Gaspard de la Nuit, performed by Hanna Shybayeva, realized on mandolin-rail Disklavier, tuned to Young 1799 temperament(5-28-21)

"Gaspard De La Nuit" on mandolin-rail Disklavier

Recorded in May, 2013, this is the inaugural piece composed for the Lightbulb Ensemble, performed on a set of steel metallophones built and designed by Brian Baumbusch.

Prana

Brian Baumbusch "Effigy" Interview Conducted by John Schneider, March 31 2022, KPFK Los Angeles

Recorded by Nata Swara in Ubud Bali, January 2022.

Prisms for Gene Davis - 9. Nona "Raspberry Icicle" (Brian Baumbusch; performed by Nata Swara)

Polytempo Music, Part 9, Preliminary Mix (December 2022)

Hydrogen(2)Oxygen - Oxygen "Aqua" (JACK Quartet and Nata Swara)

The first ever collaboration between the JACK Quartet and the Lightbulb Ensemble, premiered at the Smithsonian Insititution on October 29th, 2015. The piece is in three movements:

i) Hydrogen (GAS) [0:00-14:33]
ii) Hydrogen (ICE) [14:33-26:50]
iii) Oxygen (AQUA) [26:54-END]

Hydrogen(2)Oxygen (2015 - performed by the JACK Quartet and Lightbulb Ensemble]

A trio for piano and gamelan, performed live in Santa Cruz California on May 14, 2016. 

Tombeau

The Lightbulb Ensemble records "Pomp," composed by Brian Baumbusch.

Mikrokosma

Mikro 3. Pomp

Hamsa (The Lightbulb Ensemble) Roulette, Brooklyn, 11 - 20 - 16

Recorded at the home of Dr. Made Hood in Singapadu, Bali, on June 27, 2012.

Notes for Bali Alloy Overture [based on Dr. Made Bandem's Gamelan Gong Kebyar in Singapadu, Bali]:

Fundamental Pitch (ding): 
1/1 = 278.73 hz [concert C# +9.7 cents]

Pentatonic Pelog Scale Adapted for Strings: 
Cents from 1/1= 0, 120.8, 298, 701.955, 778.9 
Equivalent Ratios from 1/1= 1/1, 15/14, 19/16, 3/2, 11/7

(Ding) = D [1/1]
(Dong) = Eb +20.8 cents [15/14]
(Deng) = F -2 cents [19/16]
(Dung) = A +2 cents [3/2]
(Dang) = Bb -21 cents [11/7]

Tuning Notes-

The tuning for the Overture is derived from several different avenues based on the tuning of the gamelan. The main goal in developing a system of tuning that would work well with any conceivable gamelan tuning was to discover a 3/2 equivalent in the fundamental pitches of the gamelan, and assign two open strings of the quartet to tune to that 3/2. In this case, since Ding to Dung on the gamelan was a narrow fifth where Ding is around 280 hz, it seemed feasible that the quartet could tune a 3/2 on their D and A strings starting just flat of Ding and going just sharp of Dung, and then finger the rest of the pitches with the gamelan.

The rest of the pitches used are based on multiplications of 3/2, 4/3, or 5/4 from the standing gamelan pitches. These pitches derived from the gamelan scale are:

*4/3, 10/7, 19/12, 2/1, 44/21 (parallel 4/3 above gamelan selisir pitches) 
*3/2, 45/28, 57/32, 9/4, 33/14 (parallel 3/2 above gamelan selisir pitches) 
*1/1, 15/14, 19/16, 5/4, 75/56, 3/2, 11/7, 57/32, 15/8 (mix of 5/4 and 3/2 parallels to create stepwise 9 tone scale)

The purpose of deriving a system of tuning like this is so that notationally, all of the pitches can be described through the tuning of the gamelan by using accidentals that refer to the pitches of the gamelan. Therefore, instead of thinking of the tuning as a just intonation based around a fixed 1/1, the tuning works as a series of just relationships revolving around the fixed tuning of the gamelan. Therefore, in tuning fingered pitches in the string quartet, the player should always be listening to the gamelan pitch that is referred to by the gamelan accidental. In most cases, the accidental sits next to the equivalent tone of the gamelan. But in cases where there are parallel relationships between the string pitch and the gamelan pitch, the gamelan accidental serves as a guide as to what tone to be in tune with. 

This system of intonation technique should serve to allow to string players to conform with the gamelan as one unified ensemble.

Bali Alloy Overture (JACK Quartet - Gamelan Makaradhwaja)

Composed by Brian Baumbusch and performed by the UCSC Wind Ensemble. Conceived, composed, and recorded between March and June of 2020 during the coronavirus shelter-in-place lockdown using thousands of individualized click tracks corresponding to fragments of music from the score. The performers are:

UCSC Wind Ensemble Members:

Hunter Bauman - Flute, Piccolo
Mia Balsley - Flute, Oboe
Betsy Brady - Flute
Aya Kitajima - Flute
Bennett Imai - Oboe
Neil Fairbairn - Bassoon
Lam Do - Clarinet
Olivia Irons - Clarinet
David Leon - Clarinet
Megan  Spitzer - Clarinet
Damien Stoffel - Clarinet
Jacob Riberal - Alto Saxophone
Nick Hidy - French Horn
Nick Uhlig - French Horn
Brina Bodnar - Trumpet
Genevieve Kromm - Trumpets (Bb, C)
Ryan Odou - Trumpet
Daniel Smith - Trumpet
Elad Zohar - Trumpet
David Gatwood - Trombone, Flute, Mbira, misc. woodwinds and brass
Charlie MacDowell - Trombone
Kristopher Curry - Euphonium
Shannon King - Tuba
Nathan Cardenas - Double Bass
Greg Kauffman - Piano
Hari Kuttivelil - Marimba
Andrew Morgan - Glockenspiel, Piano
Michel Nguyen - Glockenspiel, Piano


Additional UCSC Faculty and Free-Lance Performers:

Jeffery Anderle - Clarinets (Bb and Bb Bass)
Kyle Bruckmann - Oboe, English Horn
Juliet Hamak - Bassoon, Contrabassoon
Paul Contos - Saxophones (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone)
Richard Roper - Trumpet
Vanessa Ruotolo - Cello
Brian Baumbusch - Muted Piano, Vibraphone
Mckenzie Camp - Vibraphone
Henry Wilson - Vibraphone
William Winant - Glockenspiel, Marimba, Vibraphone

Isotropes (2020 - performed by the UCSC Wind Ensemble)

Recorded in isolation at the homes of the individual players between August and September of 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Performers are:
Clarinet - Jeffery Anderle
Violin - Otis Harriel
Vibraphone - McKenzie Langefeld
Harp - Jennifer Ellis
Piano - Margaret Halbig

Tides (2020)

Recorded live during the premiere on June 15th, 2019, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA.

The Pressure (2019)

Excerpt from "Isotropes: Part 3, Murmuration" recorded by the UCSC Wind Ensemble.

brianbaumbusch

Pinned to spotlight

Popular tracks