Composition Commons^™

Resonance Modes Commissioned Work For Jeannette Fang,, David Biedenbender

David Biedenbender

Resonance Modes was inspired by a completely imaginary and impractical preparation of the piano, one that I never actually intended to use, but seemed like an interesting starting point for the piece. I imagined hundreds of small liquid mercury droplets being poured into the piano and dancing on the sounding board and strings in beautiful and interesting ways. Although impossible for several obvious reasons (principally, the health and safety of the performer, the audience, and the piano!), this idea came from mercury’s relatively unique properties, namely the high density and surface tension which cause it to resonate at different frequencies …

Arrangement Of Beck’S I’M Down Commissioned By The Atlantic Chamber Ensemble, David Biedenbender

David Biedenbender

In writing this arrangement of Beck’s “I’m Down,” I wanted to use the original melody and shuffle groove in their simple, unaltered form, and then pull apart bits and pieces of the accompaniment into little fragments. My intent was to capture the cheerful irony of the melody juxtaposed with the content of the lyrics in an accompaniment that is fun but kind of quirky and weird—imagine daydreaming while feeling kind of down and letting your mind wander through surreal, even goofy, ideas, images, and sounds.

Nola 2, Chris Rutkowski

Chris Rutkowski

NOLA 2 is a jazz composition based on authentic New Orleans rhythms blended with a contemporary and intricate melodic and harmonic palette.

Strange, Beautiful Noises For The Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Santa Cruz, Ca, David Biedenbender

David Biedenbender

Strange, Beautiful Noises was written in the months preceding the birth of my son, Izaak. Along with the usual pre-parental anxiety, I found myself frequently imagining what it would be like to hear so many sounds for the very first time as he does, both through the watery walls of the womb and then suddenly without that warm, safe frequency filter. This piece was a gift to him and also a way for me to work through the anxiety of becoming a father for the first time. Nervous ticking, funk bass lines played by bass clarinet, rewind and reverse playback …

The Flap-O-Phone, A Site-Specific Turntable, Christopher Delaurenti

Christopher DeLaurenti

Concertino, Doug Lofstrom, Jennet Ingle, Kelsey Molinari, Kirk Muspratt

Doug Lofstrom

Orchestral works released on Origin Classical out of Seatlle, Washington on July 17, 2012. Featuring: Jennet Ingle, oboe; Kelsey Molinari, harp; with accompanying musicians; Kirk Muspratt, conductor; Doug Lofstrom, conductor.

Double Barrel Rhythm Thing, Chris Rutkowski

Chris Rutkowski

Double Barrel Rhythm thing (two tenor saxes, piano, bass, drums) is an original interpretation of mainstream bebop and the jazz trope "I Got Rhythm".

Tiempos - Sun/Dial, For Orchestra, Bruno Louchourn

Bruno Louchouarn

The multi-movement Time Pieces is inspired by clocks through the ages, from the sun dial to the atom clock. The sun dial's time is primal, slow moving and only impresses on us the certainty that segments of the day have elapsed, a fact paralleled by the sectional nature of this movement. The use of special microtonal percussion highlights the disembodied nature of light. Since the sundial only works when the sun is casting focused rays, there is in the music a constant interplay between the diffused and the focused.

Tiempos Ii - Water/Clock, For Orchestra, Bruno Louchourn

Bruno Louchouarn

The ancient clepsydra, or water clock, measured time by gradual flow of water. In “Water Clock” the diffuse and fluid energy of water is transformed into rhythmic time, while always retaining the impalpable quality of the liquid element.

Mémoires De L’Eau, For Eight Percussionists, Bruno Louchourn

Bruno Louchouarn

“Mémoires de l’eau” means water’s memories or memoirs. I am, like many, fascinated by that element and the importance of its three states (liquid, solid, and gaseous) in nature. The different properties of water in each state are linked to the type of bond between the molecules. I wanted to explore this concept in music. Rhythmically the elemental motive of this piece - the polyrhythm 5 against 4 against 3 - presents a varying balance between order and freedom. At different tempos it behaves differently: very fast it is fluid and free, very slow it is open and intangible, and …

Images Surfacing, For 4 Flutes And 2 Pianos, Bruno Louchourn

Bruno Louchouarn

his piece was inspired by the work of American painter Lee Krasner. Her style, originally stemming from abstract expressionism, evolved to incorporate collage and a personal brand of abstract minimalism with repeated small hieroglyph-like motives. The expressiveness of her work at large, with its stunning balance between order and intuitive gestures is, for me, embodied in the title of a single painting entitled “Images Surfacing.” It prompted me to try to explore similar concepts in music. In this piece the melodic gestures have a free and abstract quality, sometimes coalescing in seemingly familiar harmonic or rhythmic structures. The freedom of …

Échanges, Guitar Duo, Bruno Louchourn

Bruno Louchouarn

No abstract provided.

Tiempos Iv - Atoms, For Orchestra, Bruno Louchourn

Bruno Louchouarn

The precision of the best mechanical clocks cannot rival that of the atomic clock which homes in on the absolute regularity of quantum changes within the atom. This regularity and the apparent simplicity of the atom are in contrast to the complex statistical nature of its electronic states, and the (growing) number of discovered sub-atomic particles. The fourth movement: "Atoms" is inspired by this notion of complexity generated by multiple simplicities.

Flux, For Flute, Multi-Percussion, And Electronics, Bruno Louchourn

Bruno Louchouarn

In Flux I sought to explore the shift of meaning between the clear denotation of the spoken words and their transformation into “music.” The process moves from the indexical nature of words to the corporeality of speech. The players embody that performative aspect of music-speech. This piece was conceived in layers generating each other centrifugally: “Flux,” the short poem by Carl Sandburg, has the alliterative simplicity needed for semantic and formal sonic manipulations. The 15 second reading is actually the seed from which everything is derived. The motives in the electronic layer are generated form the pitches and rhythm of …

Fiestas, For 12 Percussionists, Bruno Louchourn

Bruno Louchouarn

Fiestas is conceptually inspired by the "Feasts" as social rituals. The musical process and form mirror aspects of group dynamic in these gatherings. Although a few individual players may at times dominate, the ensemble has to "conduct" itself with several sub-groups emerging and disappearing. The main theme, introduced by hand claps, is an oscillation slowly quickening to a fast trepidation, giving way to a stable polyrhythm. The degree of synchronization between players or groups of players varies and generally increases toward more order as the piece unfolds. I wanted to impart a sense of “orchestra” to the group with relatively …

De Una Piedra De Gracia, For Marimba And Chamber Orchestra, Bruno Louchourn

Bruno Louchouarn

Text: “Y sucedió que incontables gracias nacieran de una piedra de gracia.” Libro de los espíritus Mayas “And it so happened that countless graces were born out of a stone of grace.” Book of Mayan Spirits In the cosmology of the Mayas there are various cycles of creation starting from simple elements and building upon themselves. The sober poetry of this fragment was the starting point for the piece. Through the three sections there is a increase in the complexity in the material and in the interraction between the players. Concurrently the degree of independence and stratification decrease all the …

Music For Films, Tv, Commercial, Bruno Louchourn

Bruno Louchouarn

Music for film, TV, and commercials. Titles include: Tango Flush, The Novice, Cover Up (Dolph Lungren), Latin, Surf Orpheus, Total Recall, 100 Centre Streetm Black Dog.

Hope, Chris Rutkowski

Chris Rutkowski

Hope is a composition for jazz combo featuring two meters, a 4/4 ballad and a 12/8 gospel waltz.

Orbits For Two Pianos, N. Lincoln Hanks

N. Lincoln Hanks

A tone poem for two pianos based on this text by Rilke:

I live my life in growing orbits

which move out over the things of the world.

Perhaps I can never achieve the last,

but that will be my attempt.

I am circling around God, around the ancient tower,

and I have been circling for a thousand years,

and I still don't know if I am a falcon, or a storm,

or a great song.

Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926)

Retour, For Piano, Video And Electronics, Bruno Louchourn

Bruno Louchouarn

A return—but also a reversal (of fortune)—ReTouR stems from an inquiry into the narrative shape of love gained and lost, mediated and articulated by music. The myth of Orpheus is a archetype of such a narrative. In itself the myth has a symmetrical structure: growing love interrupted by the death of Eurydice, followed by Orpheus’ descent to Hades, his stay there and intense negotiation with the powers that be; his ascent back toward light with his love regained, only to loose her again forever. The piece’s shape and structure—a quasi palindrome—explore the abstract narrative of loss in the liminal and …

Vivid Spaces, For Violin And Piano, Bruno Louchourn

Bruno Louchouarn

This is another offering in the “space” cycle. In “The Poetics of Space,” French philosopher Gaston Bachelard analyses the spaces that surround us; spaces we live in and dream about. Prompted and informed by this book, Vivid Spaces muses on the experience of inhabiting. “Intimate immensity,” “interstitial and transitory spaces,” “inner spaces of memory,” “angular spaces”, and “retreat” are explored here in the brevity and evanescence of the musical experience.

Arc-Tension, For Clarinet And Piano, Bruno Louchourn

Bruno Louchouarn

This piece is part of a cycle on the phenomenology and poetics of spaces and explores the idea of a linear space. In French “arc” means both “bow” and “arch.” In both these artifacts there is a sense of contained tension and energy, even in their static state. This particular contrast, present in the keystone—holding the arch together—and in the taut bow string, has prompted me to explore this kind of tension musically. There is a sense of restrained movement in the constant interaction between fast figuration and slow pulse, flow and interrupting silence. Like the bow, high strung but …

Liquid Architecture Bass Trombone And Piano, Commissioned By Randall Hawes, Principal Bass Trombone, Detroit Symphony Orchestra And Kathryn Goodson, Piano, David Biedenbender

David Biedenbender

Liquid Architecture was inspired by the work of Frank Gehry, whose work includes the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, the Dancing House in Prague, Czech Republic, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, among many others. I have heard his structures described as “liquid architecture,” and having experienced several of these buildings in person, I find this description to be both apt and stunningly beautiful. I love the image that this phrase evokes—that of a fixed structure taking on the physical properties of a liquid, like massive, molten droplets of metal melting into time—and I wanted to capture …

Wabi Sabi (Score), Gary Smart

Gary Smart

Wabi Sabi is a fantasy for eight instruments: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, violin, viola, cello and bass. The title, a Japanese phrase, refers to a love and nostalgia for ancient times, for old 
things - antiques - things which evoke feelings of purity, nobility, hard won wisdom, an essential spirituality, true worth. A tea ceremony in a Kyoto garden is “wabi sabi”. The piece was formed intuitively as a kind of drama, perhaps a Japanese folk tale. The expansion of “time perception”, the savoring of sound colors and the evocation of mood is central to the aesthetic of this music.

Constellation: For Orchestra And Live Electronics, Ronald Smith

Ronald Bruce Smith

No abstract provided.

Something Suspicious (Small): For Bass Clarinet And Live Electronics, Ronald Smith

Ronald Bruce Smith

No abstract provided.

End Credits Music, "Arts Weekly" Tv Program, Chris Rutkowski

Chris Rutkowski

Music for end credits of "Arts Weekly", broadcast weekly of WFWA (PBS, Fort Wayne, IN)

Professional Biography, Utep Department Of Music Website, Dominic Dousa

Dominic Dousa

The attached link will take you to my homepage at the UTEP Department of Music website, where a fuller biography can be found.

Encuentros Causales, Marianella Machado

Marianella P. Machado

Encuentros Causales recoge una variada selecci¿n de poemas compuestos por Marianella Machado entre los a¿os 2001 y 2006. Cada poema de este libro, representa un encuentro con Dios, (la Causa ¿nica), ya sea, en la oraci¿n, la meditaci¿n, la felicidad, el sufrimiento, la culpa, entre otras circunstancias. Cada uno de los poemas es el resultado de una reflexi¿n sobre la causa en torno a la cual ha tenido lugar el encuentro con Dios.

Menudencias, Marianella Machado

Marianella P. Machado

Menudencias es una colecci¿n de poemas breves inspirados en los Haikus de poetas japoneses, tales como: Bash¿, S¿gui, Kiorai, Riota, Taigui, Kit¿, entre otros. En Menudencias, Marianella Machado no intenta imitar fielmente a dichos poetas. M¿s bien, la poeta busca exceder los par¿metros de ese g¿nero mediante el uso constante de la variaci¿n de im¿genes.