Complement

Edifice & Alchemy is incidental music to accompany Jacob Rowan’s five-part master’s thesis talk, presented in March 2020 at the Bitsy Irby Art Gallery at Belhaven University.  The score was realized by members of the Belhaven Composers Forum; it involves a series of “incidental” cues, each of which deploys notated musical material in partially improvised structures, coordinated with Jacob’s talk.  Audience members were seated in the center of the gallery, surrounded by Jacob’s artworks as they listened to Jacob’s talk and the accompanying music.

Structured Improvisation: Unspecified Instrumentation.

This piece was premiered by the Belhaven Composers Forum on their Fall 2016 Student Composer Concert. The score consists of a series of chords and brief instructions for improvisation.

Oboe, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and piano

The Belhaven Composers Forum worked with director Joseph Frost on a devised-theatre production based on Dr. Daniel Fredericks’ translation and commentary on the book of Ecclesiastes.  The process involved developing musical ideas and structuring cues in conjunction with actors, who used a system of improvisation to develop the script, staging, and action.

Collaborative improvisation involving dancers and instrumentalists

Co-designed by choreographer Krista Bower.  Composers and dancers improvised as a group and in pairs throughout this work.  The title refers to I Corinthians 4:16-18.

Soprano, Flute, Violin, and Piano

Composed for the close of Joseph Frost’s production of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, the text for this song is drawn from Vanya’s concluding soliloquy.

Prerecorded Electronics

This is brief reflection on a stereotype of educational and cultural norms, with an oblique reference to a piece by Charles Ives.

Violin, Brake Drums (5), and Balinese Gamelan

This is a musical metaphor about beachcombing, composed for the Pacific Rim Gamelan and performed at the 1995 SCI national conference, featuring the composer playing the brake drums.

Harpsichord and Balinese gamelan.

The harpsichord’s 12-tone line floats ominously through the gamelan’s sparse bell sounds to portray a mysterious underwater menace.  Composed for the Pacific Rim Gamelan.

Prerecorded Electronics

This study in irregular rhythmic patterns and tempo canon features the sampled sound of “sheep toes”, or Chajchas, processed to resemble the sound of submerged pebbles.”

The basis for this work is an arpeggiating pattern using fast, uneven rhythmic values in the ratio 3:4:5. Pairs of voices enter successively, running at slightly different tempos, gradually converging on an abrupt, even vicious release of tension, ending one section as the next begins. The watery, rocky texture which opens and closes the piece provides atmospheric contrast, and the accumulating “snaps” in the middle section are improvised (rather than formally calculated).

Perhaps a few of the preludes from J. S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier and Louis Andriessen’s De Staat had something to do with this design, as did the irregularity of some Bulgarian rhythmic modes. Certainly, Steve Reich’s pioneering work in “phasing” matters here, though here the music begins out of sync and comes together, rather than diverging. One might hear a distended picture of wonder and apprehension emerging, as if some rare, massive leviathan surfaces for air and then descends into obscurity.

Balinese Gamelan, Tibetan Prayer Bells, and Brake Drums.

This two-movement etude explores minimalist-like development and metric modulation in the context of a (mostly) non-western ensemble.  Composed for the Pacific Rim Gamelan.

Prerecorded Electronics and Sleeping Bag

This piece begins with an original lullaby, drifts off to sleep, and journeys through a series of dreams, finally reaching peaceful rest.  Subtle antics with the sleeping bag provided visual commentary for the live performances.