Composition Commons^™

Alptraum, Daniel T. Galey

Student Composition Recitals

The title of this piece means "Nightmare" in German. It uses a lot of half steps as well as diminished and half-diminished chords in order to create an eerie mood with a hint of fear.

Phobos And Deimos, Sean Kisch

Student Composition Recitals

Phobos and Deimos are the two moons which orbit the planet Mars. In Greek, their names mean “panic” and “terror,” both of which accurately describe this piece. The irregular rhythms, angular harmonies, and frenetic counterpoint all contribute to a sense of frenzied, irrational fear. Above all is a recurring 5/8 pattern which is meant to create the uneasy feeling that some unknown nightmare is lurking just out of sight.

Driftwoodsman, Nathanael T. Spanos

Student Composition Recitals

Driftwoodsman

A robot with muscles
established his thresholds
and balanced his mesh molds.
His thoughts and his lights bulged.

He was young again,
new with friends,
learning things
beyond his ken,
a fast frontiersman,
the first to fear Them,
but last to leave Them,
those solid steersmen, piersmen.

Neuro, Andrew Mcfarlane

Student Composition Recitals

I’ve often described myself to people as an over-thinker. When analyzing this piece to find some sort of story or program, I saw myself. It seemed to me that the music described one who is cursed and blessed with thoughtfulness- perceiving the world, analyzing everything the senses take in and rehearsing them in the mind. I named the piece Neuro- referring to the nervous system. The first movement, “Conscious,” describes this intake of information in 4 sections: a blurry morning, the bustle of the day, a short respite from the intake, and another bustle. The second movement, “Mull,” describes a …

Interlude For Violin, Daniel T. Galey

Student Composition Recitals

This piece was written to have perpetual motion, which means that there are only sixteenth notes throughout this piece. Since the rhythm of this piece is constant and therefore not as interesting, I had to make the harmonies and melodies interesting. I employ a theme in the beginning that is repeated throughout, but in varying keys. In the middle section, I write a compound melody among the continuous sixteenth notes. There is a feeling of uncertainty in this piece, which can be heard in the theme as well as the use of modulations. It's as though one is out on …

Learning To Speak, Sean Kisch

Student Composition Recitals

Next to the human voice, the saxophone and cello are arguably the most flexible instruments we have today. The range of techniques and noises available makes them ideal for imitating the human voice and creating expression. “Learning to Speak” follows the progression of finding order in speech, and the three movements imitate this idea in the harmony—moving from atonal to tonal. The last movement’s lyrics are drawn from the poem “Taming the Tongue” by Nate Spanos, which is a prayer that God would teach us how to speak in a way that honors him.

Incidental Music From Doubt, Calvin D. Hitchcock

Student Composition Recitals

Living in the midst of uncertainty is something quite familiar to all of us, yet also so foreign. When I sat down to write this score, my main question was how do I capture this universal feeling with my music? How can I draw my audience in while simultaneously taking them on an unpredictable and slightly uncomfortable journey? My goal was to have listeners be present, not relying on the past or living in the anticipation of something to come, but caught up in the moment. My musings resulted in a recurring two bar theme strategically placed throughout a relatively …

Salem, 1692, Calvin D. Hitchcock

Student Composition Recitals

This piece follows the progression of the Salem Witch Trials, which took place in colonial Massachusetts in 1692. Over the course of a little more than a year, the Puritan community executed nineteen suspected witches. I aimed to capture the hysteria and religious hypocrisy responsible for driving a community to such an atrocity. With text largely based on quotes recorded during the actual witch trials, Salem, 1692 is comprised of six movements. Movements one through three document the initial Old Testament mandate, the twisted superstitions that developed from said mandate, and the panicked responses of the accused. Recreating the ominous …

Locrian Rain Dance, Michael Carbaugh

Student Composition Recitals

I wrote this piece based on the first movement of a Ravel sonata. It is written primarily in the mode Locrian, which resembles a natural minor scale with a lowered second and a lowered fifth. It is commonly referred to as the darkest mode, which you may notice by the dissonance in this piece. Some staples of this piece are syncopation, rhythmic motifs, repeated melodic shapes, and, of course, dissonance. I called it Locrian Rain Dance, because the duet between the violin and cello remind me of fleet-footed routines. As you listen to the piece, try to feel the sense …

Songs, Joshua Drake

Student Composition Recitals

These three art songs are settings of excerpts from William Wordsworth's famous poem, "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey." I hope you enjoy this new music!

A Few Miles Above

This song opens with large polychords (two separate diatonic chords stacked on top of each other) and sweeping runs. I wrote these to create a grand, expansive sound, symbolizing the breathtaking view of a vast landscape from high on a mountaintop. Throughout the rest of the song I tried to tone paint frequently. For instance, I used some unusual chords, including a minor dominant, to illustrate the "five …