Hammer & Nail is a fast and furious duo inspired by heavy metal and progressive rock.  It features hard hitting, razor sharp contrapuntal lines between the two instruments, creating a brazen and percussive sound with the sophistication of Bach and the rebelliousness of Sid Vicious.

Performance by the Soli Chamber Ensemble - https://www.solichamberensemble.com/

D.J. Sparr - Electric Guitar
Carolyn True - Piano

See the entire concert! - https://youtu.be/0yFTLHPEF2o

More Info

Hammer And Nail, for Electric Guitar and Piano

for electric guitar, piano and drums.

Commissioned by Frank Nawrot and Rachael Rule

Electric Guitar - D.J. Sparr  http://www.djsparr.com/
Piano - Carolyn True  https://www.trinity.edu/directory/ctrue
Drums - Delta Empire  https://www.youtube.com/c/DeltaEmpire/featured

Presented by the Soli Chamber Ensemble  https://www.solichamberensemble.com/

Hammer & Nail is a fast and furious duo inspired by heavy metal and progressive rock.  It features hard hitting, razor sharp contrapuntal lines between the two instruments, creating a brazen and percussive sound with the sophistication of Bach and the rebelliousness of Sid Vicious.

Notes

Hammer, Nail & Skin - feat. DELTA EMPIRE

This is the second, "slow" movement to my Concerto for 8-string Electric Guitar and Percussion ensemble, "Automaton".  

This is a live recording from the premier in Madison, WI with the percussion group Clocks in Motion.

More info

Automaton, II. Workshop/Steam (Premier, Live)

Roberto Alvarez - Flute
Kevin Loh - Classical Guitar

Performed live in Singapore.

Recorded on March 29th, 2019 from 'Fantasy & Folklore', as part of the 'By Candlelight' chamber music series, located at The Arts House.

Sonata 46 - Flute and Guitar version

Rendezvous with Destiny - Wartime Memories of Tech 5 Wayne Walton, Medic, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division - by Keith Walton.  Read by Anthony Joseph Lanman.

For this Memorial Day, I wanted to post this audiobook version of "Rendezvous with Destiny - Wartime Memories of Tech 5 Wayne Walton, Medic, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division" by Keith Walton.

Keith Walton is my uncle and a fantastic historian, and Wayne Walton was my Grandfather.  Keith did many interviews with his father Wayne about his experiences in WWII.  These included parachuting into Normandy on D-Day, being a prisoner of the German army and then being liberated by his compatriots, participating in the Battle of the Bulge, and much more.

I did this audiobook version for Keith last Christmas, but he has given me permission to post it today.  Please forgive me for butchering many French and German town and city names - I am not a professional audiobook reader 🙂

It was humbling for me to read through these experiences of my Grandfather, and I hope that the interested get something out of his stories.  Thanks, Uncle Keith!

Rendezvous with Destiny - Wartime Memories of Wayne Walton, Medic, 101st Airborne Division

Hommage a Kehinde Wiley (b. 1977) - I'll never forget the first time I saw Wiley's work - giant paintings of modern day African Americans in this Imperialistic European style.  The message was incredibly thought provoking and it was stark - it stared you in the face, not giving you the slightest chance to misinterpret.  And the skill - the skill that went into these huge canvasses was just mind blowing.  Several years later, Wiley was commissioned by Interscope Records to paint a new cover for a remastered version of Dr. Dre's "2001" album.  He painted Dre in this same context, decked out in golden medieval armor.  This hommage is full of Easter eggs - from West Coast rap, especially Dr. Dre, Domenico Scarlatti, J.S. Bach and Handel, and even Beethoven.

Web Page

Hommage a Kehinde Wiley (after his painting "Dre") - Digital DEMO

Digital DEMO for "Hommage a Neil Peart" - Part of "Hommages for Piano, Book 3", written for Holly Roadfeldt.

Hommage a Neil Peart (after his drum solo, 1988) - Digital DEMO

il dolce stile nuovo (The Sweet, New Style) – Jan Valta, Violin; Lukas Polak, Cello; Jan Petr, Piano.  Recorded in Prague, Czech Republic.

il dolce stile nuovo began as a song for voice and piano.  After I had written the intro, I called the poet only to have her tell me that she didn’t want me setting that particular poem.  Dismayed, the piece sat in a drawer for a few months while I tried to figure out what to do with it.  Finally, I got an idea to compose a piano trio, and use the introductory material as a basis for the piece.

This piece for me is just about the joy of writing and playing music.  It brings together all of my major musical influences – rock, jazz, heavy metal, renaissance and baroque music, classical Japanese music, and modern concert music.

Get it on Bandcamp.Com!  http://anthonyjosephlanman.bandcamp.com/album/synesthesiac

Buy at Bandcamp!

Il Dolce Stile Nuovo (Excerpt)

Digital Demo for Hommage a Nadia Boulanger (Theme inspired by "Theme and Variations" by Lili Boulanger), written for pianist Holly Roadfeldt.

Hommage a Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) - I have been fascinated by Nadia Boulanger for a long time now.  How did this person inspire and produce so many of the 20th century's greatest composers?  After reading about her life, I think at least part of that dedication to composers was born out of her relationship to her younger sister Lili, and the circumstances surrounding her early death.  From what I understand, Nadia was a great lover of the rigors of counterpoint, but also had the rare ability of helping composers find their own voices during a time of strict dogma in the composition landscape.  This piece is inspired by Lili Boulanger's "Theme and Variations", and also by Nadia's love of counterpoint, and by her voice in my head telling me, "Just be yourself."

Hommage A Nadia Boulanger - Digital DEMO

A violinist friend of mine came to me with an old, 1930′s violin part that was just that – a part with no accompaniment. The part was an arrangement of an old Russian folk song called “Dark Eyes”, or “Black Eyes”. He asked me if I could write an accompaniment to the part. I thought about it, and ended up re-composing the part, and composing a completely new and re-imagined accompaniment.

It changed little from the original violin part, save for slowly changing accidentals, so the tonality gradually travels to someplace distant from where it started. The piece begins in a more typical style endemic to the 1930′s when greats like Heifetz were tearing up the concert stages. However, I looked at the old part as a sort of time capsule. It had been born in the 1930′s, and then been lost, only to re-emerge in the very foreign land of the 21st century.

This is exactly how I approached the composition of the piece. It flows – slowly – from the past in to the present.

Anthony Joseph Lanman - Classical Guitar
Sharilyn S. - Violin

Re-Imagined Eyes

Performed by the Indiana University Concert Band under the baton of Dr. Eric Smedley

I’ve often been told, “When writing for band, you can’t think like a guitarist”.  This was always a bit difficult for me, as I’m, well, a guitarist.  I struggled with finding the “right” way to think about band for years, and that always kept me at somewhat of a distance from the band world.  I felt like an outsider, which in many ways, I am.  You see, guitar is a very attack-based instrument.  When played, there’s a strong initial attack on the strings, followed by a rapid decay of the note.  And while wind and brass can certainly make strong attacks, they can also perform the opposite – near silent initial attacks with long, sustained tones.  I struggled with this idea of, “…you can’t think like a guitarist”, until I decided to just embrace my “attack-y” way of thinking, and make it work for band.  This piece wholly embraces my guitar way of thinking, and incorporates many influences from guitar based music – most notably, heavy metal.  It is my hope that you can think like a guitarist and make it work for this amazing ensemble.

Blackout Metal Mixtape for Concert Band

Hommage A Gary Gygax - Digital DEMO

Rush – Anthony Joseph Lanman, 8-String Electric Guitar; Paul Bro, Alto Saxophone; Ted Piechocinski, Accordion; Kurt Fowler, Electric Cello. Recorded by Don Arney at Quantum Productions in Terre Haute, IN.

I’ve always loved progressive rock and metal music. As one wise man once said, “You’ll never escape the music you loved when you were seventeen.” And I’ve never tried. This piece is a tribute to all of that wonderful progressive rock that fueled my passion for music during my formative years, and contains that same drive, that same passion, and that same rush that it gave me all those years ago. The title is a reference to the feel of the music, and a tribute to one of the bands that got me started on my journey.

Rush also explores a whole new sound world for me – electric guitar, electric cello, alto saxophone and accordion – a combination I never thought I would hear, let alone have the opportunity to write for. It wasn’t until I did an arrangement of Astor Piazzolla’s L’Histoire du Tango for this group that I realized what a special sound and what a special group this was. Musically, the piece explores a few main ideas – one fragmented statement and one rock influenced melody. Its aim is to be a fusion of all of my past musical experiences, from playing in a touring rock band, to performing Bach suites on classical guitar, to playing John Dowland on the renaissance lute, to performing Steve Reich in a contemporary chamber orchestra.

Get it on Bandcamp.Com! anthonyjosephlanman.bandcamp.com/

Rush

Following the death of my friend Mandy Morris in 2002, I was finding it difficult to compose, or do much else for that matter.  Towards the end of the year, I turned to one of my favorite composers – one who relished in writing music with a melancholy theme.  This was the renaissance composer John Dowland.  Using his music as inspiration, I filtered my own personal pain through his, and created a concerto of lamentations for alto flute and strings. Stylistically, I imagined the string orchestra as one giant consort of viols, and they are asked to mimic the play style and sound as closely as possible.

The second movement was inspired by Dowland’s work for lute, Semper Dowland, Semper Dolens (which translates to Always Dowland, Always Doleful).  In this piece, Dowland uses a recurring motif of a two voice, falling canon.  I expanded on that idea, creating falling canons of ever greater numbers, culminating in a giant crescendo, aurally depicting a cascading waterfall of tears.  The piece also uses many distorted quotations from the Dowland piece itself, as if seen through a foggy, clouded memory.

Kathryn Lukas - Alto Flute soloist

Three Lamentations, II. Semper Dowland, Semper Dolens (Excerpt)

Following the death of my friend Mandy Morris in 2002, I was finding it difficult to compose, or do much else for that matter.  Towards the end of the year, I turned to one of my favorite composers – one who relished in writing music with a melancholy theme.  This was the renaissance composer John Dowland.  Using his music as inspiration, I filtered my own personal pain through his, and created a concerto of lamentations for alto flute and strings. Stylistically, I imagined the string orchestra as one giant consort of viols, and they are asked to mimic the play style and sound as closely as possible.

The first movement, inspired by Dowland’s Flow My Tears, is scored for strings only, and recalls the 5-part choral writing of that time. This movement serves as a kind of prelude.

Three Lamentations, I. Flow My Tears

The Five Rings of Miyamoto Musashi takes it’s inspiration from several different literary, historical, and musical sources. The main inspiration for the piece comes from a book entitled The Book of Five Rings by, you guessed it, Miyamoto Musashi. The book is divided into five chapters – I) The Earth Scroll – II) The Water Scroll – III) The Fire Scroll – IV) The Wind Scroll – and V) The Scroll of Emptiness. In the five chapters Miyamoto imparts his life experiences as a wandering Samurai warrior in 17th century fuedal Japan. Musashi was also a devout Buddhist, and the book is laced with Zen philosophy as well. I tried to take the spirit of the four elements of the first four chapters and translate that into the music. For the last movement, I focused on the Zen concept of duality, as did Musashi in the last chapter of his book.

The second source of inspiration for this piece was the shakuhachi flute. After some study of this incredible instrument, I realized that it would inspire the music in my piece musically and also would carry some historical ties as well. Much of the music in the first and last movements was inspired by Sokaku – Reibo, a Japanese folk theme often improvised upon by shakuhachi players. The instrument itself was linked to the samurai during Miyamoto’s lifetime. The shakuhachi was imported from China, and was originally much smaller. During the 17th centrury, the shakuhachi became the sole “property” of the samurai. They would often learn to play the instrument to become spies for different shoguns, masquerading as a musician at another shogun’s court. The samurai also enlarged the shakuhachi and made it more solid, so it could double as a weapon if needed. Most of the extended techniques used in the piece are approximations of sounds heard on the shakuhachi.

The Five Rings of Miyamoto Musashi - V. Scroll of Emptiness

The Five Rings of Miyamoto Musashi - IV. Wind Scroll

The Five Rings of Miyamoto Musashi - III. Water Scroll

The Five Rings of Miyamoto Musashi - II. Fire Scroll

The Five Rings of Miyamoto Musashi - I. Earth Scroll

Paul Bro - Soprano Saxophone
Anthony Joseph Lanman - 8-String Electric Guitar

The word Viridian is defined as a chrome green pigment that is a hydrated oxide of chromium.  Originally written for the sax/harp duo Pictures on Silence, Viridian Soliloquy is the third piece in my series of duets for one melodic instrument and one harmonic instrument.  Each soliloquy is titled after a color – the first being cerulean (for flute and piano) and the second being obsidian (for cimbalom and theorbo).  As a composer, I experience the phenomenon of synesthesia.  This is where I see colors associated with sounds and vice versa.  I was inspired to choose viridian for this piece because of the sometimes shiny green hue that reflects off of the body of the saxophone and the “green” timbre of the instrument.  The spirit of the piece is short, fast and furious and incorporates influences from rock, jazz, heavy metal and early music.

Viridian Soliloquy

Hommage a Frank Zappa is a fast and furious two-part invention inspired by rhythms and motives from Zappa’s song “Inca Roads”.

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Hommage a Frank Zappa

This piece was written for, and dedicated to my wife, Jennifer.  I tried to create a story - a journey through music that followed and complimented Neil Gaiman's charming and evocative poem.

The text is from the poem "Instructions" by author Neil Gaiman, and can be found in his book "Fragile Things".

The players:

Jennifer Lanman: Voice 
Anthony Joseph Lanman: 8-String Electric Guitar
Paul Bro: Alto Saxophone
Nathan Rainey: Horn
Ted Piechocinski: Accordion
Beverley Simms: Piano
Sharilyn Spicknall: Violin
Kurt Fowler: Cello
Todd Gallagher: Contrabass
Jimmy Finnie: Vibraphone, Glockenspiel, Steel Drums, Suspended Cymbal, Cajon
Roby George: Conductor

Recording Engineers: Matthew Pauley and Don Arney
Mixed and mastered by Don Arney

Instructions (on How to Survive a Fairy Tale) text by Neil Gaiman

il dolce stile nuovo (in English: The Sweet New Style) begun as a song for voice and piano.  After I had written the intro, I called the poet only to have her tell me that she didn’t want me setting that particular poem.  Dismayed, the piece sat in a drawer for a few months while I tried to figure out what to do with it.  Finally, I got an idea to compose a piano trio, and use the introductory material as a basis for the piece.

This piece for me is just about the joy of writing and playing music.  It brings together all of my major musical influences – rock, jazz, heavy metal, renaissance and baroque music, classical Japanese music, and modern concert music.

Jan Valta, violin – Lukas Polak, cello – Jan Petr, piano

Synesthesiac

Il Dolce Stile Nuovo

Live performance of "Hommage a Hayao Miyazaki", recorded at the University of Missouri, Kansas City on June 19th, 2017.

Holly Roadfeldt, Piano

Hommages Live at UMKC, Holly Roadfeldt, Pianist

Hommage a Hayao Miyazaki, Live at UMKC (Holly Roadfeldt, Pianist)

The fourth Hommage in my Second Book of Hommages, Hommage a Jackson Pollock.  Performed live by Holly Roadfeldt at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio on September 22nd, 2017.

Hommage a Jackson Pollock - Live, World Premier Recording

The Five Rings of Miyamoto Musashi - I. Earth Scroll (Alto Flute Version)

Sonata 46 for violin and classical guitar

Sandra Haniszewska - Violin
Tomasz Kandulski - Classical Guitar

I was attending music school as an undergraduate in 1998 at the University of Texas at Austin. At the time, Matthew Gould (of Duo 46) was attending as a Doctoral student in guitar and living in Austin with his partner, violinist Beth Schneider. They had started Duo 46 maybe a few years before this. I was hanging out with them a lot in those days - just going over to their apartment or whatever. One day, Matt said to me, "Hey man, why don't you write us a piece?", and I said, "Umm.. ok."

At this point, I don't think they expected much. They hadn't had that many pieces written for them yet, and I was just starting as a composer, only in my second year of school. I decided I wanted to write something that would really show off what they could do technically and musically, and that would leave audiences breathless.

Not knowing how to begin, I lifted a line from a piece that I had just written - a solo flute piece titled "The Five Rings of Miyamoto Musashi". That became the opening line of the piece. Then, inspired by the one movement sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti, I wrote the piece based on that line. The piece is full of things that I was just discovering and becoming influenced by at the time: baroque sonatas, renaissance lute music (hence the "lute" tuning of the guitar), the tangos of Piazzolla as well as the ever-present rock and heavy metal that has always been part of my music. Since Duo 46 premiered the piece in 1999, Sonata 46 has become one of my most frequently and widely performed pieces.

Sonata 46 (Haniszewska-Kandulski Duo)

J.S. Bach - Cello Suite No. 1, Prelude

Holly Roadfeldt - Piano

Hommage a Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) - The music of Hildegard has always amazed and inspired me.  Well, EVERYTHING about Hildegard has amazed and inspired me—the things that she composed, wrote, built, and accomplished—especially in an age when women were completely oppressed.  She is quite simply one of the greatest geniuses this world has ever produced, and it’s criminal that she’s not as well known as other male geniuses from her time (or later).  When I was thinking about this Hommage, I wasn’t sure how to approach it.  Then, one day (July 11th, 2018), I was doing some completely unrelated work, and out of nowhere, the entire piece came to me all at once, as in a vision.  Yeah, I know how that sounds, especially given Hildegard’s history, but that’s what happened.  The piece was written in one afternoon.

Hommage a Hildegard of Bingen - World Premier on WVIA Radio

Fast, Furious and Funky.  Flutists, if you're interested in a score, please contact me!

http://anthonyjosephlanman.com

Score

Cerulean Soliloquy for Flute Solo (Digital Demo)

"Hommage a Neil Gaiman" is the sixth Hommage written for Holly Roadfeldt, and the first from Book 3.  This Hommage is based on my larger work "Instructions (On How to Survive a Fairy Tale)", which is based on Gaiman's poem of the same name.  I plan on writing more Hommages for Holly in the future, and I hope you enjoy her amazing artistry on this track!


Holly Roadfeldt, Piano
http://www.hollyroadfeldt.com/

Hommage a Neil Gaiman

Anthony Joseph Lanman is an active and passionate musician that divides his time between composing, performing, teaching and advocacy for new classical music.

As a composer, Anthony creates music that reaches general audiences as well as new music connoisseurs. Embracing influences that range from progressive rock and metal, to medieval and renaissance music, to jazz, to new classical, Anthony strives to create a sound that is his own. He has written for ensembles and soloists around the world.

Recent commissions include – E.G.S./A.J.L. for guitarist Matthew Cochran, Hear Us! for children’s choir and string ensemble commissioned by Otter Creek Middle School, Automaton – a concerto for 8-string electric guitar and percussion for Clocks In Motion, The Rag and Bone Shop – a song cycle for baritone and piano trio for Brian Lewis and David Small commissioned by the University of Texas Butler School of Music, Rush – a quartet commissioned by the Music Teacher’s National Association and the Indiana Music Teacher’s Association, Hommages for Piano, Book 2, for Holly Roadfeldt, and Damselfly – a duo for 8-string electric guitar and percussion for Kyle Lutes.

Anthony’s performing career began in high school while singing and playing electric guitar with his touring progressive band Canvas. His principle instrument changed to classical guitar during his undergraduate years at University of Texas at Austin where he studied with Adam Holzman. Through his graduate study at Indiana University he added renaissance lute and theorbo to his instrumental arsenal, studying with Nigel North. He has performed with the University of Texas New Music Ensemble, the University of Texas Early Music Ensemble, the Indiana University New Music Ensemble, the Indiana State University Wind Ensemble, and Clocks in Motion. He has also performed many concerts of solo and chamber music.

Anthony’s advocacy is life-long. In the nineties, he hosted a contemporary classical music radio show on KVRX in Austin, Texas. In the 21st century, he promoted fellow Indiana University composers through a web presence on Mp3.com (now defunct); created Guitar Heroes, a weekly presentation series in Second Life; and produced more than 100 episodes of his ongoing music-centric podcasts All the Cool Parts and the 1,000 Recordings Podcast. He has appeared as a guest on Soundnotion, Composer Quest, Classical Guitar Insider, Goes 2 Eleven, and The Portfolio Composer.  His new podcast 1 Track focuses on the music of the contemporary classical world.  In addition, he has exposed thousands of new listeners to contemporary classical composers by sharing this music to his more than 400,000 followers on Soundcloud.

Anthony has held several positions at multiple universities and colleges, as well as K-12 public schools. In 2016, he held an adjunct position at Butler University in addition to teaching choir and music at West Vigo Middle School. He holds a BM in composition from the University of Texas, and an MM and DM in composition from Indiana University.

Anthony currently resides in Bloomington, IN with his wife Jenna and their cats Silas and Bod.

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