Vigor | Disquiet 
Fixed media – Stereo

“Vigor | Disquiet” is a tribute to young athletes and performers, especially in figure skating, dance, and gymnastics. These athletes achieve incredible feats that many cannot comprehend or fully appreciate, all the while processing immeasurable external and internal pressures from their families, communities, coaches, nations, and themselves.

All samples were recorded at the Goggin Ice Center at Miami University. Many thanks to Marie Moeller, who was willing to be recorded for this project.

Andy McFarlane (b. 1992)

Vigor | Disquiet

Vibrant (2022)
for saxophone, electric guitar, percussion, and piano

View Score at www.andymcfarlane.com/vibrant

Andy McFarlane
andymcfarlane.com

performed by the Hinge Quartet
https://hingequartet.com/

Full of energy and enthusiasm. Quivering. Pulsating. Bright. Striking. Strong. Resonating.

	I chose these words from the title's definition, according to a quick Google search.

		I loved each of the synonyms, especially as they related to the human spirit and the creation

			around it.

	As I played around with the music, I thought of a star’s energy with its own vibrancy:

			from a distance—brilliant and promising, quivering, pulsating, striking—

				and close—dangerous yet controlled, bright, strong, resonating.

May we be

Full of energy and enthusiasm. 

Quivering. 

Pulsating. 

Bright. 

Striking. 

Strong. 

Resonating.

Vibrant, for saxophone, electric guitar, percussion, and piano
©2022 Andy McFarlane

Recorded by the Hinge Quartet at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music | 2022, Cohen Family Studio Theater

Vibrant

Meditation for solo trumpet (2020)
for solo trumpet
andymcfarlane.com

recorded by Sam Jones

Inspired by American composer Vincent Persichetti (1915–1987) and his 25 Parables, this
Meditation is the second in a series of works for solo performers.
The palette of notes featured in "Meditation for solo trumpet" is derived from a self-inflicted constraint:
increasing or decreasing consecutive interval sizes by a half-step (minor 2nd, major 2nd, minor 3rd, etc).
As I wrote, I focused on this constraint and allowed it to guide the music, navigating through its
implications.
Meditating on a proverb is similar. If you trust the proverb, you rely on it to guide your mind through
multiple scenarios from a variety of different perspectives. If you are wary of it, moments from your
personal experiences can overwhelm it,
for your own good or ill.
-Andy
Premiered by Sam Jones, 2021
 online, as part of his residency,
 February 16, at the College-Conservatory of Music,
 University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Ohio.

Duration: ca. 4 minutes
©2020 Andy McFarlane
All Rights Reserved.
www.andymcfarlane.com

Meditation For Solo Trumpet - Sam Jones

Vast, Unmeasured, Boundless, Free is an arrangement of the hymn "O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus" (lyrics Samuel Trevor Francis, music Thomas John Williams) written for 20 piece brass choir and percussion and premiered as the prelude for the 2016 Cedarville University Commencement.

The piece is divided into four sections, each using a word from the title respectively--"vast, unmeasured, boundless, free"--infusing each with musical descriptions of Jesus' love, as Francis does with his words.

performed by the Cedarville University Brass Choir
composed by Andy McFarlane

Vast, Unmeasured, Boundless, Free
© 2016 Andy McFarlane

Vast, Unmeasured, Boundless, Free

Program Notes:

Envies of the simple mind is a musical narrative describing a man’s vision of Jehovah Sabaoth, the God of Israel, and his thought process afterwards. The work is divided up into four movements: the vision of Jehovah, the man’s initial response, his description of humanity’s faults, and an attempt of reconciling this great God with Jesus Christ who proclaimed the mercy and grace of God.

I. the Lord of Hosts
In his vision, the man walks up a hill and peers over to see and feel the rippling and rumblings of an army preparing for war—beasts with great wings, flaming swords, and large chariots. Amidst the chaos rises an aura of great terror, beauty, and light that silences the many legions, tens of thousands strong. A deep rumbling of a voice, indistinct to the man, almost quietly sounds, to which the beasts respond. The voice summons all his army to wage war on his enemy. The trumpets sound and the aura moves forward followed by endless streams of cavalry.

II. woe, for the fallen nature of man
Awakening from his vision, the man’s mind and spirit falls into deep sorrow for humanity, whom he fears is the enemy of the great and terrible and beautiful being. His thoughts turn to his morality: if such a being is righteous, how will he survive?

III. wither and fade
As his thoughts ponder good and evil, he categorizes his own faults into three categories each of which he has seen among humanity as a whole:

	“proud, angry, shaking fists”—the angry in heart—those who respond to the evil in the world and say “How dare you?” to such a powerful and mighty God.

	“cr38-ion”—the proud in heart—those obsessed with their own name and creations, building temples and shrines to their achievements out of wood, rock, metal, steel and megabytes.

	“dark, lonely, lazy souls”—the discontent in heart—those who grieve endlessly and become themselves the grime on the streets without providing solutions to the problems they point out.

IV. burden
The man remembers the words of Jesus Christ: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you will find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30, KJV Bible). 

After bearing such a heavy mental burden because of his vision, the man struggles to reconcile Christ’s words to the dark state in which he finds himself. Whether it is the Spirit of God or just his mind cycling through thoughts, he is enticed by these words and begins to let them lead him. A dialogue ensues between two lines of thinking: one of enticement to the hope of rest, and the second of the convincing realism of humanity’s overwhelmingly dark state.

I wrote this piece as a thought-provoking work and do not intend to speak absolute truth by it. I encourage the reader to ponder the depth of the man’s thoughts and his struggle through them rather than their accuracy to reality. The mind that continues without rest works all sorts of madness, and I don’t wish that on anyone, except for a time—and then, only to be bettered by it.

-Andy

conductor: Jonathan M. Lyons
performers: Julia Brummel, alto; Wesley Kane, tenor; Megan Troyer, Trumpet; Sarah Plumley, Horn; Arne Anderson, vibraphone; Brandon Apol, Josiah Hintz, percussion; Anna Raquet, Harp; Hannah Rinehart, piano; Ellen Raquet, violin; Samuel Franklin, viola; Hanna Bahorik, cello
composer: Andy McFarlane

envies of the simple mind
©2016 Andy McFarlane
All Rights Reserved

envies | II. Woe, For The Fallen Nature Of Man

This is the 3rd in a series of experimental improvisation for piano. 

If you've ever been in a hallway of music practice rooms, 
you may have heard a similar sound. 
In the truest nature of these experiments, 
the result isn't always the most pleasant, 
even if some of the themes may be. 

*This is the first unquantized (in which each note is not locked into a certain beat), truly "free" installation.

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For those interested in the compositional process, check out the "Piano Loops" playlist: https://soundcloud.com/andrewstevenmcfarlane/sets/piano-loops
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Piano Loops 3 - Practice Time
©2016 Andy McFarlane
All Rights Reserved

Piano Loops 3 - Practice Time

The 4th in an ongoing series of experimental improvisation for piano.

Sometimes I'd love just to have a quiet Saturday afternoon on the couch.
Sometimes I can rest with no thought of responsibility or care in the world.
But sometimes...

---
For those interested in the compositional process, check out the "Piano Loops" playlist: https://soundcloud.com/andrewstevenmcfarlane/sets/piano-loops
---

Piano Loops 4 (Lethargic)
©2014 Andy McFarlane
All Rights Reserved.

Piano Loops 4 (Lathargic)

The 6th of a series of experimental minimalist music for looped piano.

We all had it a little. 
Some of us more than others. 
And sometimes never grew out of it completely. 
But, honestly, we're just deeply concerned with what is wrong with the world.

Piano Loops 6 (Angst)
©2019 Andy McFarlane
All Rights Reserved.

Piano Loops 6 (Angst)

The 5th of a series of experimental minimalist music for looped piano.

A little sad. A little darker. A little unpleasant. A little hard to work through.
A little hope that at the end, we'll find who we wanted to be at the beginning.

---
For those interested in the compositional process, check out the "Piano Loops" playlist: https://soundcloud.com/andrewstevenmcfarlane/sets/piano-loops
---

Piano Loops 5 - Refine
©2018 Andy McFarlane
All Rights Reserved.

Piano Loops 5 - Refine

The Arborist, for solo cello (2019)

Curious, the relationship an old tree might have with an arborist in a park. Imagine the tree-expert sizing up the beast—diagnosing a disease, checking for insects or blights, pruning back undesirable branches, or establishing grounds for removal due to rot or obstruction. Think of the tree’s perspective. Slowly establishing roots and shooting branches upward, producing leaves and fruit every year while withstanding storms and winters, the tree notices a human come closer than usual—more interested than the occasional human-lings that hang on its branches. Not knowing this human’s intentions, the old plant observes, full of curiosity and helpless.

-Andy

https://www.andymcfarlane.com/the-arborist

Premiered by Audrey Hudgens, 2019 at the Midwest Composers Symposium, November 9, Jacob’s School of Music, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Duration: ca. 3 minutes
©2019 Andy McFarlane
All Rights Reserved.

The Arborist

building castles in the sand as reminders of those in stone.

Andy McFarlane

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