Name: Pieta by cbgriffin
Duration: 4 min 47 s
Description: Ranier Maria Rilke. Performed by Caitlin Winnicki, Jane Lawson and Charlie Griffin

Taken from David's Lyre - In Arms EP released February 22nd. Download via ITunes and Amazon. 12" Vinyl via HMV.com (http://t.co/ycH1yyE). Performed by Iskra String Quartet. Arranged, Recorded and Mixed by Paul Frith.

David's Lyre - In Arms (Iskra String Quartet Version)

"Bells and Beats" Part I (Moderato un Poco Misterioso)
for piano, celesta and percussions
Performers: Antra and Normunds Vīksnes, Edgars Saksons

"Bells and Beats" Part I

Ranier Maria Rilke. Performed by Caitlin Winnicki, Jane Lawson and Charlie Griffin

Pieta

Joycrusher

The GOAT ( prod. by Twins Over 808 )

Composed by Steve Kornicki in 2006 and performed by the West End String Quartet (Pittsburgh, January 7, 2007)

Broadcast on WQED-FM Classical, Pittsburgh in September 2007.

West End String Quartet - http://westendstringquartet.com

Canonic procedures determine the textural layering of pieces 1, 3 and 4 while piece 2 is derived from set, harmonic progressions. 

***** Piece 1 *****

Row structures:
VIOLIN I – G, D, A, E, B, F#, C#, G#, D#, C, F, Bb
VIOLIN II – D, A, E, B, F#, C#, G#, Eb, Bb, G, C, F, 
VIOLA – C, G, D, A, E, B, F#, C#, G#, F, Bb, Eb
CELLO – E, B, F#, C#, G#, Eb, Bb, F, C, A, D, G

Canonic procedure:
VIOLIN I – original part
VIOLIN II – canon at the perfect 4th below (measure 2)
VIOLA – unison with violin I at a perfect 5th below (measure 1)
CELLO – canon at the minor 10th below (measure 3)
*Dynamics for violin II and cello follow in strict canon of violin I and viola

The rhythmic structure consists of slow, sustained tones rising and falling in dynamics with the resulting sound being a sustained texture of self-similar chords producing an ever-expanding melodic line.

***** Piece 2 *****

Row structures:
VIOLIN I – D, Db, A, F, F#, B, Ab, Eb, G, E, C, Bb, 
VIOLIN II – G, F#, E, D, A, F, Db, Bb, Eb, Ab, B, C, 
VIOLA – A, F, G, Eb, B, C, E, Db, Bb, F#, D, Ab, 
CELLO – Eb, Bb, F, C, G, D, F#, E, Ab, B, A, Db,

This piece deviates slightly from the general concept of the other pieces in that the pitch layering was precisely determined in advance. The rhythmic structure consists of constant, alternating octaves of 8th note triplet patterns played by violin I, viola and cello against violin II’s constant, alternating octaves of straight 8th note pattern to produce a medium-tempo hemiola effect. The pitches of the four overlapping rows were carefully chosen, and then vertically aligned to produce a pre-determined progression of 12 chords. The interplay of the pitches of the 4-note chords is sustained by altering the direction of the alternating octaves and also by octave displacements, thus creating continually shifting melodic and rhythmic patterns.

***** Piece 3 *****

Row structures:
VIOLIN 1 – A, B, E, D, G, C, F, Bb, Eb, G#, C#, F# 
VIOLN II – G, A, D, C, F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, F#, B, E 
VIOLA – C, D, G, F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, B, E, A, 
CELLO – D, E, A, G, C, F, Bb, Eb, Ab, C#, F#,

Canonic procedure:

VIOLIN I – canon at the major 6th above (measure 5)
VIOLIN II – canon at the perfect 5th above (measure 3)
VIOLA – original part
CELLO – canon at the minor 7th below (measure 6)
*Dynamics and accents are imitated in strict canon by the violins and cello from the viola line.


Structurally, this piece consists of fast 16th note patterns played by the ensemble with the resulting sound being a process-generated counterpoint of overlapping tones and shifting accents.

***** Piece 4 *****

Row structures:
VIOLIN I – A, E, F#, B, G#, C#, Bb, Eb, C, F, D, G
VIOLIN II – G, D, E, A, F#, B, G#, C#, Bb, Eb, C, F,
VIOLA – F#, C#, Eb, G#, F, Bb, G, C, A, D, B, E
CELLO – B, F#, G#, C#, Bb, Eb, C, F, D, G, E, A

Canonic procedure:

VIOLIN I – canon at the major 2nd above (measure 4)
VIOLIN II – original part
VIOLA – canon at the minor 2nd below (measure 2)
CELLO – canon at the minor 6th below (measure 3)

The final piece is slow and sustained music played at a dynamic level of mezzo forte with the strings playing non-vibrato throughout which results in a floating and static quality within a continually shifting harmonic field.


Copyright 2006 Steve Kornicki

Four Pieces for String Quartet (West End String Quartet)

Charles Griffin recently returned to the U.S. in 2010 after spending 5 years living and working in Latvia. His compositions and arrangements have been performed at festivals and concert halls throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia, Brazil, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.


Recent projects include commissions from pianist Ana Cervantes and the Colorado State University Percussion Ensemble.He has received grants from ASCAP, Meet the Composer’s Commissioning Music/USA, Queens Council on the Arts and New Dramatists, and commissions from Ethos Percussion Group, the Piedmont Choirs, and the Dale Warland Singers, among others. His work has been included on several Compact Discs and has regularly been aired on radio stations such as WNYC and WQXR in New York, WGBH in Boston and WHPK in Chicago.

His several residencies have included Faith Partners (an interfaith residency in New York City funded by the Wolfensohn Family Foundation involving Temple Emanu-el, St. Bartholomew’s Church and St. Ignatius-Loyola, where he composed four choral works for the three institutions), another choral residency at the Frank Sinatra High School for the Arts, and most recently, during the summers 2004 and 2006 at the International Festival for Young Latvian Musicians, in Ogre, Latvia.

As a freelance copyist, orchestrator or arranger, Griffin has worked on projects for Phillips Classics, Jessye Norman, Hugh Downs, Yo Yo Ma, and President Clinton’s Inauguration. He earned his B. A. in voice and composition and M. A. in composition from Queens College, City University of New York, and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He is a member of ASCAP, former Director of the New York Chapter of the American Composers Forum, and was on the board of directors of the Long Island Composers Alliance for several years. He has served on the adjunct faculties of Hofstra University, Columbia University’s Teacher’s College and Nassau Community College. He was elected into the Latvian Composer’s Union in 2006.

Pieta

cbgriffin

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