New Violin Sonata and New Electronic Piece - Celestograph I

I've finished a new violin sonata, my 4th, and have uploaded a realization. It's a bit more poetic, a bit less bombastic than the 3rd but full of energy and harmonies.

Sonata for Violin and Piano #4 - Synthesized Realization

And yesterday I finished my first full length electronic piece in 5 years! It's called Celestograph I and will be part of a series of pieces called hmmm... Celestographs! The piece uses the Wendy Carlos harmonic series tuning and is a celestially inspired processional. The title comes from a photographic series by August Strindberg in which he made photographs directly exposed to the night sky, without a lens. He believed the lens warped the direct expression of the stars.

Here's an article about his work The Celestographs of August Strindberg

Celestograph I

A big big thanks to Kyle Gann for including 4 of my pieces in the new lineup to his ever popular, prize-winning and wondrous radio show, Online Experimental Radio. He's included L'Ecume des Temps for Violin and Guitar, Erg for Mandolin and Guitar, DeltaBandResonator for Piano and my stretched Beethoven 3rd electronic piece, Eroica Spettrale

Also, super violinist Piotr Szewczyk continues to rock the violin world with his series Violin Futura. Here's a recent poster:

He's recently played the entire series (including my piece Puce in Jacksonville, FL (twice), at the Santa Fe New Music Festival, and at University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music! Bravo!!!

We moved recently (more about that at a later date) and we threw away hundreds of books and videos, but not before digitizing some of the videos. Here's a YouTube of an experimental video I made back in 1988 on my Amiga 1000 computer with algorithmically generated ambient music.

Tetra-Mnemosyne V Score and Parts Available and Violin Futura Performances

I've finally got a chance to get the score of my monumental string trio (if there can be such a thing) Tetra-Mnemosyne V. It's my favorite of the 7 pieces and is as dark and soulful as I can get. Can't believe I wrote it 9 years ago! Yikes! I'd better get off my ass with the other ones... still have to do I, II, III and VI. I wrote them at a time when I was really stressed at work (the launch of the dot bomb enhanced video system, HyperTV, barely sleeping for 3 weeks at a time), and decided to focus on one genre over a period of 2 years. It was a very productive time, but a very tiring time too. Most of my piano preludes come from the same period.

Tetra-Mnemosyne V Score
Tetra-Mnemosyne V Violin Part
Tetra-Mnemosyne V Viola Part
Tetra-Mnemosyne V Cello Part

Tetra-Mnemosyne V for String Trio - Superconductor Realization

Piotr Szewczyk has been extremely busy with his Violin Futura project, performing the 16 pieces with a new suite by Lawrence Dillon and at the Santa Fe New Music Festival with computer-generated imagery. Check out the YouTube. My favorite of the pieces is my own Puce, of course... but all of the compositions are electric.

I've put up a recording of the ARTSaha performance of my piece for disklavier, Surge.

Surge for Disklavier - World Premiere Live Recording.

It was a big thrill to be invited to write a piece for the festival which included other disklavier mavericks such as Kyle Gann and Joseph Drew.

World Premiere of Tourbillons for Six Harps, Contrabass and Percussion

Tonight at 9:00 PM at Saint-Cyr-L’École, France (78) Théâtre Gérard Philippe, Rue Gérard Philippe Naccara will give the world premiere of Tourbillons for Six Harps, Contrabass and Percussion. Check out Naccara's web site for more information on this exciting group. They do a whole 'son et lumiere' thing too!

Tourbillons for 6 Harps, Contrabass and Percussion - Synthesized Realization
Tourbillons for 6 Harps, Contrabass and Percussion - Score
Tourbillons for 6 Harps, Contrabass and Percussion - Parts

Elsie's Novel About an Experimental Composer Made it to the Amazon Semi-Finalists!

My spouse Elsie Russell's first novel about a brilliant young composer whose experimental music accidentally kills several audience members was selected as one of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semi-finalists! It's a farce/thriller/romance...

You can read an excerpt here:

In Over her Head

Elsie Russell Speaks About In Over Her Head - Official ABNA Entrant:
The debut of Penny Bell's musical composition, featuring the use of mysterious extremely low frequency waves takes a tragic turn when several concert-goers die in their seats during the performance. The once-bright horizons of Penny's career collapse, and she retreats to a dank Soho basement apartment lit only by the glow of computer monitors and electronic displays. There, using herself as a guinea pig, she sets out to unlock the secrets of her beautiful and deadly symphonies. A series of strange coincidences intrude upon her solitary quest. Her neighbor, the erotic performance artist Ula Nova, disappears after her studio is broken into. And then Ula's charming and damaged young choreographer appears, and sweeps Penny off to Europe to search for the diva, plunging Penny into a seedy and unfamiliar world of jet set artists and international intrigue where the threads of every encounter always seem to lead back to those ELF waves and their pint-sized progenitor.

If any of you guys want to write a customer review - the winner is also chosen by popularity from customer responses... hint... hint... wink... wink...

Due East Premiere and Upcoming Erg Performances by Buzz Gravelle and Peter Yates

Lots of incredible concerts coming up the first few months of 2008! Due East will premiere Valley Spirit and Wind Master for Flute and Vibraphone at Lawrence University January 14th and 15th and then will give it a repeat performance March 5th at SUNY-Oswego, NY, as part of the Arts Ke-nekt' Performing Arts Series. It's been a real thrill working with 2 such fantastic performers.

Valley Spirit and Wind Master - Flute Part
Valley Spirit and Wind Master - Vibraphone Part
Valley Spirit and Wind Master - Score
Valley Spirit and Wind Master for Flute and Vibraphone - Synthesized Realization

Mandolinist, guitarist and composer Buzz Gravelle informs me that he and a guitarist from Cal Poly Pomona, Prof. Peter Yates, will be taking my mandolin and guitar piece Erg on the road in Southern California next month. So far there's three performances lined up:

Cal Poly Pomona: Friday, February 8th, 8:00 p.m.
UCLA: Saturday, February 16th, 8:00 p.m.
Cal State Dominguez Hills: Thursday, February 28th, 7:00 p.m.

Erg for Mandolin and Guitar - Performed by Duo Ahlert und Schwab

Duo Consensus, a group out of Weimar, Germany has written me telling me that they'll be performing Erg (again?) soon. They performed it in Berlin earlier last year, apparently. The score and parts for Erg are available through Edition Corvus.

And finally the draft score and parts for my 3rd violin sonata are available:
Violin Sonata 3 - Score
Violin Sonata 3 - Violin Part
Sonata for Violin and Piano #3 - Synthesized Realization

New Live Recording of Piano Preludes #6-8

I've uploaded the wonderful recordings of Daniel Beliavsky's performance of my piano preludes 6, 7 and 8 from last November's Sequenza 21 concert.

Piano Prelude #6
Piano Prelude #7
Piano Prelude #8

There's also now available a draft score of my Nonet for Woodwind Quintet and String Quartet.

Nonet for Woodwind Quintet and String Quartet - PDF Draft Score.

And on a non-musical note, Elsie and I have been living under the siege of being smack in the middle of a Coen Brothers film set for their new movie, Burn After Reading. We've had John Malkovich, Brad Pitt and George Clooney acting in our back yard. It's been crazy but very interesting... Here's a Flickr Set of Burn After Reading on State Street Pics.

Two New Pieces and New Live Recording of KaleidoPsychoTropos

My third violin sonata is now finished and it's a doozy. It's kind of a DeltaBandResonator for violin and piano with its folkiness but has even more bombast and a surprising amount of delicacy. Score and parts are underway.

Sonata for Violin and Piano #3 - Synthesized Realization

I've also uploaded the piece for flute and vibraphone that I wrote for Due East, Valley Spirit and Wind Master. It's a very colorful piece relying on big washes of sound and ecstatic flute playing for its big effects.

Valley Spirit and Wind Master for Flute and Vibraphone - Synthesized Realization

There's also now up a live recording of KaleidoPsychoTropos for Quintet (piano, violin, cello, flute, clarinet) from the performance this March by New Music Works in Santa Cruz, California. Check out the amazing last 3 minutes as they rock out. Delicious performance!

KaleidoPsychoTropos for Quintet Performed Live by New Music Works, Santa Cruz California, March 2007

Corrected KaleidoPsychoTropos Acrobat Score
KaleidoPsychoTropos Flute Part
KaleidoPsychoTropos Clarinet Part
KaleidoPsychoTropos Violin Part
KaleidoPsychoTropos Cello Part
KaleidoPsychoTropos Piano Part

World Premiere of Surge for Disklavier at the ARTSaha! Festival Tonight in Omaha

Surge for Disklavier will receive its world premiere at the amazing ARTSaha! Festival tonight in Omaha, Nebraska. It's on a program with a disklavier realization of George Antheil's Ballet Mécanique, pieces by Joseph Drew (of Analog Ensemble, ANAblog fame), Kyle Gann, Nancarrow and Lamonte Young, among others. Big props to Anatoly Larkin for patiently troubleshooting a piece that I wrote away from the Disklavier around a 6 piano concept and making it work. It took me hours of perl scripting and getting feedback from Anatoly while practially destroying several Disklaviers to get to this point. Thanks Anatoly!

Surge for Disklavier - Sampled Realization

I'm presently working on a new Violin Sonata, which will be the third piece for violin and piano I've written in the past few years. It is going to be very intense and lyrical and hopefully as popular as my 2nd violin sonata.

Sonata for Violin and Piano #2 - Realization

New Recording of BlueStrider Live by Pianist Paul Hoffmann

Paul Hoffmann's blistering performance of my BlueStrider for piano at Renee Weiler Concert Hall, Greenwich Village, on May 18 is available now with his gracious permission. A thrilling performance of one of my most popular pieces. Enjoy!

BlueStrider for Piano Performed Live by Pianist Paul Hoffmann

I've finished the piece for Due East Valley Spirit and Wind Master for Flute and Vibraphone. It's a very nature-centered piece for me; the title comes from 'Cultivating the Empty Mind' by Hongzhi a book of Zen short texts. I'm awaiting feedback from the group before I release the score and parts and a synthesized recording.

Puce for Solo Violin Spoleto Festival Performance Video

Piotr Szewczyk has edited and uploaded YouTube video and MP3's of his astounding Violin Futura performance. Each piece has its only video and the MP3's are up too.

Puce for Solo Violin - MP3 - performed by Piotr Szewczyk, Violin at the Spoleto Festival
Puce for Solo Violin - Score

New Recording of Adagio tenebroso for String Quartet by Le Quatuor à cordes de l'APEIM

Nigel Keay has just sent me a new recording of my Adagio tenebroso for String Quartet recorded by April 24, 2007 at Le Cave in Paris. It is a superb performance! They played it live May 7 and hope to recording it soon under studio conditions.

Adagio tenebroso for String Quartet - Performed by Le Quatuor à cordes de l'APEIM

As always, my parts and scores are available here:

I've slightly revised my Hurricane Party for Large Brass Ensemble, adding a bit more harmonic contrast here and there and shaping the recording better.
Hurricane Party for Large Brass Ensemble

Through a recent discussion of physically modelled virtual instruments Bruno Degazio realized a wonderful performance (he actually performed with a breath controller the clarinet part) of my piece A Hunderd Blues for Clarinet, Violin and Viola
Bruno Degazio Performance - A Hunderd Blues for Clarinet, Violin and Viola

For contrast here's my old synthesized realization.
A Hunderd Blues for Clarinet, Violin and Viola - Synthesized Realization

Harrington Piano Music in Louisiana - 200 Years in New Orleans Program and Hurricane Party for Large Brass Ensemble

I was excited last week to find out that Anthony de Mare and Steven Mayer have selected two piece of mine to be included in their new program Louisiana - 200 Years in New Orleans which is part of their seminal series The American Piano. Steve Mayer will be performing my Piano Prelude #7 and Tony will be performing DeltaBandResonator.

DeltaBandResonator - MP3
DeltaBandResonator Score
Piano Prelude #7 - MP3
Piano Prelude #7 Score

Also, I wrote this weekend a short but gigantic brass ensemble piece, Hurricane Party for Large Brass Ensemble. It's 3 minutes of New Orleans style brass mayhem, with ominous overtones. It's for 6 trumpets, 5 horns, 3 trombones, 2 tubas and bass drum.

Piotr Szewczyk Performs Puce at the Spoleto Festival Tonight!

Puce for Solo Violin will be performed by Piotr Szewczyk at the Spoleto Festival as part of their contemporary music-focussed Music in Time program. Also on the bill, pieces by Mason Bates, David Kellogg and Lawrence Dillon, Mason Bates, Moritz Eggert, Jennifer Wang, Carson Cooman, et al.

The NY premiere of BlueStrider was an astounding success and at the reception Due East asked me to write them a piece for flute and percussion. The piece is well under way. Due East is an incredibly talented duo featuring Erin Lesser and Greg Beyer. They seem to have gigged with practically every major contemporary music ensemble on the planet. It's going to be a very exciting project...

New Piece - Surge for Disklavier

I've finished the Disklavier piece I was writing for the ARTSaha! Festival. It'll be 'premiered' sometime during the festival. September 4 - 10 in Omaha, Nebraska.

It's my densest piece yet and is in truth a virtuoso 6 piano composition of around 7 minutes long. The piece was inspired not only by obvious recent historical events but by the fact that the piece constantly surges though huge densities forcing gospel-inspired riffing to be overwhelmed by massive Arabic-influenced chords.

Surge for Disklavier.

Puce will receive it's premiere May 7, 2007 7:30 p.m., Phillips Recital Hall Haas Fine Arts Center UW-Eau Claire by Piotr Szewczyk. He'll be lecturing on all of the pieces of the Violin Futura concert at the following Master Class. More info at Violin Futura.

And Cassotis for Mandolin and Guitar will receive its Munich premiere sometimes this month (more info later). BlueStrider for Piano's New York premiere is the coming Friday, May 18, 2007, 8PM Renee Weiler Concert Hall, Greenwich House Music School 46 Barrow Street performed by Paul Hoffmann at Joe Pehrson's and Patrick Hardish's series, Composer's Concordance.

Puce for Solo Violin World Premiere and Spoleto Festival Performance

Piotr Szewczyk will premiere my solo violin piece Puce at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Monday, May 7, 2007 as part of his Violin Futura project with a subsequent master class performance on the 8th.

On June 7, 2007, Puce will be performed at the Spoleto Festival as part of their contemporary music-focussed Music in Time program. I've been featuring the recordings of the other pieces on the program at my new music mp3 aggregator site cacophonous.org. Check out the whole series - it's very exciting to be part of such a high profile project! I hope to have MP3's (and possibly YouTube videos) of the performances up shortly.

I've started a major piece for Disklavier for the ARTSaha Arts Festival in Omaha Nebraska. This will no doubt be one of my densest and most intense pieces yet.

Nadia Shpachenko to Perform BlueStrider April 4,6,7 in Pomona and Las Vegas

More exciting news about my big piano piece BlueStrider - Dr. Nadia Shpachenko will be performing it April 4th in Pomona California, and April 6th and 7th in Las Vegas, Nevada as part of a lecture/recital series And what is good, Phaedrus, and what is not good-- need we ask anyone to tell us these things?" American Composers in the Paperless Era (works by Leo Ornstein, Frederic Rzewski, Mike Garson, Dennis Báthory-Kitsz, Larry Polanski, and Jeffrey Harrington) at Cal Poly Pomona University (Information: www.csupomona.edu), 8 pm

More Info here.

BlueStrider for Piano
BlueStrider Acrobat Score

And I must mention that BlueStrider for Piano will finally receive its New York premiere Friday, May 18, 2007, 8PM Renee Weiler Concert Hall, Greenwich House Music School 46 Barrow Street performed by Paul Hoffmann at Joe Pehrson's and Patrick Hardish's series, Composer's Concordance.

BlueStrider New York Premiere, Adagio Tenebroso in Paris, and New Tourbillons for 6 Harps, Contrabass and Percussion

BlueStrider for Piano will finally receive its New York premiere Friday, May 18, 2007, 8PM Renee Weiler Concert Hall, Greenwich House Music School 46 Barrow Street performed by Paul Hoffmann at Joe Pehrson's and Patrick Hardish's series, Composer's Concordance!

Paris-based composer/violist Nigel Keay informs me that my Adagio Tenebroso for String Quartet will receive another performance at La Cave in Paris by his The APEIM String Quartet May 3rd.

I've finished my piece for the amazing harp sextet Naccara, Tourbillons for 6 Harps, Contrabass and Percussion. It's 5 minutes long, and packed with energy and material inspired by African and Arabic melodies.

Tourbillons for 6 Harps, Contrabass and Percussion - Synthesized Realization
Tourbillons for 6 Harps, Contrabass and Percussion - Score
Tourbillons for 6 Harps, Contrabass and Percussion - Parts

And a reminder that New Music Works will be performing KaleidoPsychoTropos for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano in Santa Cruz March 23, 2007! This is one of my funkiest and strangest pieces, and has never been performed outside of St. Louis.

French News and Violin Scores Finished

I'm writing a piece for Naccara a French ensemble comprising 6 harps, contrabass and percussion. The group has been around since the late '90's and they incorporate a real sense of the dramatic in their stage presentation. I love writing for the harp and having 6 of them is like a dream come true!

Paris-based New Zealand composer/violist Nigel Keay informs me that my Adagio tenebroso for String Quartet has been picked up by the new members of his quartet and they plan to perform and record it this year. Their recording of it and premiere at 'La Cave' was of my fondest memories ot 2006.

The scores and parts for all of my new violin and piano pieces, the 2nd Sonata and the Sonatina are finished.

Score for Sonata #2 for Violin and Piano
Violin Part for Sonata #2 for Violin and Piano
Sonata for Violin and Piano #2 - Realization

Score for Sonatina for Violin and Piano
Violin Part for Sonatina for Violin and Piano
Sonatina for Violin and Piano - Realization

New Sonatina for Violin and Piano

A young Dutch violinist wrote me a few weeks ago suggesting I write her and her pianist friend a piano piece. I've been in the violin writing mode for the past month so I said sure. I wrote it this weekend, and it incorporates a few new things for me, notably a more chromatic harmonic palette inspired by some experiments I did this summer with Radiohead-like harmonies. The material was rather simple, and frankly, I'd practically forgotten about it! Anyways, I think it's going to be a fun piece and is about 6 1/2 minutes long. It's definitely written for intermediate level violinists and pianists - although my rhythms are admittedly always syncopated and a bit problematic because of that.

Sonatina for Violin and Piano - Realization
Draft Score for Sonatina for Violin and Piano
Draft Violin Part for Sonatina for Violin and Piano

Also, the draft parts and score for my second violin sonata are now available. The score definitely needs resizing.

Draft Score for Sonata #2 for Violin and Piano
Draft Score for Sonata #2 for Violin and Piano

New Sonata for Violin and Piano #2

After writing the short solo violin piece for Piotr I was left with a bit of material and this piece just miraculously came together. It's folky and barbaric and full of contrasts - and probably one of my best pieces from this year. I finished it yesterday, so this will be the last piece of 2006.

Sonata for Violin and Piano #2 - Realization

Score and parts are close to being ready; I'll have them up shortly.

New Solo Violin Piece for ViolinFutura

I've written a 3 minute solo violin piece for brilliant composer/violinist Piotr Szewczyk's project, ViolinFutura. The project aims to promote contemporary music through exciting and innovative short solo violin pieces.

My piece is Puce for Solo Violin, an eccentric jumpy (Puce means 'flea' in Fre3nch) mashup of divergent soloist impulses. Piotr plans to put up video and audio of his repeat performances of this series. Should be an extremely exciting project and I'm honored to be included with the big names already participating.

Puce for Solo Violin - PDF Score

Scores to Piano Preludes 15 and 19 Available

Piano preludes 15 and 19 are now available as Acrobat scores. Number 15 is a pounding almost rock-like piece, exploring just how dissonant an almost white-note composition can be:

Piano Prelude 15 - Acrobat Score
Piano Prelude 15 - New Recording

Prelude 19 is more New Orleans-flavored, with a funky flair without being pounding.

Piano Prelude 19 - Acrobat Score
Piano Prelude 19 - New Recording

Three Concerts and Piano Preludes 10, 11, 13 Scores Available

This week I had the honor of receiving 5 performances of my music in a 36 hour period - all in different parts of the world. Duo 46 premiered L'Ecume des Temps in Cincinatti the same night that Daniel Beliavsky gave the New York premiere of Piano Preludes 6, 7 and 8 at the Sequenza21 Concert to rousing applause. Duo Ahlert und Schwab performed Cassotis for Mandolin and Guitar the night before. So it's been an exciting week!

Because of recent interest in my piano music, I spent most of the Thanksgiving vacation polishing the scores to my piano preludes. I'd written many of them at a time when my job required a lot of late nights and rather than slow down the compositional process I decided to postpone the output of the scores. Preludes 10, 11 and 13 are now available and I made new realizations of them to boot.

Number 10 and 11 are invention like preludes and were intended to be part of a suite of pieces for less than virtuoso performers.
Piano Prelude 10 - Acrobat Score
Piano Prelude 10 - New Recording

Piano Prelude 11 - Acrobat Score
Piano Prelude 11 - New Recording

Number 13 is a crazy virtuoistic piece, stopping and starting and using Caribbean rhythms ecstatictally throughout. It's also one of the longer preludes and harkens forward to the ambitious 16, 17 and 18.

Piano Prelude 13 - Acrobat Score
Piano Prelude 13 - New Recording

Also, Daniel Beliavsky found a few mistakes in the score to Piano Prelude 7 and those have now been corrected. The tempi indication were straight quarter notes instead of dotted quarter notes. Although the tempi were accurate, they were misleading.

Piano Prelude 7 - Corrected Acrobat Score

And at the suggestion of composer/pianist Bruce Stark I've made a new recording of my Piano Sonata #3 which is slowed down and possibly not quite so intimidatingly impossible in sound.

Piano Sonata 3 - New Recording
Piano Sonata 3 - Acrobat Score

Premiere of Kali Yuga and Finished Piano Scores

My 1 minute 60x60 contribution, Kali Yuga for 19ET Synthesizer was premiered last night at Brooklyn College as part of the New York Minute concert. It's 60 seconds of blistering orchestral microtonal hysteria, almost sci-fi in its atmosphere.

Kali Yuga for 19ET Synthesizer

Also, I've cleaned up my Piano Prelude #18 and DeltaBandResonator and the scores are now available:

Piano Prelude #18 Acrobat Score
Piano Prelude #18 MP3

DeltaBandResonator for Piano Acrobat Score
DeltaBandResonator for Piano - Realized by Steve Layton

Draft Score of Piano Sonata #3 Up and Performance News

My new big piano piece, Piano Sonata #3 now has a very polished draft score available:

Acrobat Score - Piano Sonata #3
Piano Sonata #3

Also, I'm thilled to announce New Music Works has chosen KaleidoPsychoTropos for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano for a performance in Santa Cruz March 23, 2007! This is one of my funkiest and strangest pieces, and has never been peformed outside of St. Louis.

KaleidoPsychoTropos for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano
KaleidoPsychoTropos Acrobat Score
KaleidoPsychoTropos Flute Part
KaleidoPsychoTropos Clarinet Part
KaleidoPsychoTropos Violin Part
KaleidoPsychoTropos Cello Part
KaleidoPsychoTropos Piano Part

And I'm told BlueStrider, my first big piano piece, and one of my most popular piece will receive its New York Premiere next May. More details as they come in.

BlueStrider for Piano - Realized by Steve Layton
BlueStrider Acrobat Score

A reminder, see below, that Daniel Beliavsky will give the New York premiere of my Piano Preludes #6,7,8 and Duo46 will finally give the world premiere of L'Ecume des Temps November 20.

Also, in seemingly unrelated news - I've received my 2nd patent! It's a very broad patent about pre-fetching multi-media content.

Enhanced video programming system and method utilizing a web page staging area.

No, I'm not going to be rich anytime soon. My previous employer, ACTV, Inc. owns the rights. Alas...

New Realization of Piano Sonata #3

I've made a brand new realization of my new piano sonata, and it's really pretty incredibly lifelike (if I do say so myself). I used an 80MB Steinway piano soundfont and wrote a custom perl script to slightly randomize the velocities of the file. The results are one of the best simulations of piano playing I've produced.

Piano Sonata #3 - New Realization

New Piece - Piano Sonata #3

I've finished my first big piano piece since DeltaBandResonator! It's a real monster of a piece, employing new Lisztian effects, chromatic scales and lots of dissonances which seemingly create a microtonal musical environment similar to Marteau-Pilon. It also shares many of the huge pounding effects and primitivist inclinations of that last piece.

While I'm still searching for a title for it, I decided not to delay putting the piece up for lack of a creative title and instead lump BlueStrider, DeltaBandResonator and this piece together as Sonatas - meaning large piano pieces.

The score should be up shortly...

Piano Sonata #3 - Synthesized Realization

Daniel Wolf Article, Premiere of L'Ecume des Temps and More

Frankfurt-based Californian composer/experimentalist Daniel Wolf has written an incredibly nice article about my music and philosophy of music distribution at his blog Renewable Music yesterday. He makes specific mention of one of my favorite recent pieces, my Horn Trio.

Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano
Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano Score
Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano - Horn Part
Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano - Violin Part
Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano - Piano Part

The super guitar and violin duo, Duo46 will finally be premiering my piece L'Ecume des Temp at Cincinnati, Ohio - Madison House Concert Series : Nov 16. I've also recently transcribed the piece for Duo Ahlert und Schwab for Mandolin and Guitar. They've been performing Cassotis all summer long and it will be a part of their new program, "Nowhere Left to Go."

L'Ecume des Temps for Guitar and Violin - New Realization - MP3
L'Ecume des Temps for Guitar and Violin - Study Score
L'Ecume des Temps for Guitar and Violin - Guitar Part
L'Ecume des Temps for Guitar and Violin - Violin Part

Three piano preludes of mine, #6, #7, and #8 will receive their New York premiere November 20 by the superb pianist, Daniel Beliavsky at the Sequenza21 Concert.

Prelude 6 Acrobat Score
Prelude 7 Acrobat Score
Prelude 8 Acrobat Score
Piano Prelude 6
Piano Prelude 7
Piano Prelude 8

An electronic piece of 60 seconds duration of mine, 'Kali Yuga' has been selected by Vox Novus for performance at their New York concert this year, New York Minutes. More info as it's available... I can't put 'Kali Yuga' online until after the premiere, but here are two 60 second electronic pieces I made but didn't submit. They're both a little poppier than is usual for me, but some interesting transformations and timbres are involved. Gouttes is drops of liquids bouncing off of a shiny surface. Syrinx is named after a bird's voice box and uses formant shifting synthesis to create a crunchy bird-like percussive track to accompany the ambient slow tunes.

Gouttes
Syrinx

I'm finishing up a piano piece, which seemingly came out of the blue from materials left over from my recent Piano and Amplified Harpsichord (or electronic harpsichord), Marteau-pilon Épouvantable-Implacable. I'll probably finish it this weekend. My first big piano piece since DeltaBandResonator.

New Piece - Marteau-pilon Épouvantable-Implacable for Piano and Amplified Harpsichord

I've just finished a new piece which came together very quickly for piano and amplified harpsichord. The grouping worked very well for me, as is obvious, by how quickly I wrote the piece, and frankly, how exciting the piece became in the process. It's one of my most visceral and belligerent pieces yet, something like my Acid Bach on steroids, or BlueStrider, but with more timbral color and even more oomph. The piece is extremely barbaric, with evocations of late 80's and early 90's industrial music and recent death metal in its rhythms and use of pounding bass. It's also inspired to a certain degree by the Russian Futurists, Mossolov in particular but with a very new approach to this type of primitivism/barbarism. By the constant use of chromatic clusters, I also approach the bizarre tonalities of my microtonal music.

Marteau-pilon Épouvantable-Implacable for Piano and Amplified Harpsichord - Synthesized Realization

Marteau-pilon Épouvantable-Implacable for Piano and Amplified Harpsichord - Acrobat Score
Marteau-pilon Épouvantable-Implacable for Piano and Amplified Harpsichord - Harpsichord Part
Marteau-pilon Épouvantable-Implacable for Piano and Amplified Harpsichord - Piano Part

The title was inspired by Henri Michaux - from the poem, L'avenir

Le bruit exquis des rivières qui coulent se changeant en forêts de perroquets et de marteaux-pilons.
Quand l'Épouvantable-Implacable se débondant enfin...

Cassotis for Mandolin and Guitar to be Premiered Sunday and Paris and NY Premiere News

The amazing mandolin and guitar duo, Duo Ahlert und Schwab will premiere a piece commissioned by them, Cassotis, Sunday 11th June, 8 p.m. in Borkum, Germany. The piece is a much more grandiose exploration of the realms explored in my piece Erg which was also written for this fantastic group of musicians.

Cassotis for Mandolin and Guitar - Synthesized MP3

We've just got back from a 2 week working vacation in Paris last Monday night. What a trip! The Rémy/Janaillac/Keay/Lagorce String Quartet premiered my string quartet composition, Adagio tenebroso (see below for pre-premiere MP3 and PDF's), and I also had the opportunity to attend rehearsals of that piece and a workshop of my string trio, Tetra-Mnemonsyne VII. I've been asked to arrange Tetra-Mnemonsyne VII for string quartet and the parts and score of that transcription are now available:

Tetra-Mnemonsyne VII for String Quartet - Score

Tetra-Mnemonsyne VII for String Quartet - Violin I Part
Tetra-Mnemonsyne VII for String Quartet - Violin II Part
Tetra-Mnemonsyne VII for String Quartet - Viola Part
Tetra-Mnemonsyne VII for String Quartet - Cello Part

While I was in Paris, violinist Erik Carlson and cellist Claire Bryant of the New York Miniaturist Ensemble premiered a set of 3 pieces at the Juillaird School, May 15th, Tre composizioni di cento note per il violino ed il violoncello. I'm told the premiere was a great success. This July and August we should see a repeat of that performance and the premiere of a set of solo violin pieces, Cinque composizioni di cento note per il violino solo.

Tre composizioni di cento note per il violino ed il violoncello - Score
Tre composizioni di cento note per il violino ed il violoncello - Cello Part
Tre composizioni di cento note per il violino ed il violoncello - Violin Part

Cinque composizioni di cento note per il violino solo - Score.

Currently on my composing plate:

1. Beginning work on a new piece for string orchestra.
2. Continuing work for a new string quartet. (And I have no idea what number it is now, so I'll probably call it #5).
3. More pieces for the New York Miniaturist Ensemble. Possibly a few pieces for string quartet.
4. Finishing up the score and parts for my nonet and starting to shop it around for a performance.
5. Solo pieces for guitar and mandolin for Duo Ahlert und Schwab, probably a suite for each instrument, my recent experience with composing miniatures has revived my interest in short pieces.
5. Beginning work on a new piano trio.

Nonet for Woodwind Quintet and String Quartet Finished

I've finished the most ambitious piece I've written in years, my new nonet. It's also probably the densest and richest in material composition I've ever written. Basically a piece for 9 soloists, it could be called a Chamber Concerto because of its consistent soloist flair. Full of minimalist conventions (so I'm told - it's actually more of a Ravellian flavor, but the minimalist folks will dig it) and Brucknerian climaxes, the piece flows through a territory partially explored in my Anamorphosis for String Quartet in how the strings often play cross rhythms which produce their own melodies. I'll probably be tweaking the piece here and there and am considering adding a brief pause before the blow up at the end.

Nonet for Woodwind Quintet and String Quartet - Synthesized Realization

Alex Ross of The New Yorker Blogs About Spirale d'Arco

Thanks to Prent Rodgers' Microtonal Podcast music critic Alex Ross, of The New Yorker heard and blogged this week about my saxophone quartet Spirale d'Arco. Thanks Alex and Prent!

L'Ecume des Temps for Guitar and Violin to be Premiered in Cleveland and Other News

Exciting news! Duo 46 will be premiering L'Ecume des Temps for Guitar and Violin for a Cleveland premiere during the 2007-08 season. This is one of my most important premieres, and it's also one of my most popular and favorite pieces.

L'Ecume des Temps for Guitar and Violin - Study Score
L'Ecume des Temps for Guitar and Violin - Guitar Part
L'Ecume des Temps for Guitar and Violin - Violin Part

L'Ecume des Temps for Guitar and Violin - New Realization - MP3

Also, the New York premiere of Espace des Cloches, my electronic gong drone piece will be Thursday May 4th downtown as part of the New York Miniaturist Ensemble's concert, Electronic Miniatures. It'll be at 8 PM at 125 Maiden Lane in lower Manhattan. As always, the entire album, Espace can be downloaded in ultra super high CD quality format.

Final score and parts are available for my new horn trio and my new clarinet trio:
Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano Score
Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano - Horn Part
Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano - Piano Part
Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano - Violin Part
Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano MP3

Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano Score
Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano - Clarinet Part
Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano - Piano Part
Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano - Violin Part
Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano MP3

My new transcription of my 4th String Quartet for Saxophone Quartet is being featured this month at Microtonal Podcast and it's not even microtonal! Prent Rodgers, the microtonal Csound guru himself, liked it so much that he couldn't resist. I'm honored!

Also, next month, besides the premiere of Espace, I'll be having 2 other premieres. A new 100 note micro-composition, A Hunderd Blues for clarinet, violin and viola will be premiered at Galapagos, May 31 by the New York Miniaturist Ensemble and my Adagio Tenebroso for String Quartet will be given a private soiree/premiere in Paris May 23. I'll put up the score for A Hunderd Blues after the premiere.

Adagio Tenebroso for String Quartet - MP3 - Recorded by The Rémy/Janaillac/Keay/Lagorce String Quartet

Betwyxt for Flute and Two Violins Score Available

Betwyxt for Flute and 2 Violins, my 100 note miniature, written and premiered last night by The New York Miniaturist Ensemble is available for downoad now as a PDF score. It was exciting to meet the ensemble, hear all the pieces, and be a part of this thought-provoking experiment in new music concertizing. The pieces ranged from the Kurtag-esque violent atonal, to Feldmanish meditations and minimalist pieces that obviously used extended definitions of what a 'note' was (as the ensemble allows).

I'll have more miniatures performed in their upcoming concerts. It's just a lot of fun to see what can be done in such a small place and a good way to cannibalize all the thousands of measures I have of material that ends up going into the bit bucket. Thanks to Erik Carlson et al, for a fantastic evening and opportunity to hear music.

Betwyxt for Flute and 2 Violins - Score
Betwyxt for Flute and 2 Violins - Flute Part
Betwyxt for Flute and 2 Violins - Violin 1 Part
Betwyxt for Flute and 2 Violins - Violin 2 Part

Betwyxt for Flute and 2 Violins - Synthesized Realization

New Recording of Adagio Tenebroso for String Quartet by The Rémy/Janaillac/Keay/Lagorce String Quartet

The Rémy/Janaillac/Keay/Lagorce String Quartet has made a fantastic recording of the adagio from my first string quartet while in preparations for its premiere sometime this year. This canon was written in memory of the victims of the invasion of Kuwait. One of my darker and more reflective pieces.

Adagio Tenebroso for String Quartet - MP3 - Recorded by The Rémy/Janaillac/Keay/Lagorce String Quartet
Adagio Tenebroso for String Quartet - Study Score
Adagio Tenebroso for String Quartet - Violin 1 Part
Adagio Tenebroso for String Quartet - Violin 2 Part
Adagio Tenebroso for String Quartet - Viola Part
Adagio Tenebroso for String Quartet - Cello Part

New Spirale d'Arco Arranged for Saxophone Quartet and Premiere of Betwyxt for Flute and 2 Violins

While in the middle of composing a saxophone quartet, I spent a little time listening to how some of my chamber music sounded through the lens of a sax quartet and became very intrigued and then obsessed with how my 4th String Quartet, Spirale d'Arco sounded as one. As a result, in the past 48 hours I've dedicated myself to an arrangement of that piece for that ensemble and I think the results are fantastic. The tunes and fiddling of the piece, have become transposed into a funky and wonderful type of saxophone energy.

Minor Positioning Edits - March 18, 2006 - New Score and Parts Available

Score and Parts are available in Draft Form:

Spirale d'Arco for Saxophone Quartet - Synthesized Realization
Spirale d'Arco for Saxophone Quartet - Scoret
Spirale d'Arco for Saxophone Quartet - Soprano Part
Spirale d'Arco for Saxophone Quartet - Alto Part
Spirale d'Arco for Saxophone Quartet - Tenor Part
Spirale d'Arco for Saxophone Quartet - Baritone Part

Also, I'll be having a performance of a new piece for Flute and 2 violins, Betwyxt, by the New York Miniaturist Ensemble, Monday, March 27th at 8:30 PM on Frank Oteri's 21st Centrury Schizoid Music series at the Cornelia St. Cafe - (Directions). It's a very Feldmanesque 100 note composition, as is the group's wont. I'll put the score and parts up, after the premiere.

Nonet News and Draft Parts Available for the Horn Trio

Trying to get all my recent trio's parts available as soon as possible, here's the Horn Trio's parts in draft form:

Parts and Score Updated 2/16/06

Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano - Horn Part
Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano - Piano Part
Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano - Violin Part

Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano MP3
Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano Draft Score

Also, my new nonet for WW5 and SQ is coming along nicely. While I had been improving my contrapuntal expert system (in hopes of producing more results) I'm focussing now on the more coloristic materials for this piece. Much of the material will harken back to the complex, polyrhythmic impressionisms of Anamorphosis, my 3rd String Quartet.

Anamorphosis for String Quartet

Draft Parts Available for the Clarinet Trio

I've been working on a nonet for woodwind quintet and string quartet combined (ala Chawswizzler) and this has got me into tweaking my expert system. In the meantime, I've finally got the parts to my new Clarinet Trio in reasonable form for perusal. I hope to get the final parts done this week.

(New Draft Parts and Score Up - February 11, 2006).

Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano - Clarinet Part
Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano - Piano Part
Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano - Violin Part

Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano MP3
Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano Draft Score

I'm Only Popular on the Internet

Seen in on the streets of Glasgow...

Original Link

Looking at 2006

This year could be a really interesting musical year for me. Highlights (in no particular order) are the premiere and recording and several performances of Cassotis for Mandolin and Guitar by Duo Ahlert and Schwab, a premiere and possible recording of my horn trio, the finished recording of TetraMnemosyne VII, and the premiere (finally!) of my woodwind quintet, Morph-Fantasia, at a new music festival in Mississippi. I'm writing a big piece for chamber orchestra ala Chawswizzler for WW5 and SQ, a new solo cello piece (requested by a prominent cellist) and a few electronic music pieces ala Espace. And I've got some interest in Chawswizzler also, who knows? On the programming web front, Cacophonous.org continues to grow and my blog, beepSNORT has more information about the thoughts behind it. Maybe all these years of hard work will pay off!

The draft score to my clarinet trio has been updated. Parts are available to interested parties.

Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano MP3
Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano Draft Score

New Live Rehearsal Recording of TetraMnemosyne VII for String Trio

A Paris-based string trio consisting of violinist Matthieu Coeffe, violist Nigel Keay, and cellist Stephan Lagorce are preparing TetraMnemosyne VII for a premiere in Paris sometime in 2006. They've sent me this wonderfully expressive and driving work-in-progress rehearsal recording of it:

Tetra-Mnemosyne VII for String Trio - Live Recording
Tetra-Mnemosyne VII for String Trio - Acrobat Study Score
Tetra-Mnemosyne VII - Violin Part
Tetra-Mnemosyne VII - Viola Part
Tetra-Mnemosyne VII - Cello Part

The finished recording should be available sometime in 2006.

New Piece - Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano Available

The draft score and a synthetic realization are now available for my new trio for clarinet, violin and piano. This piece, the first piece I've written since the whole Katrina nightmare, reflects a more sombre and grotesque style of expression with lots of glissandi and morbid pianisms. Thirteen minutes in length, it continues the series of pieces begun with the violin sonata which attempts to create an orchestral effect with microscopic forces.

Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano MP3mp3_classical_contemporary
Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano Draft Score

New Live Recording of Tetra-Mnemosyne VII On its Way

Nigel Keay informs me today that his string trio's recording of Tetra-Mnemosyne VII is almost ready and should be available shortly. Premiere performance should be sometime early in 2006 in Paris. I expect to have an MP3 sometime very soon of their interpretation.

Tetra-Mnemosyne VII for String Trio - Acrobat Study Score
Tetra-Mnemosyne VII for String Trio - Superconductor Realization

Also, I've just about finished a new piece for Clarinet, Violin and Piano. A synthesized version should be up this weekend. It's a bold new step for me, lots of glissandi and a very disturbing tone in general; less beliggerent, more color. My first piece since Katrina and an homage of sorts to the horrors that recently hit New Orleans.

Mr. Webjay and all around new web media guru Lucas Gonze also proclaimed it to be Jeff Harrington Day. Thanks Lucas!

Lengthy Article by Newberry About Yours Truly

Stirling Newberry, composer, political writer and classical music commentator, has written a lengthy and (ahem) fascinating (if a bit dark) article about my music, my contributions to net culture and to the formation of an online classical music scene at his political blog:

Jeff Harrington, The Unwritten Chapter

Espace Reviewed at Free Albums Galore

A MP3 blog, Free Albums Galore is currently featuring my electronic album, Espace.   I've recieved hundreds of downloads from the feature (and no doubt its buzz).  Free music works!  From the review,  ...I was particularily impressed by Espace, a lush, ancient and modern ambient album that employs granular resynthesis and time warping of timbres; with a variety of strange acoustic and electronic instruments.

Transcension EP Available as Torrent

By using the Prodigem Bit Torrent seeding/hosting service I've made available one of my most popular albums, the 4 song EP, Transcension.

Transcension Torrent

BitTorrents can allow artists to distribute extremely, large files through a form of file-based multi-casting. I'll be getting all of my albums up as torrents shortly as part of this experiment.

Draft Score of Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano Available

This is a very close to final draft of the score to my new Horn Trio:

Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano Draft Score

Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano

This score and my last piece, the Violin Sonata represent to me a big breakthrough in my approach to drama, especially with regards to the use of inherent instrumental techniques as driving forces. The Horn Trio has a symphonic quality I haven't attempted since my symphonies.

Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano Final Available

Score is being proofed and a draft should be up shortly. Here's the final MP3 realization:

Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano

Revelations in Tuning

I spent most of the morning, coding up a little program in Java to write SYSEX tuning files to my old Yamaha TG77. It was a bit of a pain, because it involved a lot of 'bit-twiddling' which Java programmers just don't do that much of these days, thankfully. Here's the source if anybody wants it, it's not commented and is a bit rough but it works. It takes a text file with 128 values and spits out a MIDI Sysex file which can then be transmitted to your Yamaha TG77, SY77 or SY99. Feel free to take, steal, not give me credit... whatever. It doesn't use the Javax MIDI classes, cuz I just couldn't get them to do the arbitrary data I needed for a tuning dump.

TG77Tune.java

The good news after all that pain, is that I can now realize Michael Harrison's Revelation tuning. A microtonally modified Just Intonation tuning that uses the black keys to produce beats by using them as 'comma' tones. Tones, almost in tune with the note below them, but in tune in a Just way to the other black notes.

Here's a little improv I did this afternoon on my TG77 using that tuning. It produces heavenly beats and pulses. I'll probably write a few piano pieces with it next.

Piano Improvisation with Michael Harrison's Revelation Tuning

Draft Score of The Hammered Wind Dances I Available

My big flute and piano piece, The Hammered Wind Dances I (and my favorite of the three) is available as a draft score. It's actually further along than DeltaBandResonator.

The Hammered Wind Dances I for Flute and Piano - Draft Score
The Hammered Wind Dances I for Flute and Piano - Download MP3 Stream/Listen

Draft Score of DeltaBandResonator Available

The score to my big big piano piece from 2003 is almost finished and I've made a draft available:

Draft Score to DeltaBandResonator
DeltaBandResonator for Piano - MP3 - Realized by Steve Layton

There are a few spacing issues, but 99% of the articulations, note-spellings and layout is final. Take a look if you're curious. As always, comments about playability are welcome.

BlueStrider Featured on Kyle Gann's PostClassic Radio

My big piano piece, BlueStrider has been chosen by Village Voice critic Kyle Gann to be featured on his popular online radio show PostClassic Radio.

BlueStrider for Piano
BlueStrider Acrobat Score

I've also been featured prominently in his article on PostMinimalism at the Sequenza21 Wiki.

Score and Part for Violin Sonata Available

The score and violin part to my new violin sonata (and one of my best pieces yet) is now available for download:

Sonata for Violin and Piano - Score
Sonata for Violin and Piano - Part

You'll notice I'm now putting a Version Date on each score so that tiny revisions can be maintained. Latest version is 06/26/05.

New Recording:
Sonata for Violin and Piano - Realization

A word about the lack of a cool title. We searched and searched for something enigmatic and varied in its meaning that could resonate with this piece, but failed. There was just something about the way in which the music seems to forever not adopt a manner which was conducive to the discovery of a name. Thus the ridiculously old-fashioned moniker, Sonata. There will probably be more. What I've discovered in the last few pieces, Cassotis and this one, is a way to extend my formal scale and this has produced an un-cool-nameable music.

Parts for Tetra-Mnemosyne VII Available

I've finished the parts for my string trio, Tetra-Mnemosyne VII and they're now available for study/performance.

Tetra-Mnemosyne VII - Violin Part
Tetra-Mnemosyne VII - Viola Part
Tetra-Mnemosyne VII - Cello Part

Also, a draft version of the score for my new Violin Sonata is available. I'm in the process of tweaking a few note-spellings, but the score is fundamentally done. The violin part should be up in a week. I've revised the score a few notes, so the MP3 is not entirely accurate at this point (mainly in the beginning).

Violin Sonata - Score

Underway, a new Violin Sonata, and a new piece for Flute, Viola and Harp.

As always, all of my scores are available here.

Studio Recording of Oneiromancer for Flute, Viola, and Harp Available

A remarkably vibrant and exciting recording of my piece Oneiromancer for Flute, Viola, and Harp (written in 1996) is available for download. The recording was made in Paris by New Zealand composer/violist Nigel Keay, flutist Eric Kohenoff and Harpist Alix Couillaud last month. Oneiromancer (which means 'someone who divines through the interpretation of dreams') uses African-American inspired material to create an atmosphere suggestive of a ritual dance. The very syncopated and rhythmically driving material is interpreted through the piece in a series of dream-like dance collages and canons, becoming an Oneiromancer itself in the process.

Oneiromancer for Flute, Viola and Harp - Studio Recording MP3

Oneiromancer for Flute, Viola and Harp - PDF Score
Oneiromancer for Flute, Viola and Harp - PDF Flute Part
Oneiromancer for Flute, Viola and Harp - PDF Viola Part
Oneiromancer for Flute, Viola and Harp MIDI File

New Sonata for Violin and Piano Available

I've just finished a new violin sonata of 15:30 minutes length. It's a more direct, emotionally driven piece with a more poetic use of the piano than is usual for me. Tunes are inspired by middle eastern and African American influences. Its dramatically abstract nature made me go for an unusually traditional title .

Sonata for Violin and Piano - Realization

Score should be up shortly, although scores for DeltaBandResonator and The Hammered Wind Dances I are almost done, momentum is with this project.

Oneiromancer for Flute, Viola and Harp to be Premiered in Paris

Composer/Violist Nigel Keay and company will present the world premiere of Oneiromancer for Flute, Viola and Harp April 10 in Paris. More details as they are available.

Oneiromancer for Flute, Viola and Harp - PDF Score
Oneiromancer for Flute, Viola and Harp - PDF Flute Part
Oneiromancer for Flute, Viola and Harp - PDF Viola Part
Oneiromancer for Flute, Viola and Harp MIDI File

New Flash Player and Update

I've been busy working on the scores to DeltaBandResonator and The Hammered Wind Dances I and both pieces are almost done. In the meantime, here's a new Flash Player with a pre-loaded playlist of my music to enjoy until there's something new! Thanks to Fabricio Zuardi for his XSPF Web Music Player.

Click the play button to listen. You'll need Flash 7, too... Also, a few interesting options on right mouse button click are available. Like a song? Download it right from the player.

Erg for Mandolin and Guitar Published by Corvus Editions

Erg for Mandolin and Guitar is now being published by Edition Corvus. I've removed the old free PDF's. All interested parties seeking performance materials should contact them for more information.

Erg for Mandolin and Guitar - Performed by Duo Ahlert und Schwab

Steve Layton: Different Light, Same Window

Steve Layton performs/realizes DeltaBandResonator for Piano

"Different Light, Same Window" is a collection of work by the Seattle composer Steve Layton, all of it realized in 2004. In addition to his own compositions, Layton has included a performance of the 2003 Beethoven-meets-Bayou piano epic "DeltaBandresonator" by Brooklyn composer Jeff Harrington (b.1955).

The music is unafraid of unsual forms and biting harmony, yet there is always a strong connection with all that's gone before; a sense of that the dead never really die, but are just us (and we them) displaced by a few years.

Every part of the performances and recording are all realized directly by Layton himself, using a technique that makes score, performance and recording a single entity.

Steve Layton (ASCAP) was born in 1956 in Pasco, Washington. Long working out of Seattle, his music is played and listened to worldwide, and has often been used in film, video and dance.

Prelude #4 for 19ET Piano

A short piece based on a blues progression and packed full of African influences.

Prelude 4 for 19ET Piano - MP3
Prelude 4 for 19ET Piano - Score

Pyrogen for Piano Trio Score and Parts Available

My piano trio, Pyrogen, is now available in study score format and parts.

Pyrogen for Piano Trio - Study Score
Pyrogen for Piano Trio - Violin Part
Pyrogen for Piano Trio - Cello Part
Pyrogen for Piano Trio - Piano Part
Pyrogen for Piano Trio - MP3

Complete Album - Espace - Available for Download

Espace, my 2nd complete electronic album, has been released gratis and online. A collection of slow, sometimes brooding works, often employing granular resynthesis and time warping of timbres. Espace features orchestra time-warping (Eroica Spettrale, Kin Hin) and Wendy Carlos glass harmonica organs (Lamentation Siderales and Lachrimae Crystallinum). The popular piece, Espace des Cloches, for Csound, uses a rapturous DX7-derived gong that resonates into deep space. AgnusDeiWave uses formant synthesis/resynthesis of gregorian chant to create a choral space of lament. High Noon uses a physically modelled shakuhachi in deep resonant space to explore virtuosic gestures.

Stream All Tracks - 256 Bitrate - Broadband Only!

Complete Tracks:

Complete Tracks:
Espace des Cloches - 3:30
Eroica Spettrale - 7:38
Kin Hin - 4:10
Arctogæal - 3:10
Echoi - 2:21
AgnusDeiWave - 9:10
Lamentation Sidérales - 17:43
Lachrimae Crystallinum - 4:53
High Noon - 5:13

Complete Album - Transcension - Available for Download

Four song EP from 2003. Transcension uses subtle beats over a funk bass with a gothic chorus. A Moist Mirage in Desert Eyes, a protest song against the Iraq war, mixes dub rhythms with constantly shifting artificial vocalisms. Arddha Jangala explores orchestral electronic spaces where the timbres constantly morph. Yes or No is a big beat song with bizarre choruses chanting Yes, No... All songs experimental and bizarre but using a completely original approach to sound, melody and beats.

Transcension, an electronic EP from 2003, has been released gratis and online. Transcension is a suite of 4 works exploring artificial vocalisms and morphing timbres. To some degree, Transcension represents work in the more vernacular electronic vein, as there is ample percussion, and rhythmic tension in each of the pieces.

Stream All Tracks - 256 Bitrate - Broadband Only!

Complete Tracks:

Transcension - 4:21
A Moist Mirage in Desert Eyes - 7:38
Arddha Jangala - 2:38
Yes or No - 3:47

Complete Album - Obliterature - Available for Download

Obliterature, the complete album and cover is now available for download. I'll also be selling real CDR's through CafePress sometime in the near future for those who can't stomach downloading 100MB. Selling it through MP3RIA.com was not appropriate for this type of experimental music; the number of Preview Listens I was receiving demonstrated that. If you were one of the few people to buy it through MP3RIA.com please write me and I'll refund you the $3.00.

The complete set of ecstatic improvisations from 1992-1993, Obliterature is an exploration of realtime extravagant sonic spaces with eccentric tunings, both microtonal and just, textures and orchestral climaxes

The album was completely drawn, in realtime with 2 layers for each piece on an Amiga 1000 using MidiLyr, a piece of software that created a large repeating drawable, MIDI surface. No edits, no revisions; the improvisations were selected from hundreds of takes and have been newly remastered with contemporary hi-resolution effects added.

Stream All Tracks - 256 Bitrate - Broadband Only!

Complete Tracks:

Bright and Boundless - 3:05
Turning the Pearl - 4:28
The Conduct of the Moon and Clouds - 3:56
Quarks - 4:02
Abandom - 5:17
Splash - 4:03
Cascade - 3:21
Turning the Pearl II - 5:10
Vols des Fees - 4:05
Vols des Fees II - 3:54
The Obnubilator - 3:30
Obliterature - 10:47

New Realizations of 19ET Piano Preludes

With a lot of help from the MakeMicroMusic crew at Yahoo Groups, I've successfully learned how to use the powerful, but hopelessly ill-documented software audio compiler, Timidity with high quality piano soundfonts.

Prelude 1 for 19ET Piano
Prelude 2 for 19ET Piano
Prelude 3 for 19ET Piano

I've also documented the process with a new blog on microtonal music production, Making Microtonal Music with Software

Complete String Trios - Available for Download Again

My series of string trios, the Tetra-Mnemosyne series is once again available for download. This 7 pieces all explore intense dramas produced by their exploration of folksong and counterpoint. Mnemosyne is the Greek Muse of memory. The title implies four muse-memories, the past, present, future and a memory beyond time.

TetraMnemosyne I for String Trio
TetraMnemosyne II for String Trio
TetraMnemosyne III for String Trio
TetraMnemosyne IV for String Trio
TetraMnemosyne V for String Trio
TetraMnemosyne VI for String Trio
TetraMnemosyne VII for String Trio

Complete Piano Preludes - Available for Download Again

Since the demise of MP3.COM I've had to take a signifcant amount of my previously available music offline. Yesterday I got an account purely for housing MP3's. Harrington MP3's and have been furiously uploading since then. For the first time in 3 years, my complete piano preludes are available. These 22 pieces combine my contrapuntal style with blues, boogie and rock influences.

Favorites:
Piano Prelude 6 - Massive, contrapuntal, with blues chords - premiered outside of Moscow in 1993 by Svetlana Kalinnikova in Noginsk.
Piano Prelude 7 - A 2 1/2 minute blues meets Scarlatti extragaganza. Premiere Performance by Katie Hug, October 28, Pro Football Hall of Fame Auditorium, Canton Ohio.
Piano Prelude 8 - A 2 1/2 minute exercise in piano brutalism. Jerry Lee Lewis meets Galina Ustvolskaya!
Piano Prelude 16 - Explosive non-stop pounding with a Beethoveny twist. Big big Ragtime mayhem.
Piano Prelude 17
Piano Prelude 18
Piano Prelude 19
Piano Prelude 4 - 3 Part canon with melodic augmentation built-in to the cantus. Used as a contrapuntal exercise study in a Siberian music school.

Piano Prelude 1
Piano Prelude 2
Piano Prelude 3
Piano Prelude 5
Piano Prelude 9
Piano Prelude 10
Piano Prelude 11
Piano Prelude 12
Piano Prelude 13
Piano Prelude 14
Piano Prelude 15
Piano Prelude 20
Piano Prelude 21
Piano Prelude 22

Prelude #3 for 19ET Piano

A dramatically atmospheric piece which alternately become barbaric and pounding. Plenty of blues influences, but a more Debussyean approach than #2.

Prelude 3 for 19ET Piano - MP3
Prelude 3 for 19ET Piano - Score

Play this one also really really loud!!!

Duo Ahlert und Schwab - Nowhere Left to Go Available in the US

The brilliant new CD by Birgit Schwab and Daniel Ahlert, Nowhere Left to Go which features a wonderfully spiritual recording of my piece Erg for Mandolin and Guitar is now available through Amazon US:

Nowhere Left to Go - Duo Ahlert und Schwab Amazon US

Prelude #2 for 19ET Piano

Another short piece for piano tuned with 19 equal-temperament; 3 minutes of pounding and Acid Bach like twirls. There's a little bit of counterpoint in this one, too.

Prelude 2 for 19ET Piano - MP3
Prelude 2 for 19ET Piano - Score

Play it really really loud!!!

Prelude #1 for 19ET Piano

My first piece resulting from my recent explorations of the 19 equal-tempered tuning has been finished, a short prelude. It's basically a floating piece with minimal drama, but it does explore the incredibly in tune chords and resonances that this tuning allows. Written in standard notation, assuming a MIDI sampled piano (or other keyboard) for the score.

Prelude 1 for 19 ET Piano
Prelude 1 for 19ET Piano Score PDF

L'Ecume des Temps for Guitar and Violin Revised

I've finished the score to my African/Arabic-inspired piece for guitar and violin, L'Ecume des Temps and both score and parts are now available. I'm particularly pleased by the violin writing in this piece, which is particularly free and melodic. The guitar part soars and provides funky rhythmic incongruities.

L'Ecume des Temps for Guitar and Violin - Study Score
L'Ecume des Temps for Guitar and Violin - Guitar Part
L'Ecume des Temps for Guitar and Violin - Violin Part

L'Ecume des Temps for Guitar and Violin - New Realization - MP3

The title was inspired by the Greek myth of the origins of the goddess, Venus, and how the foam of the seas in particular, gave her birth.

Pyrogen for Piano Trio Completed

I've rearranged and re-composed Pyrogen, the piece I had originally wrote for a trio of piano, guitar and violin, for piano trio, substituting the cello for the guitar part. The new instrumental configuration allowed for a much greater dynamic range and therefore a composition that is much more dramatic.

Pyrogen for Piano Trio - Synthesized Realization

The score should be available shortly, as it had been finished for the other ensemble.

Cassotis for Mandolin and Guitar

I've just finished a new piece, written especially for Daniel Alhert and Birgit Schwab, Cassotis for Mandolin and Guitar. Inspired by seeing them live in NYC in March, the piece combines my usual diverse world influences, but with a new denser and more complex textural approach. It clocks in at 14:30 minutes now, once its been humanized, I'm sure it'll approach 15 minutes or more.

Cassotis for Mandolin and Guitar - Synthesized Realization

The title, Cassotis, is from the spring at the Temple of Delphi that the priests drank from before beginning their rituals of divination. It was supposed to bless the priest with 'mantic' powers. It's also the name of the wood nymph that lived there.

Duo Ahlert and Schwab's CD, Nowhere left to go is available now for pre-order from Amazon.de. It features an absolutely brilliant recording of Erg for Mandolin and Guitar.

Croche et Tient to be Premiered June 7 at Feedback Studio, Cologne

Michael Manion, composer, performer and Stockhausen assistant will premiere Croche et Tient for MalletKAT and K5000 synthesizer June 7 at the Feedback Studio in Cologne, Germany.

Commissioned by Michael Manion. Using MAX or KeyKit MIDI echoing processes and a quartertone-tuned synthesizer, the piece explores territory charted in my Acid Bach series but with a more dramatic and longer tension-building form. Periodically, in the slower sections, the percussionist lets quartertone clusters sustain, creating a night-like atmosphere. The title, Croche et Tient, (Crush and Hold in english) is from a post card we received from Elsie's cousin who's in the French special forces (now stationed in the Coite d'Ivoire).

Croche et Tient MP3
Croche et Tient Performance Score PDF

Complete Album - Obliterature - Available Through MP3ria.com

I've decided to release my Ambient/Abstract/Dark Ambient album, Obliterature, recorded in 1992-1993 on MP3ria.com, a side project of BitPass.com - Jeff Harrington. These are completely remastered with 5 never before released tracks.

The complete set of ecstatic improvisations from 1992-1993, Obliterature is an exploration of realtime extravagant sonic spaces with eccentric tunings, both microtonal and just, textures and orchestral climaxes

The album was completely drawn, in realtime with 2 layers for each piece on an Amiga 1000 using MidiLyr, a piece of software that created a large repeating drawable, MIDI surface. No edits, no revisions; the improvisations were selected from hundreds of takes and have been newly remastered with contemporary hi-resolution effects added.

Obliterature

The individual tracks are available for download at $.50 a piece or the whole album, 12 tracks for $3.00.

One of my favorite tracks on the album - Turning the Pearl II - is available for a free download. Turning the Pearl II

New Realizations of KaleidoPsychoTropos, Anamorphosis, Spirale d'Arco Available

I've used Superconductor to whip up some new realizations of 3 pieces I've recently released scores for, KaleidoPsychoTropos (score was repaired and parts made available - see the listing for the piece in Chamber Music for parts) Anamorphosis (String Quartet #3, score finally finished) and Spirale d'Arco.

KaleidoPsychoTropos is one of my funkier pieces, written for a Synchronia call for scores and premiered and performed several times by them.
KaleidoPsychoTropos for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano
Corrected KaleidoPsychoTropos Acrobat Score

Anamorphosis for String Quartet - Superconductor Realization - MP3
Anamorphosis for String Quartet - Acrobat Study Score

Spirale d'Arco for String Quartet - Download MP3
Spirale d'Arco for String Quartet - Study Score

Adagio Tenebroso for String Quartet (1992) Score and Parts Available

The adagio from my first string quartet, this canon was written in memory of the victims of the invasion of Kuwait. One of my darker and more reflective pieces and available now as a separate score. It is approximately 6 minutes long.

Adagio Tenebroso for String Quartet - MP3 - Recorded by The Rémy/Janaillac/Keay/Lagorce String Quartet
Adagio Tenebroso for String Quartet - Study Score
Adagio Tenebroso for String Quartet - Violin 1 Part
Adagio Tenebroso for String Quartet - Violin 2 Part
Adagio Tenebroso for String Quartet - Viola Part
Adagio Tenebroso for String Quartet - Cello Part

Steve Layton: The Composer Plays III: Works for Imaginary Piano Available

Continuing his exploration of composition and performance with "virtual" piano, Seattle-based composer Steve Layton (b. 1956) offers the third in his series of "The Composer Plays" CDs. For the first time in the series, in addition to his own works Layton here performs compositions by two other excellent composers: New Yorker Jeff Harrington (b. 1955), and the late master Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001).

Harrington's "BlueStrider" is a pounding monster of a piece, with the drama and contrapuntal skill of Beethoven and Stravinsky married with Harrington's own New Orleans barrel-house-blues roots. Obsessive riffs weave their way through both iron-clad logic and exuberance.

More information and purchase:
Steve Layton: The Composer Plays III: Works for Imaginary Piano

New Realization of DeltaBandResonator for Piano by Steve Layton

Steve Layton has done it again! A wondrous recording of my big new piano piece, DeltaBandResonator. I'll be releasing the score now as soon as possible. Steve Layton will also be shortly releasing his recording of my piano piece BlueStrider through CDBaby. Stay tuned!
DeltaBandResonator for Piano - Performed/Realized by Steve Layton MP3

Scores for Anamorphosis, Spirale d'Arco and Tetra-Mnemosyne IV Complete

After years of delay I've finally finished the final scoring for my two last string quartets, Anamorphosis (SQ #3) and Spirale d'Arco (SQ #4) and my 4th String Trio Tetra-Mnemosyne IV. Study scores for all 3 chamber pieces are now available for download. Parts for Spirale d'Arco, Tetra-Mnemosyne IV, and Anamophosis are available in the Chamber Music section.
Spirale d'Arco for String Quartet - Download MP3
Spirale d'Arco for String Quartet - Study Score
Anamorphosis for String Quartet - Download MP3
Anamorphosis for String Quartet - Study Score
Tetra-Mnemosyne IV for String Trio - Download MP3
Tetra-Mnemosyne IV for String Trio - Study Score

New Duo Ahlert & Schwab CD Featuring Erg for Mandolin and Guitar

The German Mandolin and Guitar group, Duo Ahlert & Schwab have almost completed recording work for their new CD. The CD will contain a fantastic new recording of Erg; very spiritual and subtle.
Here's their studio recording from last year:
Erg MP3 - Live Studio Recording

The Hammered Wind Dances for Flute and Piano Revised and Newly Rendered

Now that I've got those 2 quarte