Program Notes

  • Against the gusts of blank repose, a threshold that persists

    Against the gusts of blank repose, a threshold that persists is dedicated to the memory of my son, Gabriel Paul Klein, who took his life in September 2015 at the age of 23. The work’s title is derived from two lines in Alice Fulton’s poem “Silencer,” from the collection Powers of Congress (1990)—a poem that itself deals with the subject of suicide—and is an allusion to the persistent struggle with that boundary between life and death (“blank repose”).

    The work is characterized by sharp juxtapositions of contrasting—often conflicting—musical elements, including sections of restless energy, obsessive ostinato figures, and intrusive interjections, occasionally relieved by stretches of placid, suspended music. The disjunct, fragmentary structure that results, combined with the inherently static, non-developmental nature of the material itself, is intended to subvert the typical linear narrative. An important unifying element of the work is the pitch cell G-A-Bb-E, which is the basis of a repeating interval sequence used to generate the symmetrical, non-octave-repeating scale that is used pervasively throughout the work. This scale is most clearly presented in the ascending quasi-ostinato bass line that first occurs after the slow introductory section. Prime numbers and rhythmic patterns based on Morse Code are also used as unifying structural elements.

    Against the gusts of blank repose, a threshold that persists was completed in September 2016.


  • Against the gusts of blank repose, a threshold that persists

    Against the gusts of blank repose, a threshold that persists is dedicated to the memory of my son, Gabriel Paul Klein, who took his life in September 2015 at the age of 23. The work’s title is derived from two lines in Alice Fulton’s poem “Silencer,” from the collection Powers of Congress (1990)—a poem that itself deals with the subject of suicide—and is an allusion to the persistent struggle with that boundary between life and death (“blank repose”).

    The work is characterized by sharp juxtapositions of contrasting—often conflicting—musical elements, including sections of restless energy, obsessive ostinato figures, and intrusive interjections, occasionally relieved by stretches of placid, suspended music. The disjunct, fragmentary structure that results, combined with the inherently static, non-developmental nature of the material itself, is intended to subvert the typical linear narrative. An important unifying element of the work is the pitch cell G-A-Bb-E, which is the basis of a repeating interval sequence used to generate the symmetrical, non-octave-repeating scale that is used pervasively throughout the work. This scale is most clearly presented in the ascending quasi-ostinato bass line that first occurs after the slow introductory section. Prime numbers and rhythmic patterns based on Morse Code are also used as unifying structural elements.

    Against the gusts of blank repose, a threshold that persists, originally composed for wind orchestra, was completed in September 2016. The work was revised and transcribed for orchestra in June 2018, and first performed on 27 February 2019 by the University of North Texas Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Clay Couturiaux.


  • arcus vitae

    Composed in the summer of 1987 at the request of the Elgart/Yates Guitar Duo (to whom the work is dedicated), arcus vitae is a representative example of the composer's ongoing interest in strictly controlled, systematically applied processes as analogies of natural phenomena.

    As the title suggests, the work is essentially an arch-like structure, and is characterized by a gradual process of growth and decay that is evidenced in all parameters: rhythmic material is the result of an incremental accumulation and subsequent reduction of temporal values (each of the two parts proceeding in palindrome from a basic rhythmic nucleus); pitch material expands from a single point to a completely saturated chromatic field, then gradually dissipates; variations of dynamics and register are the result of articulative/timbral modifications, which are applied to the raw materials in such a way as to effect a gradual increase then subsequent decrease in density and complexity, eventually returning to the simplicity of the opening. Canonic elements, inherent to the structure and present throughout, become more apparent from the midpoint onward, where the temporal displacements are often so minute as to create an echo-like stretto between the parts.

    As an analogy to the life process, the return to the original state in arcus vitae is not a literal one; rather, it is degenerative in nature, as in the eventual deterioration of an organism over time. Such a retrogression is effected by rhythmic and intonational distortions that occur within the latter portion of the work, thus epitomizing mortality itself.


  • Canetti-menagerie
     

    Composed in March 2015, Canetti-menagerie is a semi-improvisational open-form work for five to eight performers, based on the composer’s collection of solo works after character studies in Elias Canetti's 1974 book Der Ohrenzeuge (Earwitness).  In Canetti-menagerie the performers improvise in various duo, trio, and quintet combinations, developing musical fragments from these solo studies, which are used as raw material for a variety of musical conversations — not unlike the interaction of distinct characters at a social gathering.  Whereas the solo works in this collection explore the psychological qualities of the characters portrayed in Canetti's Der Ohrenzeuge, Canetti-menagerie is more of a sociological study of these characters' various relationships — very much in the spirit of another one of Canetti's writings, Masse und Macht (Crowds and Power), an idiosyncratic yet penetrating study of group dynamics and power structures within various societal constructs.

    Canetti-menagerie was first performed on 19 September 2016 at the University of North Texas by Elizabeth McNutt (piccolo), Kimberly Cole-Luevano (basset horn), John Holt (trumpet), Chris Deane (percussion), Chaz Underriner (guitar), Andrew May (violin), and Madeleine Shapiro (violoncello). 


  • Chain of Circumstances

    Chain of Circumstances, for solo pianist or piano four hands (with optional solo dancer and/or interactive computer music), is one of a series of open-form compositions that have occupied my creative interest in recent years. As with the other related works, Chain of Circumstances explores aspects of recombinance, modularity, and non-linear musical structures. In this instance, the work is conceived as a series of disparate, distinctive, and relatively static musical states that provides an ever-changing sonic canvas, which the pianist(s) may alter at will. In performances that include solo dancer and/or electronics, the result is a kind of dynamic and unpredictable “feedback loop” between the various elements.

    Chain of Circumstances was supported by a grant from Texas Woman’s University, and composed in February-March 2020 for pianist Richard Shuster and dancer/choreographer Jordan Fuchs, who first performed the work on 10 September 2021. The video version of the work was premiered at the University of North Texas Sonic Murals Festival on 7 November 2020. 


  • Chain of Circumstances

    Chain of Circumstances, originally intended for live performance with piano, solo dancer, and interactive computer music, was reconceived as a screendance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Featured on this realization are pianist Richard Shuster and dancer/choreographer Jordan Fuchs, with lighting design by Dayna Ballenger and videography by Danielle Willis. The original version of this work explored aspects of recombinance, modularity, and non-linear musical structures, and was conceived as a series of disparate, distinctive, and relatively static musical states. In this screendance version, the pianist’s choices regarding the assemblage of musical modules served as an impetus for the dancer’s semi-improvised choreography, which in turn was filmed, then recontextualized and compiled into the present video by the composer. Chain of Circumstances was supported by a grant from Texas Woman’s University, and was composed in February-March 2020 for pianist Richard Shuster and dancer/choreographer Jordan Fuchs. This screendance version was completed in October 2020.  


  • Chain of Circumstances

    As with other recent works of mine, Chain of Circumstances is an open-form composition that explores aspects of recombinance, modularity, and non-linear musical structures. The work is conceived as a series of disparate, distinctive, and relatively static musical states that provide an ever-changing sonic canvas. Originally for solo piano, this transcription of the work for symphonic band—created for Andrew Trachsel and the University of North Texas Wind Orchestra and completed in June of 2023—enhances the modular aspect of the work by expanding the timbral palette from the original and dividing the ensemble into five separate sub-groups, each of which is assigned one or two of the eight distinct musical modules that comprise the work. Unlike sections of a typical multi-movement work, these modules are often heard concurrently rather than sequentially—overlapping, interrupting one another, and recurring in various ways—resulting in a continuously shifting and recontextualized musical soundscape.

    Chain of Circumstances was first performed on 19 October 2023 at the University of North Texas by Andrew Trachsel and the UNT Wind Orchestra

  • Character Studies after Elias Canetti

    This series of short works for solo instruments is based upon the vividly surreal characters in Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere ("Earwitness: Fifty Characters"), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. Begun in 1997, there are nineteen works in this series to date, composed for piccolo, bass flute, ocarina, basset horn, contrabassoon, alto saxophone, bass saxophone, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, violoncello, contrabass, guitar, percussion, glass harmonica, cimbalom, piano, and organ. These works may be played individually or in various combinations, as well as in conjunction with Canetti-menagerie or Converations — semi-improvisational open-form works based on materials drawn from the solo pieces in this collection.


  • Conversations

    Conversations (after Elias Canetti) is a semi-improvisational open-form work for two to four performers, based on the composer's collection of solo works after character studies in Elias Canetti's 1974 book Der Ohrenzeuge (Earwitness). In Conversations, the performers improvise in various combinations, developing musical fragments from these solo studies, which are used as raw material for musical conversations — not unlike the interaction of distinct characters at a social gathering. Whereas the solo works in this collection explore the psychological qualities of the characters portrayed in Canetti's Der Ohrenzeuge, Conversations is more of a sociological study of these characters' interactions — very much in the spirit of another one of Canetti's writings, Masse und Macht (Crowds and Power), an idiosyncratic yet penetrating study of group dynamics and power structures within various societal constructs.

    Conversations was composed in March 2018 and first performed on 23 October 2018 at the James Madison University Contemporary Music Festival.

  • Cornell Set

    In the spring of 2010, I was contacted by poet and Cornell University English Professor, Alice Fulton — whose poems I had set to computer music several years earlier — about undertaking a similar project with the second-year MFA poetry students in Cornell’s Creative Writing Program. A dozen poems were submitted for consideration, from which four — each by a different poet — were selected for this collection. The poems were chosen for their contrasting content and style, allowing for a variety of approaches in the computer music setting as well. Specific references in the text provided the impetus for many of the processed sounds (e.g., cars and dogs in the Pityk poem, birds and rain in the Garcia poem); in some cases, the text reading itself provided the source material (this occurs to some degree in each setting, though the computer music in the Atsitty poem is based entirely on a reading of the text by the poet).

    Cornell Set was commissioned by the Creative Writing Program and the Department of English at Cornell University. The work was first performed by poets Tacey M. Atsitty, Clayton Pityk, Benjamin Garcia, and Elizabeth Rogers on 15 April 2011 at Cornell University. It is included on the album Improbable Encounters (innova 873, 2014).


  • Deep Time and Ceaseless Motion

    Composed in 1982, Deep Time and Ceaseless Motion is an indeterminate work for percussion ensemble, comprised of six contrasting sections that are cued by a recurring 4-note motive in the chimes. The score incorporates graphic notation, allowing the performers to freely interpret the images and symbols in a series of short group improvisations. The title of the work is derived from a phrase in John McPhee’s book Basin and Range (1981), used to characterize the dual phenomena of plate tectonics—“the two great revolutions of geology,” according to scientist Stephen Jay Gould—and serves as an intriguing metaphor for this work.

  • Der Demutsahne

    Der Demutsahne ("The Humility-forebear") is the tenth in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters in Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere ("Earwitness: Fifty Characters"), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon.  In Canetti's depiction of this character, The Humility-forbear "twists from one submission to another… He knows that a person who is eager to die will practice submission early on, and the trick is to live in the teeth of this insight.... [He] practices bearing up under his hardship... [and] does it so well that he is sometimes pricked by malice; then he succeeds in intercepting a hardship before it properly arrives."

    Der Demutsahne was composed in September of 2008 for guitarist Matthew Elgart, and first performed on 26 May 2012 at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music (Chengdu, China) by guitarist Joseph Mirandilla. It is included on the album Improbable Encounters (innova 873, 2014).


     

  • Dog

    Dog is based upon the poem of the same name by American poet W.S. Merwin (b. 1927), from the collection titled Green With Beasts (1956). Merwin’s poem is a nihilistic study in despair and desolation, a contemplation of the dog who “guards all that is gone.” The present work explores the psychological implications of the poem through a variety of musical and visual elements — including 8-channel computer music, live processing of the voice and bassoon, video projections, and lighting. The vocalist elaborates upon the salient aspects of the poem, while the bassoonist acts as alter ego: together, these elements represent the physical presence of the dog, alternately aware of the oppressive present and reflective of a vital past. The computer music consists of three musical layers: a sonic “windscape” (utilizing processed sounds from the female voice and bassoon), suggesting “the shimmering vista of emptiness” described by Merwin; the spoken voice, presenting the poem in its entirety; and the processed dog sounds (crossed with bassoon and voice samples), representing a struggle of the psyche, as the creature comes to terms with its fate. The work is presented in six episodes, throughout which the voice and bassoon exchange roles: as the former becomes increasingly prominent, the latter assumes a more accompanimental status. Dog was supported in part by a faculty research grant from the University of North Texas, and is dedicated to Heidi Dietrich Klein and Kristin Wolfe Jensen. The computer music was realized at the UNT Center for Experimental Music and Intermedia, with the invaluable assistance of Michael Thompson, and the video component was rendered and edited by Jon L. Henry, under the supervision of the composer. The work was first performed by soprano Heidi Dietrich Klein and bassoonist Kristen Wolfe Jensen on 1 October 1997 at the University of North Texas. It is included on the album CEMIsonics: The Threshold of Sound (Centaur CRC-2407, 1998).


  • dreaming the dark down slowly

    When director Jan Harrington approached me with the prospect of composing a work for the Indiana University Contemporary Vocal Ensemble in collaboration with choreographer Emily Stuart, I was both enthusiastic about the dramatic possibilities and a bit tentative regarding the collaborative process itself. During my initial meetings with Emily, it was apparent that we had quite dissimilar aesthetic concerns, and therefore, somewhat different conceptual approaches to this particular work. As the composer, my primary goal was to create a music that would be an equal partner to the visual drama, neither dominating nor playing a subservient role to it. In particular, I wanted to integrate and manipulate the sound materials in a compelling, musically satisfying way, and to avoid creating a mere textural backdrop to the stage action. As for the form of the work, we had a pretty clear idea early on of how it would be structured, though the details were slowly formulated over a period of several months by a continuous process of reworking and elaborating upon each other's materials. Thus, each stage of the work's development was the result of a kind of artistic cross-pollination, whereby a particular action would determine an appropriate musical response, and vice versa. This interactive process gave each of us a fresh perspective toward the creation of dreaming the dark down slowly, and in the final analysis, those creative differences which I had initially regarded with some apprehension actually proved to be the essential catalyst for a work I consider to be a truly collaborative effort.


  • false relationships

    false relationships was composed between August of 1989 and February of 1990 at the request of clarinetist Richard Hornsby. The work is in five continuous movements, each utilizing different combinations of the eight instruments. Clarinets are prominent in prologue: sects,discourse, an introductory movement in which the basic materials of the entire work are presented. In alter ego, the ensemble is divided into two equal quartets which engage in a polemic exchange, the musical material of which is based loosely upon the second movement of Antonín Dvorák’s Serenade for Winds, Opus 44. The third movement, circuit, is a round for six players modeled after the third movement of Mozart’s Serenade No. 12 in C-minor, K.388. Based upon Edgard Varèse’s Octandre, schism (concertino) features the two oboists against a ripieno consisting of the remainder of the ensemble. This apparent rift is ultimately rectified in the final movement, epilogue: acquiescence/diaspora, which is characterized by a convergence and eventual dispersion of the entire ensemble.


  • Der Fehlredner

    Der Fehlredner (The Misspeaker) is the seventeenth in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters from Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon. In Canetti's depiction of this character, the misspeaker "looks for people who do not know what he is talking about… stopping in front of this man or that man, throwing out a pointless lure, observing his effect, and it is only when perceiving the desired bafflement that he starts blazing away and is elevated to his chaos… he feels he can confuse everyone now, his mood heightens to the darkest inspiration, the atmosphere around him is alive with oracles."

    Der Fehlredner was composed in February and March of 2018 for percussionist Christopher Deane, who first performed the work on 11 April 2018 at Moody Performance Hall in Dallas, Texas.


  • Die Geruchschmale

    Die Geruchschmale (The Narrow-smeller) is the twentieth in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters from Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti's distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon. In Canetti's depiction of this character, the narrow-smeller "shrinks away from smells and avoids them. [She] is regarded as noble because she avoids any touch. She fears vehement sentences that might pierce through, she addresses people softly.... Unfortunately, she is attractive and gets pursued with roses, she can save herself from them only with quick faints.... while she dreams about distilled water, her admirers put their foul-reeking heads together and try to figure out to which flower scents they could convert her." Der Gertuchschmale is conceived as a deconstructed chaconne, whose subject is based on a fragment from Maurice Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales (1911). The work incorporates a 23-tone microtonal scale, which is the result of tuning each manual to a different key in just intonation.

    Die Geruchschmale was completed in September 2022 and composed for harpsichordist Elliot Figg.

  • Goblin Market

    Goblin Market was composed in 1993 for trombonist William Bootz, and is based upon the poem of the same name by Pre-Raphaelite poet Christina Rossetti (1830-1894). The work itself is not intended as a programmatic representation of the poem, but is rather a structural and psychological study of the actions and characters portrayed therein; as such, it exists as a parallel or alternate realization of the original, almost as a shadow or specter. The work is divided into five movements, according to the dramatic unfolding of the poem, which is further parsed into sub-sections corresponding to each paragraph of text; thus, the pacing of the musical work is based directly upon that of the poem itself. Rossetti's poem concerns two sisters, Laura and Lizzie. Each day as they stroll through the woods to the market, they hear the cries of the goblin men, enticing them to come buy their fruits (come buy, come buy). Though the girls are aware of the dangers of listening to the goblin men, Laura one day gives into the temptation. After buying their fruits with a lock of hair and a tear, Laura is treated to tastes and pleasures beyond her imagination. Eager to repeat the encounter the following day, Laura is devastated to find that now only her sister hears the cries of the goblin men (open heart/absent dream). Pining for lost pleasures, Laura begins to waste away (Laura dwindling). In an effort to save her sister, Lizzie confronts the goblin men, but stubbornly refuses to eat their fruits (resistance). Eventually the goblin men give up, leaving Lizzie in disgust (bitterness without a name). The shared experience brings the two sisters together and heals Laura of her wasting anguish.

    In the present work, the two main characters of the poem are represented by two complementary pitch cells, one consisting of five pitch classes, the other of seven. This 5:7:12 scheme is applied throughout the poem's narrative, manifested not only in the pitch material, but in the proportional relationships between the various musical and visual elements as well. The musical-dramatic content of each section of the work is the result of a psychological extrapolation of the drama within the poem, which has then been superimposed upon or recast within more traditional formal models: for example, the theme of the second movement variations is a paraphrase of the second section of the first movement, as well as a miniature set of variations in itself; the variations of the second movement continue in the fifth movement, after being interrupted by movements III and IV; the third movement is a passacaglia based exclusively upon the seven-note pitch cell, and is thus an extension of (or obsession upon) variation 4 of the second movement. In a broad sense then, the entire work may be viewed as a set of variations on the two complementary pitch cells (thus making the second and fifth movements "variations within/upon variations").

    Goblin Market was supported by a Composers Special Project grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The work was first performed by William Bootz and Douglas Reed on 22 February 1994 at the University of Evansville. It is included on the album Improbable Encounters (innova 873, 2014).


  • Der Gottprotz

    Der Gottprotz (The God-swanker) is the thirteenth in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters in Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon. In Canetti's description of this character, "The God-swanker is a handsome man, with a voice and a mane.... [He] never has to ask himself what is correct, he looks it up in the Book of Books.... He does not have to worry about contradictions, they stand him in good stead.... When the God-swanker waxes furious... [he] stations himself erect with a bloated voice-sack as though standing personally on Mount Sinai and thunders and threatens and spews and flashes and shakes the riffraff to tears."

    Der Gottprotz was completed in December 2014 and was first performed on 26 October 2018 at the University of North Texas Murchison Performing Arts Center Winspear Hall by organist S. Andrew Lloyd.  


  • Der Heroszupfer

    Der Heroszupfer (The Hero-tugger) is the eighteenth in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters from Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon.  In Canetti's depiction of this character, "the hero-tugger potters around monuments and tugs on the trousers of heroes.... [He] jumps out, heaves himself skillfully onto the pedestal, and stands next to the hero.... He senses the greatness passing over to him and he shudders. But if he works hard... the day will come, the radiant day, when he will heave himself up in a powerful surge and, in front of the whole world, he will scornfully spit on the hero's head."

    Der Heroszupfer was composed in July of 2019 for trombonist Andrew Glendening, who first performed the work on 23 January 2020 at Northern Illinois University.


  • Der Hinterbringer

    Der Hinterbringer (The Tattletale) is the twelfth in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters in Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon.  In Canetti's depiction of this character, The Tattletale "won't keep anything to himself if it could hurt someone's feelings. He hurries and gets a steal on other tattletales... [he] will overlook no insult uttered in anger, and he makes sure that it teaches the insultee."

    Der Hinterbringer was composed between February and April of 2013 for flutist Elizabeth McNutt, who premiered the work at the University of North Texas on March 18, 2014. It is included on the album Improbable Encounters (innova 873, 2014).


  • IcarUS At thE caBARet VoLtairE

    IcarUS At thE caBARet VoLtairE: parT I (tHe RENdeZVOus) was composed in the summer of 1985 for the Los Angeles-based guitar duo of Matthew Elgart and Peter Yates. The work was premiered on 18 December 1985 by the Elgart/Yates Duo at the University of Leuven, Belgium, and has since been performed over fifty times throughout the United States and Europe. Much of the work is based on a process of growth/metamorphosis/decay, though these processes are often obscured by the density of their unfolding. Texts from four different languages (German, French, Italian, and English) are arbitrarily juxtaposed, their placement derived from Morse Code and organized according to pre-compositional decisions determined by a deck of playing cards. The result is a self-reflexive caricature of the inherently theatrical nature of musical performance itself, combining exaggerated physical gestures, extended performance techniques, and absurd spoken passages.

    IcarUS At thE caBARet VoLtairE is the recipient of a 1987 ASCAP Morton Gould Award and an honorable mention in the 1988 Gaudeamus Prize Competition. The work is included on the album Improbable Encounters (innova 873, 2014).


     

  • Images

    Composed in 1982, Images for jazz combo is an improvisational work which allows performers freedom from the rhythmic, harmonic, and stylistic constraints of more traditional jazz idioms. The score is comprised of nine boxes, each of which contains a distinct image for improvisational impetus. Three of the boxes are played by the entire ensemble; each of the remaining boxes is interpreted by a different combination of instruments within the group (solo with drums; solo with bass; solo with bass and drums; bass and drums; drums solo; horns only). Players may follow any number of possible pathways through the nine boxes, as indicated in the score; the order of the various instrumental groupings and the duration of each event (and of the overall work) are determined by the ensemble.


     

  • Interstices

    interstice  /in-ˈtər-stəs/ n.
    plural  interstices  /in-​ˈtər-​stə-​ˌsēz/
    1. a space or interval between objects or points, especially a very small one.
    2. (Chemistry) the space between adjacent atoms in a crystal lattice.

    As the title suggests, Interstices explores the idea of “between-ness” in its various manifestations: intervallic relationships, the percussion instruments’ intermediary function between the two wind instruments, the changing relationship between the flute/piccolo and soprano/tenor saxophones, the continuously changing physical space between the three performers, and the function of the solos between the tutti sections. These various “spaces” are in flux throughout the entire work, as the elements that define them are constantly transformed. The work consists of four trios, each for a different pairing between the four wind instruments with percussion, which are connected by brief solo sections: performers may begin on any of the trio movements and proceed in either direction through the sequence, ending with a truncated reprise of the opening movement. In ref(ra/le)ction, the piccolo and tenor saxophone follow independent trajectories through a palindromic arrangement of four distinct musical identities, resulting in continuously changing relationships between the two parts. In strands and mutations, a series of descending and expanding arpeggio figures in the piccolo and soprano saxophone is gradually transformed, and ultimately fragmented and recombined before resuming their initial state. In quantum entanglement, the relationship between noise elements, dense figuration, and silence is explored, resulting in a kind of micro-level interference between the three instruments. In redshift/blueshift, a repeating melodic fragment undergoes transformations based on oscillations of several musical parameters—intervals, registers, durations, attack points, and dynamics—generating a series of phasing cycles within and between the flute and tenor saxophone parts. Interstices was composed between October 2013 and March 2014 for saxophonist Gregory Dewhirst on a commission from Tarrant County College, and was first performed by Gregory Dewhirst, Kristan Dewhirst, and Peter Ferry on 21 March 2014 for the North American Saxophone Alliance Conference at The University of Illinois.


  • Die Königskünderin

    Die Königskünderin (The King-proclaimer) is the eighth in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters in Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon.  In Canetti's depiction of this character, "The King-proclaimer has something majestic about her.... She is tall and stately and her supply of scorn is inexhaustible. She can tell underlings by the least gesture and keeps them away from the king before he is even proclaimed."

    Die Königskünderin was completed in April of 2006 and composed for trumpeter John Holt, who first performed the work at the University of North Texas on 17 October 2006. It is included on the recording Facets 3: New American Music for Trumpet (Crystal CD-768, 2009). 

  • Lament

    Lament was composed in September of 1995 for the funeral service of the composer's grandfather, Joe Nobile.

    Because the work is intended primarily as Gebrauchsmusik — i.e., for functional purposes — certain practical considerations have been observed during its composition. In the first place, the harmonic and melodic language are traditionally based, resulting in a more accessible and seemingly "familiar" style. Secondly, the work consists of four distinct voice parts (SATB), lending itself to a variety of possible transcriptions (e.g. double-reed quartet, saxophone quartet, string orchestra, solo guitar, etc.). Finally, the work is texturally static and repetitious, thus making it suitable for more passive listening.

    These practical considerations superceded all other compositional decisions in the creation of Lament. With this in mind, a series of processes was devised in order to create a tonally-based isorhythmic moto perpetuo in three parts. The first line consists of a descending 4-note scale pattern, two beats per note, cycling through a circle of fifths in two measure increments. The second line consists of an ascending 4-note scale pattern, one note per beat, cycling through a circle of fifths in one measure increments. The third line consists of a twelve-tone row, three beats per note, which completes a cycle every 36 beats. The composite isorhythmic patterns require 288 beats to cycle completely, and the entire work is divided into three equal strophes of 96 beats each. Interpolated among these three lines is a freely-structured fourth line which is in continuous motion throughout. With the exception of the first line (which remains exclusively in the bass voice), these lines are in constant flux within the three upper voices, meandering elusively through the texture.

    The resulting music is stylistically indebted to three diverse composers: Maurice Ravel (primarily in the harmonic and melodic content), Johannes Brahms (rhythmic and contrapuntal elements), and Johannes Ockeghem (textural density and phrase structure).


     

  • Lament

    Lament was composed in September of 1995 for the funeral service of the composer's grandfather, Joe Nobile.

    Because the work is intended primarily as Gebrauchsmusik — i.e., for functional purposes — certain practical considerations have been observed during its composition. In the first place, the harmonic and melodic language are traditionally based, resulting in a more accessible and seemingly "familiar" style. Secondly, the work consists of four distinct voice parts (SATB), lending itself to a variety of possible transcriptions (e.g. double-reed quartet, saxophone quartet, string orchestra, solo guitar, etc.). Finally, the work is texturally static and repetitious, thus making it suitable for more passive listening.

    These practical considerations superseded all other compositional decisions in the creation of Lament. With this in mind, a series of processes was devised in order to create a tonally based isorhythmic moto perpetuo in three parts. The first line consists of a descending 4-note scale pattern, two beats per note, cycling through a circle of fifths in two measure increments. The second line consists of an ascending 4-note scale pattern, one note per beat, cycling through a circle of fifths in one measure increments. The third line consists of a twelve-tone row, three beats per note, which completes a cycle every 36 beats. The composite isorhythmic patterns require 288 beats to cycle completely, and the entire work is divided into three equal strophes of 96 beats each. Interpolated among these three lines is a freely structured fourth line which is in continuous motion throughout. With the exception of the first line (which remains exclusively in the bass voice), these lines are in constant flux within the three upper voices, meandering elusively through the texture.

    The resulting music is stylistically indebted to three diverse composers: Maurice Ravel (primarily in the harmonic and melodic content), Johannes Brahms (rhythmic and contrapuntal elements), and Johannes Ockeghem (textural density and phrase structure).


     

  • Der Leichenschleicher

    Der Leichenschleicher (The Corpse-skulker) is the first in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters in Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon. In Canetti's depiction of this character, The Corpse-skulker "goes from bar to bar, looking for acquaintances.... The moment he spots one, he walks over solemnly, greets him, stops, remains silent, and then says in a lamenting, rather sing-song voice: 'Have you heard, N.N. has died'.... [H]e infects them with his funeral lusts and invites them so emphatically that some people come even though they would never have dreamt of it, but fearing his next announcement could be about them."

    Der Leichenschleicher was composed in June of 1997 for contrabassist Michael Hartt. The work was first performed by Todd Markey on 22 November 1999 at the University of North Texas and is included on the album Equipoise (innova 611, 2005).


     

  • Der Leidverweser

    Der Leidverweser ("The Woe-administrator") is the fourth in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters in Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere ("Earwitness: Fifty Characters"), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon. In Canetti's depiction of this character, The Woe-administrator "has lost all he had six times. He has known poverty and hunger; and since he was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he has had to make do with iron. He has always worked his way up with iron energy. No sooner did he reach the top than he lost everything again."

    Der Leidverweser was composed in June of 1998 for contrabassoonist James Rodgers. The work received the 1998 El Ruiseñor Grave Prize and was first performed by Monica Fucci on 13 August 1999, for the International Double Reed Society Conference at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. It is included on the album Improbable Encounters (innova 873, 2014), performed by James Rodgers.


     

  • Leviathan

    Leviathan is based upon the poem of the same name by American poet W.S. Merwin (b. 1927), from the collection titled Green With Beasts (1956). Merwin's poem is an evocative depiction of the mythical beast, the "curling serpent that in ocean is, Sea-fright... the shadow under the earth." The present work explores the psychological implications of the poem through a variety of musical and visual elements - including multi-channel computer music, live processing of the voice and bass trombone, video projections, and lighting. The work is presented in five episodes, throughout which the relationship between the voice and bass trombone is continually changing. The vocalist elaborates upon the salient lines of the poem, representing the conceptual and psychological aspects of leviathan, while the bass trombonist embodies the physical and mythical manifestation of the beast. The computer music consists of three musical layers: a continuously transforming sonic "seascape," suggesting the "wastes gray-green crashing" described by Merwin; the spoken voice, presenting the poem in its entirety (and including additional references to the creature in Biblical mythology, drawn from Job 41, Psalms 104:26, and Isaiah 27:1, in Episode 3); and a variety of processed nautical sounds (crossed with bass trombone and voice samples), creating a sonic link between myth and reality.

    Leviathan was supported in part by a faculty research grant from the University of North Texas; computer music was realized at the UNT Center for Experimental Music & Intermedia, with the assistance of Morris Martin, Ed Baird, William Bootz, and Chris Gassler (sound source materials); Steve Willis, audio engineer. The video was created by Jon L. Henry, under the supervision of the composer. The work was first performed by Jeffrey Snider and William Bootz on 9 November 1998 at the University of North Texas Merrill Ellis Intermedia Theater. It is included on the album Improbable Encounters (innova 873, 2014).


     

  • Der Maestroso

    Der Maestroso is the twenty-first in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters from Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti's distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon. In Canetti's depiction of this character, "the maestroso, if he moves forward at all, strides on columns.... Wherever the columns settle, a temple takes shape, and the worshippers are there in the twinkle of an eye. The maestroso travels with a solemn dignity around the world.... He sits in a special compartment, all by himself, the adepts stand bare-headed in the corridor, while he has his musical score in front of him, marking with weighty strokes the things that only he can mark, and the others outside shudder at every stroke of his."

    Der Maestroso was composed in September-December 2022 on a commission from the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America Franco Committee, and was first performed by Joseph Min at the GCNA Congress in Cohasset, Massachusetts, on 16 June 2023.


  • Die Mannsprächtige

    Die Mannsprächtige (The Man-splendid Woman ) is the twenty-second in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters from Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti's distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon. In Canetti's depiction of this character, the man-splendid woman ''likes to stand... slowly lifting her arm aloft, and holding it aloft with a carefully studied gesture. When all the onlookers close their dazzled eyes, she drops her arm.... She does not say a word, what could she say anyway to heighten her splendor, she holds her tongue, and her silence speaks volumes.... Perfection belongs to no one and requires distance, that, and that alone, is why she stares into the distance.''

    Die Mannsprächtige was composed in May-June 2023 for harpist Jaymee Haefner.


  • March Transforms

    March Transforms was composed between October of 1985 and January of 1986 for the UC San Diego Wind Ensemble at the request of the director, Cindy Earnest, to whom the work is dedicated. The work was first performed by that ensemble on 2 March 1986, and was subsequently selected by the Virginia Band Director's National Association for presentation at the "Symposium XII for New Band Music" in February of 1987. It has since been perfomed by several major university wind ensembles throughout the country. In 1989, March Transforms received the Grand Prize Award in the Third Annual Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonian Competition.

    The structure of the work is based entirely upon that of John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" March, evidenced (at least fundamentally) in nearly every aspect of the work's construction, including form, pitch, rhythm, and even instrumentation. The result is not so much a march in itself, as it is a distillation of the Sousa classic.


     

  • Mélodrame

    Melodráme was composed between December 1988 and August 1989 for contrabassist Michael Hartt. The work is in six movements that form a completely symmetrical arch-structure resulting from the superimposition of equal divisions of the whole by 3, 4, and 5 units (the resulting proportions of the individual movements themselves being 6:5:4:4:5:6). This 3/4/5 superstructure is repeated at successively deeper levels, and is thus reflected within each movement as well as in the basic rhythmic and pitch materials of the entire piece. In spite of the ostensibly rigorous structure, there has been a conscious effort to conceal this rigid framework, achieved in some instances by subtle degrees of structural delineation and in others by outright gestural blatancies (often occurring between those strictly calculated subdivisions), thus creating a cognitive ambiguity between the work’s construction and its perception.


     

  • Monogram

    Monogram (for Nicolás, in memoriam) was composed in September 2004 as part of the project "Bells for Nicolás," a collaborative work to honor the life of Nicolás Alejandro Useche-Gonzalez, a University of North Texas composition student who was killed in a tragic automobile accident in August 2004. "Bells for Nicolás" was first presented on a memorial concert at the University of North Texas on 9 October 2004. It is included on the album Improbable Encounters (innova 873, 2014).


     

  • MOTET: memento mori

    MOTET: memento mori was composed between February and April of 1988 and is dedicated to the memory of the composer's grandmother, Veronica Klein. The work is essentially an asymmetrical tripartite arch-structure (the closing section being a simultaneous progressive and retrogressive encapsulation of the opening), though divisions within and between sections are often obscured by the nearly continuous metamorphosis of musical material. Textual materials consist of isolated phonemes in various combinations, which coalesce into brief moments of quasi-semantic coherence. Transformations of rhythmic density, shifting temporal relationships, and the expansion/contraction of the pitch spectrum result in varying degrees of contrapuntal interplay throughout the work.

    MOTET: memento mori was first performed by members of the Indiana University Contemporary Vocal Ensemble on 25 October 1988.


     

  • Die Müde

    Die Müde (The Tired Woman) is the seventh in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters in Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon.  In Canetti's depiction of this character, the Tired Woman "is no longer young, she is not all that old either, but old enough to sigh over too much work"; but when angered, "she flares up and starts yelping and screeching away in her language, and keeps yelping and yelping tirelessly… All her sentences end shrilly on a very high note… When she finally collapses on her seat, she peers around, her eyes begging for pity, and whimpers: 'Tired.'"

    Die Müde was composed in September of 2004 for saxophonist Eric Nestler, who first performed the work at the University of North Texas on 19 October 2004.


     

  • The Muses of Bedlam

    The idea for the work The Muses of Bedlam came from bassist/composer Michael Hartt, who challenged his colleagues John Mickel and Joseph Klein to participate in the joint composition of a three-movement work for solo contrabass. The tenet was simple: each of the three composers would begin a movement, compose three measures, then send the fragment along to the next composer, who would in turn add three measures and send it to the third composer, etc. (It should be noted that in the final copy of the work, several of the original measures have been divided into smaller units to facilitate the work's performance.) This process was allowed to continue until all three composers had deemed the work finished (in this case, after completing four cycles over a period of approximately five months). The result of such a process is called acadavre exquis ("exquisite corpse"), a term coined by the dada and surrealist artists who first applied this technique to poetry and drawing. In the present work, the first movement was begun by Mickel, the second by Klein, and the third by Hartt. Though each composer's personality manifests itself throughout each movement, the resulting work is surprisingly organic, perhaps because of the dialectic nature of the materials themselves.

    The Muses of Bedlam was first performed by Michael Hartt at Indiana University on 23 February 1992.


     

  • Occam's Razor

    Composed between May of 1994 and February of 1999, Occam's Razor is a collection of seven brief studies for ten players intended as an exploration of a variety of musical procedures, structural devices, and interdisciplinary references. Numerical sequences serve as the basic organizing element, from the micro-level rhythmic and pitch cells, to movement durations (resulting in a proportional ratio of 7:8:5:11:6:10:9), to the instrumentation itself (one percussion, two brass, three woodwinds, four strings). Moreover, the work is constructed as a dynamic unfolding of "sub-ensembles" within the whole; thus, the work comprises ten solo sections, nine duos, eight trios, etc., with only a single section that includes the entire complement of ten players. The work’s title refers to a principle devised by the English philosopher William of Occam (c.1285 - c.1349) which states that where more than one theory exists, the simplest one should be applied; also known as the law of parsimony, "Occam's Razor" implies a degree of complexity beyond that which is manifest.

    The first study of the set, estuary(chaotic fugato quasi toccata), takes as its metaphorical model a geological formation—specifically, the point where a river is met by the tides at an inlet of the sea. The movement is loosely fugal, though the character is reminiscent of a toccata (a rapid, florid, introductory movement); in this instance, the structure is derived from chaos theory, whereby erratic oscillations create bifurcations within the texture (musically represented by the splitting of a single line, first into two parts, then four, then seven). The point at which a river meets the sea displays a similar type of turbulent behavior.

    The second study, au seuil de la ruine(notturno interrotto), is in two equal parts, the first of which consists of a cluster derived from two octatonic collections (pivoting around a central E-flat) which undergoes a gradual registral expansion and rhythmic compression. This opening section is interrupted by three brief, unrelated episodes, the first of which returns prior to a highly condensed recapitulation of the opening section in retrograde. The movement’s title (“on the threshold of decay”) refers to a painting by surrealist artist René Magritte, Au Seuil de la Liberté (On the Threshold of Liberty, 1929), as considered through the deconstructionist prism of Jacques Derrida.

    The third study, one of many circles(hyperfractal variants), consists simply of thirteen brief statements of a motive in various guises. The distilled, self-similar quality of these variants reflects the influence of fractal geometry—a term coined by Belgian mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot to classify those fragmented and irregular structures that are not represented in classic Euclidean geometry. The title is from a line in Wallace Stevens’ poem “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” (1917), which also served as a model for this study.

    The fourth study, maßenkristalle(loxodromic chaconne), is modeled after the Baroque chaconne, or continuous variation process. The chaconne subject consists of an eleven-note row which gradually spirals upward in pitch while simultaneously descending in register through a series of octave displacements; thus, it is similar in design to a loxodrome—an imaginary line on the surface of a sphere which is oblique to the equator, crossing all meridians at the same angle in a spiral path toward the pole. The title is from Elias Canetti's book Maße und Macht(Crowds and Power, 1960) and refers to the loss of individual identity experienced during the formation of a crowd, initiated by what Canetti refers to as Maßenkristalle or “crowd crystals.”

    The fifth study, the myth of eternal return (entropic ostinato), consists of a disintegrating ostinato texture that is followed by a brief coda reminiscent of the second movement notturno. The title comes from the opening ruminations of Milan Kundera’s novelThe Unbearable Lightness of Being(1984), in which the author reflects upon (and ultimately rejects) Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of eternal return. Kundera’s contemplation of an existence that recurs ad infinitum—becoming “a solid mass, permanently protuberant”—and the inherent weight of such a burden is the basic premise of the novel, and the conceptual germ of this movement.

    The sixth study, crown knots & cascades(meta-rondo in chiasmus), consists of two intertwined processes: the first process is associated with a core unit of three instruments—bass clarinet, trumpet, and viola—and is characterized by a decrease in tempo (from MM 180 to MM 90) and unit size (from seven to three instruments) throughout; the second process is associated with a core unit of three different instruments—piccolo, harpsichord, and contrabass—and is characterized by an increase in tempo (from MM 60 to MM 120) and unit size (from three to seven). These two processes are presented in alternation, resulting in a palindrome that crosses at brief overlapping solos in the trumpet and harpsichord. The title is drawn from a line in Alice Fulton’s poem “Volunteers” (from Sensual Math, 1995), part of a sequence that draws upon genetic crossover as a significant aspect of its trope and subject.

    The seventh study, time's maw (moto perpetuo), deals with the perception of time and its passage. The title is borrowed from a line in John Ashbery's poem “All and Some” (from the collection Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror, 1974), and the musical model is that of a moto perpetuo (a short piece built upon repetitive patterns). The pitch material is derived from “The Westminster Chimes” melody, which is subjected to various temporal and pitch distortions, and a kinetic intensification that ultimately leads to a complete textural saturation.

    Occam’s Razor was supported in part by a Composer Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Faculty Research Grant from the University of North Texas. The complete work was premiered on 8 March 1999 at the University of North Texas by the UNT Faculty Chamber Ensemble, conducted by the composer. It is included on the album Equipoise (innova 611, 2005).


     

  • Der Ohrenzeuge

    Der Ohrenzeuge (The Earwitness) is the sixth in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters in Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior.  This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon.  In Canetti's depiction of this character, the Earwitness “comes, halts, huddles unnoticed in a corner, peers into a book or display, hears whatever is to be heard, and moves away untouched and absent.” Accordingly, the work itself quotes fragments of nearly two dozen Twentieth-century works from the flute and bass flute repertoire.

    Der Ohrenzeuge was composed between September 2000 and January 2001 for flutist Helen Bledsoe, who first performed the work on 25 February 2001 at the Posthoornkerk in Amsterdam. It is included on the album Improbable Encounters (innova 873, 2014).


     

  • Outdoor Music IV

    Outdoor Music is a series of site-specific, interactive works composed between March of 1982 and May of 1983 that are intended to impose a musical framework upon a variety of pre-existing environments. The last in the series, Outdoor Music IV for four trumpets and four pedestrians, was first performed on the corner of Fourth Street and North Broadway in Lexington, Kentucky, on 19 May 1989, as part of the "Al Fresco" music festival at Transylvania University. In this semi-improvisational work, the changing traffic signals guide the trumpet players as the four pedestrian-performers continuously cross the street in accordance with local traffic laws. Actual pedestrians (mingling with the pedestrian-performers) and passing vehicles alike unwittingly participate in the work, calling into question the relationship between the real and the artificial — and thus blurring the boundary between life and art. Outdoor Music IV is intended to bring out the inherent musical and dramatic qualities of city life, elements that are rarely considered by those who populate the urban landscape.


     

  • Parallaxes

    Parallaxes for four trombones (alto, two tenors, and bass) was composed between May and October of 1988 at the request of trombonist Andrew Glendening, to whom the work is dedicated. The five movements are played without pause, forming an arch-like continuum. The first movement, turbine, is an incessant, motoric music that utilizes the directional nature of the trombone by the rotation of the performers at center stage. The rhythmic drive of turbine eventually breaks down, leading into refleks, a more restrained continuation of the chorale-like closing section of the previous movement. A two-dimensional palindrome (mirroring being effected on both vertical and horizontal axes), refleks is characterized by a static surface which obscures the gradual tonal and registral unfolding. A subversion in the tonal stability and resultant textural flaccidity leads into the more ethereal and sparsely textured vapor, at which point the performers are at the far reaches of the performance space. The introduction of disruptive gestures sets the stage for rostra, a musical argument between the four players. As the exchange becomes more heated, the ostinato pattern that characterizes golem is introduced, gradually accelerating into a series of maniacal outbursts that eventually overtake the texture and thus conclude the piece.

    Parallaxes was first performed at Indiana University on 1 April 1989, and received an ASCAP Morton Gould Award in 1990.


     

  • Pathways I: Opposing Forces

    Pathways is a series of works featuring a variety of solo instruments with a single, fixed orchestral accompaniment. Versions for trombone (Opposing Forces), percussion (Revolution), and soprano saxophone (Interior Shadows) have been completed to date, exploring the distinct relationship between each soloist and the ensemble. The conceptual metaphor for Pathways is that of a traveler: though a single road may be taken by different individuals, the various experiences and responses to a particular environment may vary substantially with each. Here, the orchestra serves as a monolithic sonic landscape through which the various soloists traverse. Structural models used in Pathways are inspired by natural phenomena, manifested in mathematical sequences, fractals, and chaotic/entropic processes.

    The first in the series, Pathways I: Opposing Forces was composed for trombonist Andrew Glendening, and was supported in part by a grant from the Margaret Fairbank Jory Copying Assistance Program of the American Music Center. This version, which received honorable mention for the 1994 ASCAP Rudolf Nissim Award competition, was first performed on 9 October 1993 at the University of North Dakota by Andrew Glendening with John Deal conducting the Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra. Here the relationship between trombonist and ensemble is one of contention, with the two forces pitted against one another throughout. Pathways: Opposing Forces is divided into three movements, the first of which, Fractured Horizons, is a study in entropy, where the trombonist seems to push the ensemble beyond its breaking point. Here the concept of "horizon" is evoked, from the ellusive points at the edge of the earth to the cosmological event horizon at the boundary of a black hole. The second movement, The Searcher, is intended as a tribute to exploration and questioning, and to those who dedicate their lives to such pursuits in any field. The third movement, Butterfly Storm, is named for a principle known as "sensitive dependence on initial conditions." This pertains to those systems which develop exponentially rather than geometrically, where minute deviations in an early stage can lead to extremely divergent results. Studied by meteorologist Edward Lorenz in the early 1960's and initially applied to weather systems, the so-called "Butterfly Effect" is a reference to the hypothetical notion that a butterfly stirring the air today in Peking could ultimately generate storm fronts in New York City next month.

    The Pathways series is dedicated to my wife, Heidi, and my sons, Gabriel and Maxwell, and was supported by a CCP Grant from the American Composers Forum (funded by the Jerome Foundation) and a faculty research grant from the University of North Texas. The work is included on the album Pathways: New Music for Trombone (Mark MCD-1629, 1998).


     

  • Pathways II: Revolution

    Pathways is a series of works featuring a variety of solo instruments with a single, fixed orchestral accompaniment. Versions for trombone (Opposing Forces), percussion (Revolution), and soprano saxophone (Interior Shadows) have been completed to date, exploring the distinct relationship between each soloist and the ensemble. The conceptual metaphor for Pathways is that of a traveler: though a single road may be taken by different individuals, the various experiences and responses to a particular environment may vary substantially with each. Here, the orchestra serves as a monolithic sonic landscape through which the various soloists traverse. Structural models used in Pathways are inspired by natural phenomena, manifested in mathematical sequences, fractals, and chaotic/entropic processes.

    The second in the series, Pathways II: Revolution was composed for Daniel Hostetler, and was supported in part by a grant from the Jerome Foundation through the Minnesota Composers Forum Composer Commissioning Program. The primary impetus behind this version was the Los Angeles riots of 1992, as reflected in the confrontational character of the solo percussion part: here the soloist acts as aggressor, responding to the orchestra with fury throughout. The work is in four movements, each of which is named for the time and location of a potential outbreak of violent activity in the Los Angeles area. In Fairfax, 5:38 am. Tuesday., the soloist begins unobtrusively, gradually emerging to wage an all-out assault upon the orchestra; the movement closes with a series of explosive attacks from the soloist as the orchestral accompaniment eventually breaks down. Cahuenga, 11:57 pm. Friday. opens with a confrontation between the orchestral percussion and the soloist, the latter inevitably overtaking only to contend with the brass. Following this opening onslaught, the percussion becomes uncharacteristically passive, acting in concord with the orchestra for the remainder of the movement. Sepulveda, 3:14 pm. Sunday. begins quietly, gradually building in intensity throughout; here the soloist reacts to the orchestra, culminating in an aggressive exchange between the soloist and orchestral bass drum. In Lankershim, 10:24 am. Wednesday., a violent flourish in the solo percussion gives way to a placid yet brief orchestral introduction. The remainder of the movement engages the entire orchestra in contention with the furious moto perpetuo of the solo percussion. Even as the forces relent at the conclusion of the work, there remains an atmosphere of unrest and discontent. Pathways: Revolution is in no way intended as a social or political manifesto, but rather as a response to the vivid images and profound consequences of such domestic social strife.

    The Pathways series is dedicated to my wife, Heidi, and my sons, Gabriel and Maxwell, and was supported by a CCP Grant from the American Composers Forum (funded by the Jerome Foundation) and a faculty research grant from the University of North Texas. It was first performed at UNT by percussionist Christopher Deane on 18 March 2014.


     

  • Pathways III: Interior Shadows

    Pathways is a series of works featuring a variety of solo instruments with a single, fixed orchestral accompaniment. Versions for trombone (Opposing Forces), percussion (Revolution), and soprano saxophone (Interior Shadows) have been completed to date, exploring the distinct relationship between each soloist and the ensemble. The conceptual metaphor for Pathways is that of a traveler: though a single road may be taken by different individuals, the various experiences and responses to a particular environment may vary substantially with each. Here, the orchestra serves as a monolithic sonic landscape through which the various soloists traverse. Structural models used in Pathways are inspired by natural phenomena, manifested in mathematical sequences, fractals, and chaotic/entropic processes.

    The third in the series, Pathways III: Interior Shadows was composed for saxophonist Eric Nestler, who first performed the work on 31 March 1995 at the University of North Texas, with the composer conducting the Nova Ensemble. In this version of the work, the saxophone soloist acts as a commentator, mirroring and elaborating upon the material presented within the orchestra. The titles of the three primary movements are intended to reflect the various tendencies within the music: a gradual disintegration in Dissolution, a sense of absence in Elusion, and a coming together in Conflux. Dissolution is in two sections: the first, mercurial tides, is characterized by a constant ebbing and flowing in the solo saxophone part, which in turn creates ripples of increasing intensity throughout the orchestra; in lattice, the music disintegrates into isolated points, through which the saxophone weaves its restless melody. A cadenza in the saxophone leads into the second movement, Elusion, which is also in two sections: paroxysm & obsession, a sudden disruption consisting of isorhythmic patterns in brass and percussion, which influence the course of the melody in the solo saxophone; and epicedium (a loss unknown), an elegiac response to a tragic incident that occurred to a colleague during the work's composition. A second saxophone cadenza leads into the third movement, Conflux, which is in three sections: spiral jetty is named for an earth work created at the Great Salt Lake in Utah in 1970 by American artist Robert Smithson (1938-73), and long since worn away by the effects of nature; the incongruity of this temporary artificial monument elegantly thrust upon its desolate natural surroundings, the process of erosion, and the concept of "jetty" itself are all referenced in this section. In rencontre, the woodwinds and brass are in direct conflict, with the saxophone soloist acting as mediator. Another cadenza in the saxophone leads into tin maelstrom (the title borrowed from a line in John Ashbery's collection of poems Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror), in which the soloist attempts to pass unscathed through the overwhelming turbulence in the orchestra, ultimately to have the final comment in the subdued coda, seemingly leaving off where the work began.

    The Pathways series is dedicated to my wife, Heidi, and my sons, Gabriel and Maxwell, and was supported by a CCP Grant from the American Composers Forum (funded by the Jerome Foundation) and a faculty research grant from the University of North Texas. It is included on the album Improbable Encounters (innova 873, 2014).


     

  • Pax impotens

    Pax impotens was composed in March of 1989 as one of two documents for the doctoral qualifying examinations at Indiana University. The work was first performed at Indiana University on 26 October 1989.

    Acting as a quasi-introduction, the brief first movement is structurally somewhat rhapsodic and is characterized by a gradual refinement of the basic raw materials presented in the opening. The final section contains references to elements within the following movement. By contrast, the second movement is tightly structured, and consists of a solo line that is continuously passed throughout the ensemble, sporadically accompanied by a meandering filigree-like texture in the remaining trio.


     

  • Phosphenes

    phos•phene  /fäs-fēn/ n.
    A luminous image produced by mechanical stimulation of the retina, as by pressure applied to the eyeball when the lid is closed.

    The notion of phosphenes—a kind of private fireworks or light show within the eyes—came to mind when I was commissioned by Priscilla Ochran Holt to compose this short fanfare for the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra Flute Choir. The unpredictability of these visual stimuli (taking the form of starbursts, swirls, spirals, squiggles, and similar abstract patterns) is also suggested by the modular nature of this work, which is comprised of five discrete and contrasting musical units that may be organized and combined in any way. The pitch material is based on a non-octave scale generated by a recursively modulating tetrachordal sequence, thus resulting in different key regions within each register of the ensemble.


  • Prime Set

    Composed in March of 1985, Prime Set is a twelve-part canon for solo percussionist, nearly all the parameters of which are based upon the prime number series. The percussion instruments are divided into three groups of four instruments/timbres each: skin (tambourine, tom-tom, high and low bongos), wood (wood block, temple block, castañets, pod rattle), and metal (sleighbells, cowbell, brake drum, gong). In addition, the percussionist uses four different mallets, thus enhancing the variety of attack possibilities. The canon subject (stated twice in each of the twelve "voices") is basically a straightforward ordering of the twelve available timbres, each successive voice "transposed" by means of a "timbral matrix." The gradual diminution and subsequent augmentation of rhythmic materials results in a simple arch-like structure of increasing then decreasing textural density. The work is notated using a four-line tablature staff, each line representing a different mallet; instruments are represented by twelve different symbols, the placement of which on the staff indicates the mallet(s) to be used.

    Prime Set is dedicated to percussionist David Yoken, who premiered the work on 22 October 1985 at the University of California, San Diego. It is included on the album Improbable Encounters (innova 873, 2014).


     

  • Recombinant

    recombinant  /rē-kŏm′bə-nənt/ adj
    Relating to or denoting an entity (e.g., gene, protein, cell, individual) produced by the combination of genetic material from multiple sources, resulting in sequences that would not otherwise be found in nature.

    In recent years, I have become intrigued by the idea of modularity, non-developmental processes, and non-linear forms— and consequently, in the juxtaposition of disparate recurring materials within a given composition, resulting in new ways of experiencing these musical elements. Taking this process a step further, I have begun appropriating and re-examining musical ideas from my own previous works, exploring their latent qualities within alternative musical environments. I have found this process of continuous recontextualization to be a fascinating and fruitful endeavor, as each new context elicits a deeper potential within the given musical materials.

    Germinal material from several recent works of mine forms the basis of Recombinant: various permutations of the three instruments in the ensemble—individually, in pairs, and as a whole—allow for a variety of combinatorial possibilities in the exploration of these materials.

    Recombinant was completed in December 2019 and composed for the members of TrioPolis—Kimberly Cole Luevano, Felix Olschofka, and Anatolia Ioannides—who first performed the work on 14 April 2021 at the University of North Texas.


  • Riot Act

    Riot Act was composed in October and November of 1992 on a commission from Raul Ornelas and the Lamar University Trumpet Ensemble, who first performed the work on 12 May 1993 at the International Trumpet Guild Convention in Akron, Ohio. The work is dedicated to the victims of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.

    The ensemble is comprised of a solo flügelhorn and nine trumpets, the latter divided into two groups, a quartet and a quintet. The flügelhorn soloist acts as the protagonist throughout, playing a precisely notated part characterized by frequent and extensive timbral and rhythmic modulations. The trumpet quartet (led by a piccolo trumpet) plays an antagonistic role; its parts are more freely notated, even somewhat improvisational (though within strictly defined limits). The trumpet quintet is characterized primarily by repeated patterns that are superimposed, fragmented, and transformed during the course of the work. The quintet acts as a chorus initially (serving to accompany the action downstage), gradually becoming more aggressive as the work progresses, to the point that the quartet is overtaken and eventually driven offstage. The final section consists of a flügelhorn soliloquy, accompanied by an offstage trumpet quartet.


  • the road in its unfoldings

    the road in its unfoldings was composed between April 1996 and August 1997 for Eugene Corporon and the North Texas Wind Symphony, which premiered the work at the University of North Texas on 26 February 1998. The work was supported in part by grants from the University of North Texas and the American Music Center.

    the road in its unfoldings is essentially a passacaglia in twenty-one variations. Unlike the Baroque model, however, the subject is frequently obscured and distorted (metrically, registrally, etc.), often beyond recognition, although it is presented in its entirety within each and every variation. Although the work is not serial, the subject itself consists of two 11-tone rows derived from the opening four pitches of the second movement of Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms (C-Eb-B-D), which is presented in inversion as the first four notes of the subject; the remainder of the subject is generated from this opening four-note cell, and is made up entirely of major and minor thirds and sixths. The complete statement of the subject consists of two seven-measure phrases of eleven notes each; the second phrase is related to the first by retrograde-inversion, pivoting around the tritone Bb/E. This seven-measure phrase structure is reflected throughout the twenty-one variations, each of which is either seven, fourteen, twenty-one, or twenty-eight measures long.

    The conceptual model for this work is the landmark book On Growth and Form (1917) by Scottish naturalist D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson (1860-1948).  In this book, Thompson elegantly described the structural relationships between various organic forms through mathematical paradigms and processes (e.g., Cartesian graphs, algebraic formulae), providing an alternative approach to that of Charles Darwin (e.g., The Origin of SpeciesThe Descent of Man) by emphasizing physical laws and mechanics over natural selection in the development of various biological forms.  The transformations and relationships explored by Thompson in this book formed the conceptual and structural basis of the present work, the title of which is derived from the poem “Volunteers” by Alice Fulton (Sensual Math, 1995), part of a sequence that draws upon genetics and evolution as an integral part of its subject matter. The titular line is part of a series of metaphors for the evolutionary process:

    But evolution is a fugue
    without finale. News that stays
    news. The road in its unfoldings.

    The twenty-one variations are linked by a chain of temporal modulations organized symmetrically, with the first and final variations serving as introduction and conclusion: the first ten variations are linked in such a way as to produce a gradual, non-linear accelerando (from MM 40 to MM 200), while the final ten variations reverse the process (returning to MM 40 at the conclusion). Each half of the work is also characterized by a gradually ascending ambitus, beginning in the lowest register of the ensemble and concluding in the highest register. Although this process is clearly manifested in the first half of the work, the registral trajectory in the second half follows a less direct path, becoming more erratic as the work progresses. The central variation (XI) acts as a fulcrum in this structure: the sudden and dramatic change in tempo, register, and overall character result in a sense of repose and reflection before the process resumes.

    As a way of elucidating this process, there is imbedded within the structure a series of relationships between the variations in the first half of the work and those in the second half (as illustrated below): for example, Variation XVIII is simply a reworking of Variation IV with the addition of woodwinds and percussion; the two percussion variations (X and XII) that flank the central variation are structurally identical, the differences being almost exclusively timbral (the former is for ringing metals, the latter for wood and membrane instruments); elements of Variation VI reappear throughout Variation VII, and again in Variation VIII (which itself is a composite of three variations — VI, IX, and XVII — representing past, present, and future). Variations are also grouped to form larger structural units: e.g., Variation I through III function as an individual section; transitions between variations differ significantly, some being rather subtle (e.g., between Variations IX and X), others quite abrupt (e.g., between Variations III and IV).

    Each variation is also presented as an homage to a different twentieth-century composer, as indicated by the initials at the end of each variation in the score. While some of these references may be readily apparent, most are rather subtle, even elusive. In any case, it is has not been the composer’s intention to represent the dedicatees through stylistic imitation or overt musical appropriation, but rather to acknowledge significant musical influences.

  • Rubber Angels

    Rubber Angels was composed between July and December of 1987 at the request of Cindy Earnest and the La Jolla Woodwind Quintet.

    The work is in three interrelated movements, the first of which is a somewhat static isorhythmic unfolding of a single pitch/rhythmic ordering, presented at different transpositional/temporal levels. As each instrument follows its own trajectory, the composite density increases until the texture is completely saturated. Just prior to this point, however, a series of interruptive outbursts is introduced into the system, increasing in frequency until eventually overtaking the established texture.

    The second movement begins with the interruptive material from the previous movement, now condensed in register and more urgently iterated. The basis of this movement is a gradually ascending microtonal cluster that spans nearly the entire range of the ensemble. Between the aforementioned interruptions (which decrease in duration and frequency as the movement progresses) are several brief interpolations of material extracted from the other movements, which is presented by various instrumental pairs.

    The third movement opens with an introductory flurry (consisting of the original pitch ordering from the first movement) that moves rapidly through the ensemble. The primary focus of this movement is a single melodic line that is continuously embellished and passed throughout the ensemble. This "melody" is strictly based upon the composite pitch ordering (i.e., resulting from the superimposition of all individual orderings) of the entire first movement. Beneath this line murmurs a rhythmically active though harmonically static accompanimental fabric, which itself had been previously foreshadowed. The movement proceeds in a somewhat aimless manner until, as in the previous movements, there is a disruption in the system: in this instance, the interruptive material is silence, a structurally significant element in the opening of the first movement; here, however, it acts as a deteriorative factor, to the eventual elimination of musical material and, thus, the conclusion of the work.


     

  • Der Saus und Braus

    Der Saus und Braus (The Fun-runner) is the sixteenth in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters in Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior.  This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon.  In Canetti's depiction of this character, "the fun-runner would once have come with the wind, now he comes faster… [He] lives in the tempest of towns... [and] has his own language. It consists of names of cities and currencies, exotic specialties and clothes, hotels, beaches, temples, and nightclubs.... Doddery old men may dream of calm ocean voyages... but that's nothing for him, he's in a hurry."

    Der Saus und Braus was composed in 2017 for pianist Redi Llupa, who premiered the work on 29 April 2018 at the New World Center in Miami, Florida.


  • Die Schadhafte

    Die Schadhafte (The Defective) is the fifteenth in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters in Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior.  This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon.  In Canetti's depiction of this character, "The Defective keeps examining herself, on and on, and always comes across new defects. She nitpicks on her skin, locks herself up with it, and never tackles more than a tiny area at one time.... if she were done with her entire skin, she would be bound to collapse under the weight of her knowledge, she is kept upright by the realization that there is so much still to do." The musical gestures in Die Schadhafte are based entirely on the inherent rhythms and pitch inflections of the Canetti text in its English translation, resulting in a speech-like quality throughout the work.  

    Die Schadhafte was completed in September of 2015 and composed for 'cellist Madeleine Shapiro, who premiered the work on 19 September 2016 at the University of North Texas.


  • Der Schönheitsmolch

    Der Schönheitsmolch (The Beauty-newt) is the eleventh in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters in Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon.  In Canetti's depiction of this character, the Beauty-newt "is keen on all the beautiful things that have existed, do exist, or will exist in the world, and he finds them in palaces, museums, temples, churches, and caves… it would be ungentlemanly to describe his repulsive looks. Let it be said that he never had a nose. His pop eyes, his jughandle ears, his goiter, his black, rotten teeth, the pestilential stench he exudes from his mouth, his sometimes squeaky, sometimes croaking voice, his doughy hands… he never holds them out to anyone and unerringly finds his place in front of all beauties."

    Der Schönheitsmolch was completed in October 2008 and composed for bass saxophone specialist Andreas van Zoelen. It is included on the album Improbable Encounters (innova 873, 2014).


  • Die Silbenreine

    Die Silbenreine (The Syllable-pure Woman) is the fifth in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters in Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon. In Canetti's depiction of this character, the Syllable-pure Woman "speaks so unshakably correct that others listen to her with open mouths. Perhaps they hope to swallow the words themselves and keep them for the right moment. Absurd thought! Words do not fit into every mouth, they bounce back from some like marbles."

    Die Silbenreine was completed in April of 2000 and composed for Thomas Bloch. It is included on the album Improbable Encounters (innova 873, 2014).


  • Die Sternklare

    Die Sternklare (The Starry Woman) is the ninth in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters in Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon.  In Canetti's depiction of this character, the Starry Woman "shuns the crude light of the sun. [She] sighs in relief when the sun is gone and she wishes it would never come again... Her skin is as pure as the light of the sun. But she does not realize this in herself. Her only mirror is the illuminated night, and this mirror consists of so many dots that it has no unity."

    Die Sternklare was completed in June of 2006 and composed for percussionist Christopher Deane, who first performed the work at the University of North Texas on 20 February 2007. It is included on the album Improbable Encounters (innova 873, 2014).


  • Three Ceremonial Pieces

    The Three Ceremonial Pieces were composed between March and May of 1994 for Jean Hellner and Keith Born, to whom the work is dedicated. The entire work is based upon a series of proportional relationships, and is heavily indebted to Renaissance isorhythmic techniques. Each piece is unique in the application of the various systems involved, and each makes reference to a particular artist (as implied by the titles).

    The first piece, Stained Glass, is a parody of sorts on the music of American minimalist composer Phillip Glass, though the pitch language is distinctly uncharacteristic (hence the title). This piece is in 6/4, divided simultaneously into three groups of two (upper voice) and two groups of three (middle voices), while the bottom voice plays a pedal moving at the rate of one note per measure. Thus, the rhythmic proportions of the voices are (from soprano to bass) 5:1, 3:1, and 2:1. The cycle repeats every seven measures, modulating upwards a whole step each time. The top and bottom voices are derived entirely from a synthetic scale constructed of alternating whole- and half-steps in regular patterns of one, two, and three; the result is a scale which repeats every other octave. The inner voices are considered "chromatic" in that they utilize tones outside of this "scale." There are also various trompes l'oreille: for example, the top line consists of an ascending five-note repetitive pattern which is continuously transposed downard through the derived scale; once this pattern reaches its nadir, it ascends two octaves to repeat the cycle from the top (this occurs every eight measures, thus phasing with the seven measure cycle of pitches).

    The second piece, Escher Staircase, is an homage to the work of graphic artist M.C. Escher, and is modeled in particular after his etching Ascending and Descending. This piece is in 12/8, with rhythmic proportions of 3:1 (soprano:bass), 2:1 (bass:tenor), 5:1 (tenor:alto); thus the alto voice acts as a cantus firmus. Unlike the regular patterns in the first and third pieces, however, the soprano line is more rhythmically varied, consisting of irregularly alternating patterns of triplet eighths, trochees, and sustained trills. The constantly descending bass line (a single measure pattern of 1-7-6-5, in dotted quarters) follows a simple circle of fifths progression, modulating each measure (thus returning to the beginning of the cycle every twelve measures); the tenor line (in dotted half-notes) repeats every five measures, and the alto cantus firmus changes every two-and-a-half measures, following the pattern of a rising minor 3rd and falling major second throughout, and thus also repeating its pattern every five measures (both the tenor and alto parts modulate a semitone upward with each repeat, and cycle back to the original transposition after 60 measures, a 5:1 relationship with the twelve-measure bass cycle); the soprano repeats its pattern every seven measures, yet it modulates downward a semitone with each repeat.

    The final piece, Bachfreuden, shares a spiritual ancestry with J.S. Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring from the 147th Cantata and, to a lesser degree, with the second movement of Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony (as reflected in the punning title). This piece is in 6/8 and follows the rhythmic proportions (from soprano to bass) 3:1, 2:1, and 5:1. The bass line (cantus firmus) is similar to that in the second piece, though here the pattern is 5-4-3-2(-1), modulating a perfect fifth downward every twenty measures. The bass line defines the key region by acting as a tonic pedal throughout; the other three voices modulate with the bass every five measures, and each repeats its pattern every twenty measures.

    These pieces are intended for celebratory purposes, and may be played as a set or individually. Because all three pieces are based on perpetual motion processes that conclude at the point of commencement, each could conceivably be repeated ad infinitum.


     

  • 3 Haiku

    3 Haiku for mezzo-soprano and percussion was composed in September of 1989 as one of two documents that comprise the major field portion of the doctoral qualifying examinations at Indiana University. A text is provided for this project and the composer is required to compose a setting given certain specifications within a twenty-four hour period. In this instance, the following haiku by John Ashbery were provided:

         I. A pencil on glass—shattered! The water runs down the drain.
        II. In rays and crystals, sometimes with a shred of sense, an odd dignity.
       III. What is the past, what is it all for? A mental sandwich?

    Because of the brevity of the text and the time constraint of the project, these settings are correspondingly terse. My continuing interest in numerical sequences and resultant cyclical patterns directed me toward a formal design based upon the numbers 3, 4, and 5, which is applied proportionally at several structural levels and manifested in a variety of ways. This relationship is reflected at the deepest level in the durations of each haiku setting: the first setting is 1:20, the second is 1:40, and the third is 1:00 (thus resulting in the ratio 4:5:3); each individual setting is itself proportioned similarly, these divisions being delineated by textural and dynamic contrast as well as pitch distribution (pitch material being likewise divided into groupings of 3, 4, and 5); finally, this sequential pattern is reflected at the surface within the basic rhythmic structure.

    As for the actual setting of the texts, each of the three haiku is itself separated into three parts, these portions then being set in contrasting ways according to the system outlined above. Thus, while the texts themselves are brief, the interpretive possibilities contained within them are thoroughly explored in this ostensibly rigid (though inevitably liberating) manner of text setting.


     

  • Three Little Pieces

    Composed in April of 2000, Three Little Pieces was commissioned by Doug Golden for his daughter Chloe's ninth birthday. Doug, an amateur bassoonist, was interested in a set of pieces he could play with Chloe, who recently began studying piano; while the resulting pieces are intended to be played for diversion, they also serve as exercises in basic piano skills and studies in various compositional techniques.

    The theme of Barcarolle is based on the name of my son, Gabe, who also recently began studying the piano. The G-A-Bb-E motive is treated as the germinal cell, and is continuously varied throughout the movement. The term "barcarolle" was originally used to describe a Venetian boating song, though the term has since been applied to a number of instrumental and vocal compositions of similar character. The melodic and harmonic motives in Nightmusic are derived from the names of the five members of the Golden family: the left hand of the piano plays an ostinato on "Douglas" (D-G-A-Eb), while the bassoon plays motives based on "Chloe" (C-B-E) and "Golden" (G-D-E); the right hand of the piano interjects the names "Lisa" (Eb-A), "Nathan" (A-B-A), and "Sophia" (Eb-B-A). (The German spellings for 'Eb' and 'B' — 'S' and 'H', respectively — are applied here.) The final chord includes all of the pitches used in this movement. The Waltz is a study in mixed scale patterns: the bassoon plays a single octatonic collection throughout, while the piano begins with a G major pentachord in the right hand and a pentatonic scale in the left; in the second half of the piece, the right hand plays a pentatonic scale while the left hand plays a D minor pentachord. In the closing figure, the piano plays two different whole-tone scales in contrary motion. (Incidentally, while eleven pitches of the chromatic scale are heard throughout the movement, the pitch 'F' occurs only once — in the final chord.)


  • Three Poems from Felt

    I have been an admirer of Alice Fulton's poetry for several years now, and have used her evocative turns of phrase as titles for two of my previous works. I had wanted to compose a musical setting of her poems for quite some time, but had difficulty finding the appropriate medium, as her words seemed to resist a traditional musical setting. It finally occurred to me that I was really interested in creating an elaboration of a poetry reading — after all, poets often "perform" their own works just as musicians do, so it seemed natural to create a sonic environment around the poet's spoken words. Three Poems from Felt was drawn from Fulton's 2001 collection of poems, which lent themselves particularly well to such a setting.

    The work was first performed by the poet on 4 April 2005 at the University of North Texas. It is included on the album Improbable Encounters (innova 873, 2014).


  • Three Studies in Change

    Each of the Three Studies in Change is modeled after a different process associated with the natural world. From a conceptual standpoint, the first movement is concerned with growth, the second with leveling, and the third with disintegration.

    The first study, evolution, is modeled after a biological process which generally occurs over thousands of years. Musically considered, the movement begins with a single pitch which gradually expands outwards, first resulting in dense clusters, then eventually growing into individual lines covering the full registral spectrum of the ensemble, at which point the tuba line becomes the ostinato bass line for a passacaglia. As the movement progresses, the rhythmic activity also increases, becoming more contrapuntally and less texturally oriented.

    The second study, erosion, is modeled after a geological process which generally occurs over millions of years. Here the granitic isorhythm, a jagged, three-octave homophonic line of 14 pitches transposed and cycled through 12 durational units, becomes less profiled and more drawn out through the course of the movement. Additionally, a fluid tone-cluster figure is interjected at several points, acting to wear down the isorhythmic figure.

    The third study, entropy, is modeled after a physical or cosmological process, which in the former may occur during the course of seconds and in the latter occurs over billions of years. A mechanical ostinato figure undergoes gradual pitch, rhythmic, and timbral alterations, eventually losing all sense of line and meter as the figure disintegrates.

    These studies are structurally interrelated in several ways. For example, the tempo of the first study remains at MM.60 throughout; the second begins at MM.120 and gradually slows down to MM.60 by the end; the last study is at MM.120 throughout. Thus, the outer studies taken together reflect a slow to fast progression, while the inner one is characterized by the reverse process. Regarding pitch relationships, the second study closes with a cluster around middle C, the focal point of the opening of the first study; taken together, the first and second studies project a registral expansion and contraction around middle C. By contrast, the pitches at the beginning of the third study represent the complement of the closing pitches of the second; this final study concludes with all twelve chromatic tones present.

    Three Studies in Change was commissioned by Morehead State University in commemoration of its 75th anniversary for the MSU Faculty Brass Quintet, who first performed the work there on 10 April 1997.


     

  • Die Tischtuchtolle

    Die Tischtuchtolle (The Tablecloth Lunatic) is the second in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters in Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon.  In Canetti's depiction of this character, the Tablecloth Lunatic "is dazzling white and breathes in linen. Her fingers are strict, her eyes angular." However, when she happens upon a spot in the linens she obsessively inspects, "she turns dangerous, like a poisonous snake. Now she opens her mouth and shows dreadful fangs. Now she hisses before striking, the tiny spot takes its life into its hands."

    Die Tischtuchtolle was composed in October of 1997 and was first performed by violinist Nagina Stoyanova in Sofia, Bulgaria on 17 November 2001. It is included on the album Improbable Encounters (innova 873, 2014).


  • Der Tränenwärmer

    Der Tränenwärmer (The Tear-warmer) is the nineteenth in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters from Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon. In Canetti's depiction of this character, “the tear-warmer goes to movies every day.... all that counts is that they fulfill their purpose and elicit tears galore from him.... there were times when he was dependent on his own misfortune.... He tried any number of things, he even tried joys... [though] tears of joy do not go very far.... Nor do fury and anger prove to be any more productive. There is only one cause to be counted on: losses, whereby the irrevocable kind are preferable to all the rest, especially when happening to people who do not deserve them.”

    Der Tränenwärmer was composed in May 2020 for violist Michael Capone, who first performed the work on 20 February 2023 at the University of North Texas.


  • Transient Forms

    Transient Forms is a pair of studies based upon models drawn not only from musical sources, but from mathematics and the natural sciences as well (specifically fractal geometry, evolutionary biology, and cosmology). In the first movement, Corridors, the formal design is a hybridization of several formal models. In one respect, it may be considered a kind of modular concerto grosso: unlike the Baroque model where the solo group (concertino) remains constant throughout, here the size and makeup of the concertino is continuously altered or adapted. It is also a passacaglia which unfolds within a palindromic superstructure. Rather than a continuous series of variations based upon a regularly repeating melodic passage, however, this passacaglia "subject" is derived from a series of expanding and contracting cells that recur in different guises within each variation. The composite form of this passacaglia/concerto grosso is the result of a regularly repeated numerical series which occurs at several levels; that is, each section and sub-section of the whole reflects the same internal design, a pattern which recurs even in the basic pitch and rhythmic cells at the surface. This fractal design is analogous to that found in nature within crystals or broccoli flowers, which are themselves structurally self-similar.

    The second movement, Fluxus, consists almost exclusively of a twelve-note aggregate, initially spanning the entire registral spectrum of the orchestra. As the movement progresses, the cluster slowly collapses in upon itself, eventually resulting in a twelve-note cluster, then a quarter-tone cluster, and finally culminating in a full orchestral unison on C#. Fluxus is based upon the same numerical progression used in Corridors, though more rigidly applied: here the structural divisions are not superimposed (as in Corridors), but are rather arranged sequentially, creating the basic rhythmic cell upon which the entire movement is constructed. Continuous timbral modulations and registral compression occur throughout the movement, these being punctuated by a series of brief flourishes in the percussion, piano, and harp. The overall effect is similar to the subtle and continuous transformation of the surrounding vista one observes while traveling across long stretches of land. The aforementioned compression of register and corresponding increase in textural density occur within a tripartite form, each of the three distinct sections being characterized by a change in the degree of disorder (entropy) within the numerical system. For instance, throughout the first major section there is an increase in entropy, as the initial purity of the system is gradually debased by a buildup of internal activity. At the first large juncture, this buildup is abruptly halted, in a manner analogous to the way an automobile windshield wiper clears the accumulation of raindrops from a windshield. From this point the entire process begins again, continuing in the same manner throughout the second major section. The movement reaches a climax at the juncture of the second and third sections (distinguished by the highest degree of contrapuntal activity thusfar in the movement), whereupon the process is reversed: in the third and final section, there is a decrease in entropy as the initial order of the opening is gradually restored.

    Transient Forms was premiered on 10 March 1993 by the Indiana University Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the composer.


  • Der Tückenfänger

    Der Tückenfänger (The Wile-catcher) is the fourteenth in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters in Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon. In Canetti's depiction of this character, "the Wile-catcher looks around corners and will not be deceived. He knows what is hidden behind innocent masks, he knows, as if lightning has struck him, what someone wants from him; and before the mask falls of its own accord, he makes a quick decision and tears it off."

    Der Tückenfänger was completed in December 2014 and composed for clarinetist Kimberly Cole Luevano, who premiered the work on 19 September 2016 at the University of North Texas.


  • Two Diametrically Opposing Units: Vacuum & Plenum

    Two Diametrically Opposing Units: Vacuum & Plenum is a set of two graphic scores to be realized freely by any solo performer or combination of performers. As the title suggests, the two sections are individual entities that are highly contrasted in terms of density, both aurally and visually.

    The work was composed in August of 1982, and first performed on 7 January 1984 in Santa Monica, California.


  • Two Lullabies

    The two lullabies, "Weep not my darling" and "Care-charming sleep," were originally part of the extended stage work dreaming the dark down slowly, composed in collaboration with choreographer Emily B . Stuart in 1990 for a production at Indiana University. These lullabies were extracted from the larger work in April of 1997 as part of The Lullaby Project, sponsored by Not Nice Music and composer Barry Drogin in honor of the birth of his son, Max.

    As the original libretto — written by Stuart — draws heavily upon the subject matter of the complete stage work it may seem a bit obscure or even inappropriate out of that context; optionally, these lullabies may be sung as vocalises on a neutral vowel sound.


  • An Unaware Cosmos

    The history of art, music, and literature through the ages is rife with works rooted in their respective cultural mythologies; in contrast, the influence of science and mathematics on the arts has been primarily theoretical in nature (e.g., the overtone series and musical temperament, the golden ratio in ancient Greek architecture, tessellations in Moorish tile work, or the introduction of perspective in Renaissance painting).  Only during the past half-century or so have such paradigms—as manifestations of objective reality—served as a basis for artistic expression. 

    While my own work has regularly drawn upon models and metaphors from mathematics and the sciences as an expression of the natural world, I have become increasingly compelled in recent years—in part as a response to the preponderance of works that extol the pervasive mythologies of our present culture—to create a work that pays homage to those freethinkers who have devoted their lives to the pursuit of truth, many of whom suffered persecution and punishment by the authorities of their respective eras.  In that spirit, An Unaware Cosmos was conceived as a celebration of humankind’s quest for knowledge through skepticism and critical inquiry, as well as a rebuke of the tribalism, superstition, and sophistry that continue to characterize much of our society well into the 21st century.  Concepts relating to cosmology, evolutionary biology, and genetics—as well as aspects of materialism, existentialism, humanism, and other nontheistic philosophies—have informed this modular work for multiple soloists and mixed chamber ensembles.

    The polyvalent and mutable arrangement of the nineteen modules that comprise this cycle are intended to explore a variety of relationships—timbral, spatial, conceptual, structural—both within and between modules. In performance, music from these distinct modules is combined, fragmented, dislocated, suspended, disrupted, and penetrated, often in unpredictable ways. This approach to form suggests an Eternalist model of time, whereby all possible events theoretically exist, while our ability to experience them is restricted to the present moment; thus, any given realization of An Unaware Cosmos is simply one of a potentially limitless number of ways the work may unfold.  Applying this concept to the listening experience challenges our teleological assumptions regarding musical form, which are themselves the result of centuries-old cultural biases.

    An Unaware Cosmos was supported in part by a fellowship from the Institute for the Advancement of the Arts at the University of North Texas.  The complete cycle was premiered on 26 October 2018 at the University of North Texas Murchison Performing Arts Center.  


  • Verklärte Einblicke

    The concept behind Verklärte Einblicke (Transfigured Glimpses) was inspired by a note that artist Jasper Johns (b. 1930) scrawled in one of his sketchbooks, which subsequently became a maxim invoked by contemporary artists, critics, and art historians:

    Take an Object. Do something to it. Do something else to it. [Repeat.]

    The “object” in this case is Beethoven’s String Trio, Op. 9 No. 3 — specifically, 11 fragments from this work, which are recast through a variety of transformational processes. These modified fragments are presented as a series of brief episodes, each framed by silence—evoking, in a somewhat exaggerated manner, Beethoven’s notable use of the Grand Pause in many of his own works. The Op. 9 string trios are early works in the composer's oeuvre, and as precursors to his revolutionary string quartets—arguably Beethoven's most significant contribution to Western chamber music, and themselves important vehicles for experimentation during the composer's middle and late periods—they provide a stylistic baseline for the development of musical materials in the present work.

    Verklärte Einblicke was composed at the request of the Amorsima Trio, for a program of miniatures celebrating the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth.  The work was premiered by the Amorsima Trio on 2 November 2021 at the University of North Texas.  


  • Wake for K.G.

    Wake for K.G. was composed in February of 1993 as a memorial response to the recent death of composer Kenneth Gaburo. The work is in five sections, each divided into subunits of irregularly alternating long and short sections based upon proportions derived from the Morse Code pattern for K-E-N-N-E-T-H G-A-B-U-R-O. These nested sections are not defined by clear thematic or gestural contrasts, but rather by subtle fluctuations in timbre and texture within the five brass instruments. Except for these gradual and continuous transformations, the brass instruments create an essentially static field of sound based upon the five pitches derived from the composer's name (kEnnEtH GABuro, = E B G A Bb). The rapid tattoos in the snare drums, which delineate the five sections (corresponding to the syllables in the composer's name), are derived from Morse Code transcriptions of the composer's birth and death dates, and continual knells in the tam-tams correspond with each of the thirteen letters of his name. The repeated rhythmic patterns in the bass drums that continue throughout the work are based upon the same Morse Code patterns that determine the structure of the entire work (the composer's name being divided between the two drums, which play in different tempi). The result is a sonic ritual celebrating the passage from life to death.

    Wake for K.G. was first performed by the Nova Ensemble at the University of North Texas on 2 March 1993.


  • Der Wasserhehler

    Der Wasserhehler (The Water-harborer) is the third in a series of short works for solo instrument based upon characters in Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere (Earwitness: Fifty Characters), written in 1974 by the Bulgarian-born British-Austrian novelist Elias Canetti (1905-1994). Canetti’s distinctive studies incorporate poetic imagery, singular insights, and unabashed wordplay to create fifty ironic paradigms of human behavior. This collection, begun in 1997, was inspired by the vividly surreal depictions of Canetti’s characters, and comprises twenty-two solo works to date—composed for familiar instruments such as violin, guitar, piano, and trombone, as well as less common instruments such as ocarina, cimbalom, glass harmonica, and carillon.  In Canetti's depiction of this character, the Water-harborer "lives in fear that he is bound to die of thirst and so he collects water… He goes to his neighbor and asks for some water… [and] thereby spares his own faucet, which shares his sensitivity and closes before it is too late."

    Der Wasserhehler was composed in July 1997 and revised in September 2000 for Helen Bledsoe, who first performed the work on 14 November 2000 in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is included on the album Improbable Encounters (innova 873, 2014).


  • Zwei Parabeln nach Franz Kafka

    Zwei Parabeln nach Franz Kafka is a setting of two of Kafka’s parables—“Die Brücke” (“The Bridge”) and “Der Geier” (“The Vulture”)—for narrator, mixed choir, and pre-recorded computer music. The choir part is comprised of fragments from Kafka’s texts in the original German, while the narrator reads the complete texts in English translation. The computer music is derived entirely from the choral music, which has been manipulated in order to extend the timbral and textural range of the ensemble.

    Zwei Parabeln nach Franz Kafka was composed between January and May of 2006 for Henry Gibbons and Canticum novum, who first performed the complete work on 20 November 2006 at the University of North Texas. It is included on the album Music from the University of North Texas Center for Experimental Music and Intermedia, CDCM Vol. 39 (Centaur CRC-3219, 2012).