Aesop's Fables (woodwind quintet plus narration); 12:00
Each of the five movements of this work tells the story of one of Aesop's Fables. Each movement has two main characters, highlighted by a different pairing of instruments. The music can stand alone, but all performances to date have included narration. Audiences of all ages enjoy this work. Arrieu Wind Quintet, resident ensemble at the Oregon State University Department of Music, performed Aesop's Fables twelve times in their 1999-2000 concert season—at libraries, school assemblies, and evening concerts, including the Oregon Mozart Players' concert series "Chamber Music and Chocolate". As a school concert piece, it is an excellent vehicle for demonstrating the "personality" of the different instruments of the woodwind quintet.
     The Ant and the Grasshopper     aesop'sfables1
     The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse     aesop'sfables2
     The Hare and the Tortoise     aesop'sfables3
     The Wind and the Sun     aesop'sfables4
     The Lion and the Mouse     aesop'sfables5

Field Report: News from Rural Oregon (clarinet/piano); 11:20
This four-movement work was commissioned by clarinetist Lisa Taylor, to whom it is dedicated. It incorporates a charming, amusing mix of tonality and atonality, painting four pictures of life in the country. This performance was by Lisa Taylor and pianist Winnie Kerner.
     I. Goat Dance     fieldreport1
     II. 186 Days of Rain     fieldreport2
     III. Salmon Run     fieldreport3
     IV. Blackberry Season     fieldreport4

L'anniversaire (2 violins, 1 'cello); 6:00
I was one of several composers commissioned by the Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium 2004 to write a piece in honor of George Crumb's 70th birthday. He was the composer-in-residence that year. I wrote and asked him what visual artists he liked, and he sent back a list of eight, including Marc Chagall. I chose Chagall's appropriately-titled painting L'anniversaire ("The Birthday") as my visual inspiration for this piece. This performance was by Third Angle, a new music ensemble out of Portland, Oregon.
     l'anniversaire1     l'anniversaire2

Loco Motives (flute, clarinet, violin, 'cello, percussion, piano); 5:30
The tonality of this work is not particularly dissonant, yet it is unusual. Its motives have interesting gestural shapes. It evokes a lazy summer day broken by the sound and energy of a couple of passing trains. This reading was by the California E.A.R. Unit.
     locomotives1     locomotives2     locomotives3

Theseus and the Minotaur (horn, oboe, piano, percussion, narration); 18:00
This piece was commissioned and premiered by my friend Matt Monroe, horn player, to whom it is dedicated. It shows off the horn's capabilities in its lower range and uses a variety of extended techniques. Theseus and the Minotaur is an original retelling of the ancient Greek myth of how Theseus slew the Minotaur in the Labyrinth. Between its six movements are narrations spoken by the four instrumentalists.
     I. Overture     theseus1
     II. The Voyage of Doom     theseus2
     III. Theseus and Ariadne     theseus3
     IV. In the Labyrinth     theseus4
     V. The Flight from Crete     theseus5
     VI. The Death of King Aegeus     theseus6

Tin Roof (prepared classical guitar quartet); 3:00
This piece was commissioned by the Portland Guitar Duo, Foti Lycouridis and James Manuele. They asked for a piece with fairly simple tablature that they could use to demonstrate prepared guitar techniques at masterclasses and workshops. "Preparing" a classical guitar means attaching a variety of common items or materials to a nylon string guitar, in various locations along its strings, in order to produce an amazing array of unexpected timbres or sounds, some percussive, some bell- or gong-like, and much more. These preparations frequently affect the intonation in unusual ways, which necessitates writing the score in tablature. Part of this piece's challenge was to write it so that could be performed with two, three, or four guitars. This clip uses four guitars.
     tinroof

Ancient Roots (prepared classical guitar duo); 7:00
This three-movement work was also commissioned by the Portland Guitar Duo. Here, they asked for a more complex duo piece for concert performance. Using a number of prepared guitar techniques, it is also written in tablature. As soon as this work premieres I'll post audioclips.

Cactus Moon (percussion quartet); 1:20
This is a short, funny piece. The reading is by the Talujon Percussion Quartet.
     cactusmoon

Barbara (flute quartet: 2 C flutes, alto flute, bass flute); 4:00
This piece is named for Barbara Bowerman, wife of Bill Bowerman, Oregon's legendary track coach and the co-founder of NIKE. Its main theme is the "Barbara" flute theme which recurs throughout my orchestral work, Bowerman, Man of Oregon. This performance was by flutists from the Central Oregon Symphony.
     barbara1     barbara2

 

Journeys to Freedom: Rännakud Vabadusse (large SATB, small SATB, and treble choruses; flute, clarinet, horn, bassoon, percussion); 9:00
This large-ensemble choral work incorporates folksongs from the U.S. and Estonia (the text is sung in both languages), and celebrates human freedom and dignity. It was co-commissioned by three choirs in Westminster, Maryland: the McDaniel College Concert Choir, the Masterworks Chorale of Carroll County, and the Children's Chorus of Carroll County. Its five smoothly-connected sections include immigrant songs, orphan songs, songs of slavery and poverty, songs of homelessness and despair, and finally, songs of welcome.
     journeys1     journeys2     journeys3     journeys4     journeys5

Reciprocity (SATB a cappella with divisi); 11:00
This choral work honors the positive and negative formulations of the ethic of reciprocity ("do unto others..." and "do not do to others..."), sometimes known as the "golden rule." The text quotes, in chronological order, eleven of our planet's history-shaping religious teachers and philosophers, going as far back as 3100 B.C., in their original languages as much as possible. The languages of the text are, in order: Sanskrit, Prakrit, Tibetan, Chinese, ancient Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, and again Arabic.
     reciprocity-hindu     reciprocity-jain     reciprocity-confucian
          reciprocity-jewish     reciprocity-christian     reciprocity-muslim
               reciprocity-zoroastrian     reciprocity-baha'i

Three Songs of the Soul (SATB a cappella with divisi); 12:00
These three texts are English translations of poems by Dutch metaphysical poet Jan Luyken (1649-1712). My settings, while wholly original, give a nod to the tonal harmonic language of the poet's lifetime. The second song was selected to be the Westminster Choir College 1998 graduating classes' anthem. Tom Manoff, NPR classical music reviewer, published a fine review after a concert which included the third song, as performed by the Oregon Repertory Singers. Three Songs of the Soul can be performed individually or as a set.
     I. The Soul's Devotion at the Rebirth of Life
               soul1-1     soul1-2
     II. The Soul Considers Its Nearness to God
               soul2-1     soul2-2     soul2-3
     III. The Soul Contemplates the Creator In the Creation
               soul3-1     soul3-2

Pied Beauty (SATB a cappella); 1:50
This is my madrigal-like setting of the charming poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins.
     piedbeauty1     piedbeauty2

Wise Words of Love (SSAA/piano); 13:00
Here I've set a number of short quotes from Shakespeare's plays. The words are lines spoken by women characters in a number of the plays, on various aspects of love. The tone of this piece ranges from tongue-in-cheek to deeply romantic and back. Wise Words of Love is dedicated to my friend Joanne McDade, conductor, who inspired and premiered it.
     1. Disdain     wisewords1
     2. Pursuit     wisewords2
     3. The Eyes of Love     wisewords3
     4. Folly     wisewords4
     5. Courtship     wisewords5
     6. Passion     wisewords6
     7. Devotion     wisewords7
     8. Marriage     wisewords8
     9. Parting     wisewords9

Pat-a-Pan (TTBB a cappella); 2:10
This is my own arrangement and translation of the traditional Burgundian holiday carol. These audioclips have piano accompaniment, although optimally it should be performed a cappella.
     patapan1     patapan2

Ubi Caritas (A/T duet, accompanied by string trio or organ); 5:30
This text from the Mass of Maundy Thursday: "Wherever there is charity and love, God is there...." I wrote my own melody rather than use the traditional cantus firmus. My setting of Ubi Caritas has been performed with alto and tenor soloists, and it could also be done with the alto and tenor sections of a choir.
     ubicaritas1     ubicaritas2

Your Hands (tenor/piano); 6:40
The text for this artsong is excerpted from the epilogue of an English translation of the epic poem The Twelve Words of the Gypsy by Greek poet Kostes Palamas (1859-1943). Palamas wrote the epilogue as an apology to his wife for neglecting her while writing his epic poem. Your Hands is a love song to a practical woman. The intricate, industrious piano accompaniment symbolizes the woman's active, tireless service. The lyrical, soaring melody provides the musical constancy around which the accompaniment dances. The score is available for purchase (write to inquire); a recording of this piece is the final track on my October Wind CD, sung by tenor Peter Hollens.
     yourhands1     yourhands2

Double Beauty (soprano/piano); 2:50
The introspective, thoughtful text for this charming lullaby was written by British poet Eleanor Farjeon. The piece was commissioned by my friend, soprano Gretchen Farrar, for inclusion on her forthcoming CD. Audioclips coming soon!