acoustic
compositions 
Even though I have been interested most of my
life in electronic music and music technology, there is nothing
quite like the thrill of hearing one's music performed by an
acoustic instrumental ensemble.
The following is a listing of all my acoustic compositions to
date, giving their instrumentation and duration along with a brief
description of their sound.
These scores are available at no cost to any performers who may be
looking for contemporary music—simply click here
for contact info.
It contains all my recorder compositions listed
below, plus one work each by guest composers William Byrd and
Guillaume de Machaut, who I hope don’t mind associating with the
likes of me.
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| Three Felt Pieces (1966-74) |
piano solo |
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quiet, thoughtful, dissonant, not difficult |
| Five Carols for
recorders (1974-75, rev. 2007) |
recorders, SSATTGb |
7-8' |
Taking familiar tunes and
giving them a fresh slant with peppy arrangements. Good
King Wenceslas, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, We Three
Kings, Deck the Halls, Hark the Herald Angels Sing. At the
very end, Deck the Halls and Hark the Herald Angels are
heard simultaneously! |
| In Memoriam (1987) |
piano solo |
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dissonant, fairly difficult dirge |
| Four Dances for Winds (1988) |
flute, oboe, clarinet in A, bass clarinet, bassoon |
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atonal, rhythmic, changing meters |
| The Infinite Spiral (1990) |
violin, piano |
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soft, mystical, semi-tonal harmonies |
| Sine Nomine (1990) |
brass quintet (2 trumpets, trombone, horn, tuba) |
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tonal with dissonances in the manner of Stravinsky |
| The Sky, Ringing (1991) |
piano solo |
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a fantasy of arppegios mostly in high register, semi-tonal |
| Formations, for nine instruments (1991) |
flute/piccolo, oboe, clarinet in Bb, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, contrabass |
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seven connected sections each explore a different form of musical organization, from 12-tone to circle-of-fifths to minimalist |
| Transformations, for twelve winds (1993) |
2 flutes/piccolos, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (1 doubling bass clarinet), 2 bassoons, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba |
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a combination of 12-tone and minimalist techniques; a kind of battle between styles that ends in an uneasy truce |
| Sonata (1994) |
piano solo |
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a long, mostly dissonant and difficult work for piano in four movements, in a kind of post-Shostakovich idiom |
| Three Fantasies for Flute and Piano (2003-4) |
flute, piano |
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Quite tonal, with the first movement reminiscent of Debussy, the second, slow movement Machaut, and an upbeat and often bitonal third movement that rocks—and sounds like no one else that I know! |
| Pavan and Galliard for recorder quintet (2004) |
recorders, SAATB |
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Tonal, and full of 9ths and 11ths taking advantage of the five voices. Not too difficult, but needs good ensemble for best results. |
| Time Piece for orchestra
(2004) |
orchestra (2,2,2,2 2,2,3,1 4 perc., strings) |
9-10' |
I. Prologue—Before Time II. The Beginning of Time III. Time Passing IV. The End of Time |
| Harmonic Motions (2008) |
two pianos, eight hands |
15' |
Interlocking patterns from
four players on two pianos build up a vibrant, tonal, and
rhythmic étude in three movements. The individual parts
are simple; the ensemble is more challenging. |
| Quintet for recorders (2009) |
recorders, SSATB |
3' |
Mostly tonal, with plenty
of added notes and quirky altered scale degrees to keep it
interesting. |
| Variations and Fugato on
'O Tannenbaum' for recorders (2008, revised 2010) |
recorders, SATB |
4' |
Again, tonal with added
notes, and a real albeit brief fugal treatment of the
melody. |
| Octet for recorders
(2010) |
recorders, SSAATTBB |
6' |
Similar in sound to the
Quintet, and even more clustery with eight parts, but
harmonious even so. |