'the Camberwell Composers’ Collective, offer stripped-down, casual
composition...the most memorable pieces were Mark Bowden’s
invigorating fractus duo, for clarinet and cello, and
Christopher Mayo’s Hereby a Scorecard 2, a faintly
Reich-esque duet for cello and percussion'
Neil Fisher, The Times | 2009
'When W11 Opera started to involve schoolchildren in
the pleasures of performing opera, its search for suitable vehicles
soon led to the commissioning of works for young voices. Since 1971
it has reached an impressive total of 29; the latest, The Song
of Rhiannon, composed by Mark Bowden to a libretto by Helen
Cooper, is inspired by the drama of the mediaeval Welsh legends
collected together in the Mabinogion . It tells of the curse laid
on Rhiannon by her jilted suitor Gwawl when she abandons him to
elope with Pwyll, and of the enchantments and transformations she
and her family suffer before Gwawl relents. In addition to
conjuring up the magic and mystery of these central events,
Bowden’s score gives voice to choruses of warriors, flowers,
gargoyles, blades of wheat, and grey and speckled mice'
Margaret Davies | Opera 2009
'With their riff-driven, electronica-massaged sound, they're
fashioning themselves as a Bang on a Can for this side of the
Atlantic.'
de-composing.blogspot.com | 2009
'the music presented by The Camberwell Composers Collective
suggests that today's young composers are far from radical, angry
young things. Instead of writing difficult music of fiendish
complexity, the mood is more laid-back, using elements of humour
and and personal experience to shape works that are readily
approachable'
The Herald | 2008
'those of us present for Monday’s evening of British contemporary
music from the engaging young Contemporary Consort enjoyed an
absorbing musical experience, with plenty of pre- and
post-performance conversation and illuminating introductions along
the way... Two appropriately Shakespearean works completed the
programme: Court Studies from Thomas Ades’ opera The
Tempest, strongly delivered, and Mark Bowden’s Stealing
Poison. Trained as a dancer, Bowden here gives us a nimbly
choreographic piece, driving with energy in places, jagged in
rhythm, but also with many darkly reflective interludes.'
Christopher Morley | The Birmingham Post
2008
'Eerie and sometimes too close for comfort, the film manages to
transform the familiar and mundane into something poetic and
mysterious'
Lars Kavli | The Kavli Post
2007
'Handel House Museum has
a permanent Composer-in-Residence, the multi-faceted and extremely
talented Mark Bowden'
Gwen Herat, Daily News, Sri Lanka | 2007
'This film about the body as landscape once again shows very
clearly the trademark of the young artist: an enjoyment of the
experimental'
Stefan Loeffler | Südwest Presse 2007
'The Richard Alston Dance Company, its choreographers and dancers,
have teamed up with three experimental composers to elaborate and
expand upon some themes by Shakespeare. What I admire is its
willingness to forge the link between contemporary dance and
commissioned music; the results are cacophonous and "challenging",
as I heard one member of the audience remark - but also ambitious
and exciting. Stealing Poison, Mark Bowden's trio for Hind, King
and violinist David Alberman choreographed by Martin Lawrance, is a
synthesis of clearly recognisable themes from Macbeth, A Midsummer
Night's Dream and The Tempest, it moves cleverly through the
murderers wringing their hands, to the foolish and confused quartet
of lovers in the forest, to what seems like a conflation of Caliban
and Macbeth - a writhing, agonised monster sweeping around the
floor'
Sarah Crompton | The Telegraph 2007
'the exception was Mark Bowden’s Hoist, a
quietly virtuosic piece for “live” stones, duetting with stones on
screen. The link was clear, and as a result the piece was more than
the sum of its parts.'
Ian Matheson | spnm new notes 2007
'Mark Bowden's hoist is an imaginative duet for live and
pre-recorded stone-playing percussionist with accompanying
film'
Rowena Smith | The Herald 2006
'Powerfully dramatic'
Sarah Walker | Hear and Now, BBC Radio 3
2005
'An energetic new piece.. on the one hand, an exploration of
contemporary spectralism - on the other…Tchaikovskian…sweeping
string unisons'
Paul Driver | The Sunday Times 2005
'If you want whacky or bizarre, you can go to the pub-style
Pumphouse. There, over a beer or three, you might hear … the
Camberwell Composers' Collective improvising haunting sounds around
electronically altered treatments of Britten's Four Sea
Interludes'
Shirley Apthorp and Andrew Clark | The Financial Times
2005