Ah Sunflower, weary of time,
Who countest the steps of the sun;
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the traveller's journey is done;

Where the Youth pined away with desire,
And the pale virgin shrouded in snow,
Arise from their graves, and aspire
Where my Sunflower wishes to go!

—William Blake

Ah Sunflower

A setting of the following text from Hildegard von Bingen's liturgical drama, Ordo Virtutum:

O Anima fugitiva,
esto robusta,
et indue te arma lucis.

O fleeting Soul,
you shall be strong,
and wear your armor of light.

O Anima fugitiva

A setting of poem XXXV from James Joyce's "Chamber Music" for 6-part chorus (soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass) a cappella. Joyce's text portrays a bleak, vast ocean scene. The speaker is traveling through this world for an unknown period of time toward an unknown (or at least undisclosed) destination, all the while subjected to the monotonous and repetitive sounds of the surrounding water and wind.

Performed by In Medio Chamber Choir (John Eisemann, director).

Recorded live on June 9, 2023.

The Sea-Bird

A live recording of my first composition for piano trio from my master's recital, November 15, 2014.

Piano Trio No. 1 — in the light of winter

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is a collection of newly-minted words (“neologisms”) that each encapsulate a unique and, until now, unnamed human emotion. I decided to compose a set of musical reactions to four of these obscure sorrows, scored for chamber orchestra.

The first sorrow is “rubatosis,” described as: 

“The unsettling awareness of your own heartbeat, whose tenuous muscular throbbing feels less like a metronome than a nervous ditty your heart is tapping to itself, the kind that people compulsively hum or sing while walking in complete darkness, as if to casually remind the outside world, I’m here, I’m here, I’m here.” 

This short introductory movement is based largely around a simple, two-note pulsation that starts in the bass drum and is echoed in the strings and piano. The viola and piccolo both play the first theme of the piece, their entrances staggered, creating an eerie duet. The music builds, eventually leaving the first violin exposed. The pulsations reappear, but are more unsteady. The movement slowly winds down and concludes with random pulsations in the strings and moves immediately into the second movement.

The second sorrow is “zenosyne,” defined as “the sense that time keeps going faster.” Starting where the first movement left off, an additive eighth note pattern sounds in the lower voices. The rest of the movement encounters moments of anxiety, impatience, joy, confidence, and fear, which are all underscored by a constant increase of tempo. The movement culminates with a fast tutti iteration of the initial eighth note pattern, only instead of growing, the pattern starts complete and gradually diminishes down to nothing as the music burns itself out.

The third sorrow is “anemoia,” which is “nostalgia for a time you’ve never known.” The dictionary’s creator, John Koenig, further describes this word in the following way: 

“Imagine stepping through the frame into a sepia-tinted haze, where you could sit on the side of the road and watch the locals passing by. Who lived and died before any of us arrived here, who sleep in some of the same houses we do, who look up at the same moon, who breathe the same air, feel the same blood in their veins—and live in a completely different world.” 

The anemoia that I have experienced is for the 15th and 16th centuries, specifically the rich vocal music created by Franco-Flemish composers of this time. This movement incorporates (and directly quotes) sections of a chanson by this era’s most renowned composer, Josquin des Prez. Juxtaposed with the tranquil purity of Josquin’s music is a more turbulent and chromatic music from a more recent century. The turbulent music prevails, but does not eliminate the specter of Josquin lingering at the end of the movement.

The fourth and final sorrow is “nodus tollens,” defined as: 
	
“The realization that the plot of your life doesn’t make sense to you anymore—that although you thought you were following the arc of the story, you keep finding yourself immersed in passages you don’t understand, that don’t even seem to belong in the same genre—which requires you to go back and reread the chapters you had originally skimmed to get to the good parts, only to learn that all along 		you were supposed to choose your own adventure.” 

This movement features a theme that undergoes a series of transformations and recontextualizations. After some exploration, the music eventually reassumes the rambunctious character of the beginning and restates the original theme in full. The music climaxes triumphantly, but suddenly begins to unravel and lose stability. The music collapses, leaving only murky traces of the original theme in the lowest voices of the ensemble.

ii. zenosyne

i. rubatosis

A piece for solo uilleann pipes and Balinese gamelan.

Dream, And Wander Still

This is a demo recording of the Kyrie of the Latin Mass I'm setting for a cappella mixed choir in 8 parts.

Kyrie

The original symphonic score of the film from Lawrence University's "More Light!" Campaign.

A Place Transformed

Three Scottish Love Songs — Lullaby of an Infant Chief

The #metoo movement has been at the forefront of global consciousness over the past year and a half as survivors of sexual assault have bravely spoken out about their horrific experiences with abuse. Many of the alleged abusers have been major artists and entertainers who have compiled substantial bodies of work over the course of their careers. After these men have been accused of being sexual predators, what is to become of their work? Is it ethical to find enjoyment in their creations knowing the horrible things of which they have been accused? Can one separate the art from the artist?
I have personally grappled with questions like these with an artist from a bygone century: Nicolas Gombert, a renowned 16th century composer who was convicted of sexually abusing a child in his charge. Despite this knowledge, his music continues to inspire and move me, but not without the unsettling feeling that my enjoyment comes at someone else’s expense. This thirty-five-minute composition for mixed chorus, organ, flute, cello, and percussion is the result of my efforts to address this inner conflict and to highlight similarities between Gombert’s time and the #metoo movement of today.

Alexander Johnson

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