Into nowhere

"I had nothing but to walk into nowhere and the wide sunset space with the star." - Georgia O'Keeffe

I will be using the first movement as the score to a video-in-progress (see my blog for more info).

Trees

This is an arrangement of a work for two oboes with harpsichord, originally scored for six-part flute choir (four C flutes with alto and bass). It was written last summer for the San Francisco State University Flute Choir, who premiered the first movement in August 2009 as part of a program of music by American composers.

Duet

A set of playful, virtuosic duets for flute and bassoon.

Nine Muses

For flute
Euterpe (the delightful one)
Muse of music and lyric poetry
Thalia (the blossoming one)
Muse of comedy and bucolic poetry
Melpomene (the chanting one)
Muse of tragedy

For harp
Calliope (the beautiful of speech)
Chief of the Muses and Muse of epic poetry
Polyhymnia (the singer of many hymns)
Muse of sacred song, oratory, lyrics, singing, and rhetoric
Terpsichore (the dancing one)
Muse of choral song and dance

For violin
Clio (the glorious one)
Muse of history
Erato (the amorous one)
Muse of love or erotic poetry, lyrics, and marriage songs
Urania (the celestial one)
Muse of astronomy

(Total duration: ca. 13.5 mins)

Three sets of miniatures for solo instruments inspired by the Greek Muses. Read the program note.

The Course of Empire
I. The Savage State - listen to mp3
II. The Pastoral State - listen to mp3

A string quartet inspired by Thomas Cole's cycle of paintings by the same name. Read the program note and see the paintings with the music.

The Promise

I chose the combination of trumpet and string quartet for a lush semi-orchestral feeling, reminiscent of the string and brass-oriented textures in an early Baroque orchestra. The first section features call-and-answer echoes between the trumpet and the violins, one of which plays offstage (a reference to Monteverdi). Each of the instruments stay primarily within their low and middle ranges for a warm, centered timbre.

The exact meaning of the piece is intended to be open-ended, but it is a general expression of hope and determination; a promise that one makes to others, and to oneself.

Time-Lapse - listen to mp3 - view pdf score

The concept of this work is essentially in the title: it's meant to give the sense of a length of time (hours, days or years) passing in a condensed period.