Homage to Erik  
​Satie

Homage to  Erik Satie for Strings and Harp.  I have enjoyed playing Erik Satie's "Gymnopedies" and "Trois Gnossiennes" over the years (a pleasure to play with my limited pianistic skills.).  Also,  hearing them performed  with small ensembles or by full orchestra has been a reminder of his subtle anti-Romantic style, that being my motivation to try my hand at some kind of new work in Homage to him.  Eventually I settled on string orchestra and harp.  Mainly I wanted the piece to reflect the mood of many of his works, that exotic quality with which we are all familiar-without simply quoting it or arranging one of his pieces.  The exceptions to that are the first four measures (A six note exact quote from "Trio Gnosseines #3)  and towards the end with another brief quote from  the same.  Otherwise, the themes/melodies are reflections of  his exotic moods. There is a  3/4 waltz like feel of the meter and the tempo mpderate.   The form is A-B-C-several episodes-B-"sequences" finishing with a brief cello solo-ending.  

Romeo and Juliet

This version of Romeo and Juliet is for full orchestra.  It opens with a "Fate Theme", three fortissimo chords- repeated, which returns at the end (more on that in a bit).  The soon to be lovers meet at a dance as you recall and were instantly enthralled.  In the opening measures we hear the voice of Romeo in the cello and Juliet in the oboe.  The piece continues in 3/4 time with a theme/melody of four measures which is heard throughout.  The several succeeding sections are warm and  romantic within  a calm setting that belies their subsequent fate.  These early sections suggest that all is going well as love and harmony abound, but after a full stop followed by pizzicato strings , the intensity picks up suggesting that, although there is  movement forward, they are in danger.  (You recall the plan to marry, escape their families  and their  fateful  employment  of a sleeping potion etc.). Calm gives way to agitation and finally the trombones, tuba and trumpet take the theme to full volume.  And at the end of that crescendo, the "Fate Theme" returns  in a final statement with low brass and strings on an ominous low note.   The timpani pounds out the final moments- the final fateful moments.  Tragedy, by any other name.  BUT-not wanting the tragic ending to stand an apotheosis follows on; suggesting,  that  tragedy or no, love had triumphed--or that they are both heaven bound--or both.

Butterfly Picnic

I occasionally  compose a piece  which emphasizes  the piano; or in this case two pianos.   The software for the  grand  piano samples come from "IVORY" which has more options than I can use  but a variety  that is great to have. Butterfly Picnic  is based on echoing  back and forth between a grand piano on the right and one on the  left . So, best listened to in stereo.  I found the accompanying  percussion in  the synthesizer bank that comes with Logic X.  Without the percussion there would be no fluttering of wings, an effect I was going after.  Programmatic to the core, imagination is called for here (use "it" freely). The initial unmetered section gives way to a dance.  (Butterflies are well known for their dance parties and picnics as we all know?)  Ending in a flourish.  

Allegretto for Solo Horn in 5/8

This piece is for Solo Horn and small chamber orchestra consisting of orchestral strings, two flutes and two bassoons. I have played Horn since early high school, over 50 years ago, and still play a few minutes daily, often to try out things I am working on.  Number of years ago I wrote a horn duet in 5/8.  Ever since I have tried to make the theme work in a larger context but eventually gave up and started afresh.  The "Allegretto" here is the result.   5/8 time is dominant here but measures of 6/8 and 7/8 happen as well.  The mood is light and good humored.  Except for a brief digression into a more lyric/legato melody, the energy is maintained throughout.  The difficulty level for the Horn is at the level of the Mozart Horn Concertos, challenging somewhat by virtue of the changing meters but not in term of range.  The horn sound is a software instrument taken from the VSL library (Vienna Symphonic Library) as are al the other instruments.  The tone quality, the attacks, the dynamics and particularly the articulations of slurred/tongued  are not easy to work with and do not represent any ideal that I have for the Horn sound.  Nevertheless, it works well enough to articulate what I composed-for better or worse.  Finally, I have enjoyed working on this piece and I hope that is apparent in the listening.   

Syncope for Brass

Syncope is a four minute piece  for orchestral brass.  Four trumpets, four horns, 3 trombones and tuba in this case.  It is built on the repetition of a syncopated pattern familiar to all.  After a 4 measure intro there is a broad theme in horn and then trumpets.  There are a number of  shorter themes fragments which enter early on and return at various times--most notably at the end.  (Syncopated rhythm present most of the time is  in three trumpets.)  A noticeable feature of the piece is the use of fast sixteenth note runs-showing that there is some reason for slurred scales in etude books!  The feel overall is vaguely pop/jazzy made more obvious in an eight measure call and response section towards the middle.  This is followed by a let-up in the drive in a slower section featuring  solo  trombone and then tuba while mutes are used in the accompaniment.  After that the syncopated pattern returns taking the piece to an ending emphasizing triplets, a theme fragment from earlier,  and some final excitement.  

Santa's Workshop

This is a  fun piece for the Christmas/Holiday Season. (Holiday Pops Concert material).  For full orchestra. I composed a version of this 15 years ago when the synthesizer I was using was extremely limited and the instrumental sounds not ready for prime time.  Here, with the VSL sounds (Vienna Symphonic Library) there is no doubt about authentic timbre of any of the instruments. The piece  is in  in 4/4 time and uses themes which suggest the busyness of a toy making workshop with all its energy, excitement and good humor (it had to have a brief piccolo and tuba duet). Listeners will note that I include a section in which the mood darkens as if problems in toy making or Elf disharmony of an unspecified nature were occurring--a shadow that resolves into light.  Problem(s) solved.  And  after  that a brief section with high spirits to the end. 4'40' long.

By The Brook

By the Brook is a programmatic piece for full orchestra about 5 minutes long.  The program for it goes like this:  A number of young women are on an outing enjoying themselves , the time period is the nineteenth Century.  They are by a beautiful running brook somewhere in Austria in the countryside. The sun is shining with white clouds passing.  They are singing, laughing, socializing  and in full relaxation/enjoyment mode.  But  their   pastoral solitude and enjoyment    is interrupted by young men on horseback who  are essentially  showing off and using their  horsemanship and male energy to try to impress and gather attention. Thus,  in the initial measures,  the simple rhythm in 3/4 meter allows one  to imagine the  bucolic scene.  (This rhythm pattern  becomes disguised to some degree as the forte passages  come along but it is usually there in some form or another).   Busy strings and intense brass often led by the horns at fortissimo carry the energy forward, interrupting the quiet mood  It is noticeable that at least three times the quieter more feminine mood tries to return  (note the nice oboe solo in one of these episodes),  and each time is  thwarted by the higher  male energy;  which finally carries to the end.

A British Jaunt for Cello and Piano

This is a mostly fast paced composition based on the style of certain British tunes- many of which could be labelled as "jaunty" (hence the title).   Attracted to the modal sound of  British folk melodies  and motivated by hearing that Ralph Vaughn-Williams went about  the country side collecting and recording them, I decided to try my hand at using one of those songs, "Cutty Wren",  in a piece for Solo cello* and piano.   However, the majority of the tunes are original songs derived from  that style as well as melodies imitating British social dance music (perhaps recognizable in  films such as "Sense and Sensibility".)   "Cutty Wren" appears later, past the middle, a clearly legato  melody with a singing quality.  Once the cello is done, a  repeat follows in a very busy piano version while  the cello accompanies with fast scales  etc..  Next comes a new melody in 6/8 time  begun by  piano then followed by the cello.  This leads to a restatement of the the very first fast (modal) tune that began the piece--followed by a section where the two instruments trade one measure of solo back and forth--leading to a coda and conclusion.  (Four minutes long in 4/4 time in C modal minor c-d-e flat-f-g-a flat-b flat-c. for the min theme ;3/4 for Cutty Wren and 6/8 for a short section before return of main theme.) 
*When I began work on the piece the  cello sound I used,  from the Vienna Symphonic Library (VSL),  was the ENTIRE section of 8 cellos!  But eight  cellos on a "solo" did not work!  So I bought/downloaded  the VSL version of  "solo cello";  which worked much much better.  Better, but the truly expressive legato sound, though good, is not the quality I had hoped for.---- Still.  It was better that using the entire section.

Carnivale/Orchestral Allegro

Carnivale is an orchestral allegro in 4/4 time and  a little over 4 minutes long.  I composed this with no title.  However, as I finished.  it was clear that there is  enough excitement and variety in it to suggest an upbeat day at the fair/carnival.  There is a gallop rhythm that leads the piece and animates the final measures as well.  In between are numerous digressions of different lengths (one a s short as 4 measures!) which suggest a variety of activities and energetic moods. 
Carnivale uses  a lot of percussion.  The standards: timpani, snare and bass drum and cymbals are used throughout with the timpani getting short solos here and there.  Originally more of a brass piece, I somehow morphed it into one with heavy use of the string section, charging forward with the gallop rhythm I mentioned.  Enjoy.  And if some other image or program works better for you--then indulge it and make a film score out of it.  Imagine that.