Synthetic Strings

New music for Fall and Winter 2024 from Dan Forrest, Elaine Hagenberg, Craig Courtney, Kyle Pederson, Howard Helvey, Marianne Forman, Molly Ijames, Trevor Manor, Erik Dewar, and other Beckenhorst composers, in print Spring 2024.
Performed by the Beckenhorst Singers, conducted by Craig Courtney, with Dan Forrest, piano.
See preview scores and purchase in print or digital format at www.beckenhorstpress.com.

Sacred Solos Of Craig Courtney - My Wordless Prayer (feat. John McClain)

A dark and mysterious motif developed while scoring the film White Vinegar (2024), The UNcollective Profuctions. Directed by Yvonne Winfrey. This motif would be later developed into to the cue titled, Townies.

Ambient Motif-Mysterious

An ambient and slightly pensive track that just hints at pushing toward an emotional scene. If you close your eyes, you can put yourself right there in the scene without ever having seen it. This motif was developed in the production of a film score, but later ended up on the cutting room floor.

Ambient Motif - Ominous

The audience for the show-within-a-show, in Act 2 of PAGLIACCI, grows rowdy and impatient waiting for the curtain to go up. When a performer rings a bell to indicate it’s (finally) time to begin, the audience all scream “Silenzio!” (Silence) at each other, seemingly reluctant to follow their own advice. Carlo Montanaro conducts the orchestra of Seattle Opera. Photo by Philip Newton.

PAGLIACCI: “On with the show!”

Electro music with a classical twist? BluJack and I are pleased to present our explosive collaboration « Final Revolution »!

Final revolution - BluJack feat. Rachel Nusbaumer

The Vela Pulsar data has also been converted to sound through a process called data sonification. In this sonification, listen to a radar-like scan, clockwise from 12:00 of the image. Brightness is mapped to volume. Distance from the center is mapped to pitch (farther away is higher pitch). For the Chandra X-ray data, the bright inner region (violet) is mapped to a low synth sound, with 11 Hz oscillations matching the period of the pulsar. The dimmer outer region (blue) and jet are mapped to a wind-like sound. A long upper jet can be heard around 4 seconds in, and a bright, but much shorter lower jet can be heard around 20 seconds. For the Hubble optical data, the stars are mapped to notes on a plucked-type synth (where brighter stars are louder, and stars farther from the center are higher pitched).
Credits: Images: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Schmidt, K. Arcand; Sonification: NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)

Chandra/Hubble Vela Pulsar Sonification

Relaxing slow tempo ambient composition for piano, flute, strings, synths and light percussion

Twinkling star

Recording of Christopher Hart, baritone and Dr. Henry Jones, piano

But Who May Abide?/Refiner's Fire

This is a sound that was electronically placed onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft. 

Golden Record: Life Signs, Pulsar

I _think_ I wrote both the trumpet descants, but I honestly can't remember. For a working church musician, stuff like that gets lost in the shuffle and is lucky to even get written down somewhere scribbled on the back of a church bulletin. I know the last one is mine, but not sure of the middle one because it's older, the first appearance of the trumpet is just the tune, of course. This track was for a video I  assembled for my church job's online devotional this weekend.

For All The Saints w/trumpet descants

Christopher Hart is an acclaimed musician and composer with a rich foundation in classical and contemporary music.

Christopher's love for composition took flight in 1990, and he has since established himself as a highly regarded film score composer, delivering five critically acclaimed scores for the 12 Westerns in 12 Months project. His score for "Counting Bullets" earned Festival Director’s Choice for Best Score at the Cowpokes International Film Festival in 2022, and the soundtrack for “Heart of the Gun" topped 40,000 streams on Amazon Music in a mere two months.

Encouraged by his mother, a church pianist, he began singing and playing instruments at a young age. He honed his skills through piano and trumpet lessons, choir performances, and college bands, eventually discovering a passion for opera during grad school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

In addition to his composing, Christopher is a versatile performer, singing with Opera Mississippi and arranging music for stage bands, concert bands, and choirs. With a vision to develop his hybrid film soundtrack style, blending orchestral and synth elements, he is dedicated to collaborating with film directors and bringing new life to each film. Christopher is driven to compose full-time and is eager to work with more directors, continually evolving his musical style. Born in Ottumwa, Iowa and now residing in McComb, Mississippi, Christopher Hart works as a director of music, arts, and media at a local church, inspired by his mother and encouraged by his wife, an artist in her own right.

But Who May Abide?/Refiner's Fire

Christopher Hart - Composer