November 23, 2008
New Sax and Piano Piece and New Electronic Piece
I've finished my first microtonal piece using conventional instruments! It's for soprano sax and piano and was commissioned by the brilliant young saxophonist, Brian Kauth. The piano part plays no microtones, but I was astonished to hear it seem to, because of the way the sax's quartertones resonate with the chords. It's called Dans le Délire de l'Inutile; the title is from a poem by the French surrealist poet Robert Desnos.
Dans le Délire de l'Inutile for Soprano Sax and Piano
I'll have draft scores up shortly once I get back some breathing phrases from Brian. If you really want to see it, drop me a line.
And today, I've finished my second in the series of Celestographs, Celestograph II. It's an almost orchestral electronic composition, again, using the Wendy Carlos harmonic tuning. I used Csound for post-processing and shaping of the final version and my Yamaha TG77 for the dry recording. The sounds were inspired by Vangelis' soundtrack to Blade Runner - I think you'll be able to hear the influences.
Birgit Schwab has helped me revise L'Ecume des Temps for Guitar and Violin, to make it much more playable. (It was practically impossible before.) I've dedicated the piece to her and wish to thank her immensely for her efforts in learning the guitar part and in her editorial suggestions!
L'Ecume des Temps - Guitar Part
L'Ecume des Temps - Violin Part
L'Ecume des Temps - Score
Original MP3 - Synthesized Realization