free quintet, but  during rehearsals at the French Institute in Edinburgh it became clear for a number of reasons that this would not be possible.   Finally, when only John and I were left in the rehearsal room I began playing.   John simply picked up the carnyx, held it aloft and played exactly the right thing.   I couldn't believe it!   It was as if the spirit of the carnyx played itself right through him.  This particular performance of Taxus was recorded in 1999 by the composer and improviser Etienne Rollin during a live concert at the Royal Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

John and I hope to record a new version of Taxus Baccata next year in US.

John Kenny with carnyx, trombones, sea shell and horns.

www.carnyxscotland.co.uk

                                                                                                                                          

John Kenny writing about our work together with the amazing carnyx, (pictured above), in an excerpt from his blog 2008

"One of the deepest reactions came from my old friend Mike Dunning.

Mike is a wonderful bass player, and one of the most original jazz musicians Scotland has produced in the past thirty years. He also used his art to work extensively with people suffering from a wide variety of physical and emotional disablement, and eventually also trained as a craniosacral therapist – a true polymath. He now lives and works in the USA.