Songs of Glimmerwick Trailer

My "Piano Quintet," or at least the two movements that exist so far, is a testament to the fact that in composition, as well as life, things happen not in the order you originally planned and you have to piece them together in some coherent fashion, for your own sanity, if nothing else.  It was originally conceived as a string quartet while I was studying abroad in Italy, hence the titles of the movements being in Italian.  The introduction of the first movement, “Da Solo” (“Alone”), was the first thing I wrote, while being the only one awake on a bus ride from Milan to Florence.  I didn’t write anything on this again until almost a year later, and I skipped the first movement entirely and wrote “Pazzo Moto Perpetuo” (“Crazy Perpetual Motion”) instead.  I then spent all of the following summer and the first semester of my senior year of Undergraduate Studies writing the rest of the first movement in the gaps between all of my other projects.  This piece has been in the works for years and still isn’t finished.  It will always be programmatic to me and is something I set aside until I feel like it’s really worth returning to, only after what seem (at the time, at least) like defining moments in my life.

Violin 1: Cindy Chen
Violin 2: Ben Ash
Viola: Alex Wong
Cello: Kyle Tieman-Strauss
Piano: Matt Entwistle

Piano Quintet No. 1 (I. Da Solo; II. Pazzo Moto Perpetuo)

Growing up with a two younger siblings, there were often disagreements over silly things. Eventually my mother would have to break up the fights, and when one of us would blame the other she would always say the same thing: “It’s never just one person’s fault. It takes two to tango.” I know she didn’t invent this saying, but it’s always stuck with me. It allows me to have some perspective and understanding when I'm disagreeing with someone else.

The piece is structured in five continuous sections:
	Soliloquy 1 — Soliloquy 2 — Tension — Quarrel — Reconciliation 

Soliloquy 1 presents the first character, who asserts their presence with a fiery and passionate solo. This is followed by Soliloquy 2, presenting a contrasting character. This character is more introverted and calm. The second solo spirals suddenly into the Tension section when both characters finally play together, and thus, come into conflict with one another. This brief section accelerates little by little and launches into the fourth section: Quarrel, where the music has an angry and violent quality. At the breaking point, the music takes an ironic turn and fulfills the title of the piece by actually morphing into a tango. After this, the second character's dreamlike lyrical theme finally asserts itself and the music moves into the final section: Reconciliation. At the very end of the piece, the two character’s timidly accept each other by playing each others musical themes, and the piece comes to a pensive, yet hopeful conclusion. 

The piece was composed for, dedicated to, and played beautifully by Chelsea Starbuck Smith and Clare Elena Semes of Les Deux Violins.



It Takes Two...

While nearing completion of Toward a Brilliant Light I came upon this quotation of Leonard Bernstein that seemed to say everything that needed to be said:
"We must never forget that music is movement, always going somewhere, shifting and changing, and flowing, from one note to another; and that movement can tell us more about the way we feel than a million words can.”
The original goal was to write a piece that started in a very static place and ended in a very lively one. Subconsciously however, the music I was writing was also taking on a more emotionally charged role than originally planned. As the music changes it seems to move from a very dark place emotionally to a very light place.
To me, the title does not refer to anything specific. The ‘brilliant light,’ so to speak, functions as a metaphor to the gratifying emotional place that the music strives towards. At the same time, the ending of the piece undoubtedly has a definite luster about it which certainly could be taken more literally.

Performed by the Atlantic Music Festival Contemporary Ensemble, July 2016.

Toward A Brilliant Light

Performed by SopraDuo
Alexandra Iranfar, guitar and voice
Timothy Sherren, guitar

A Small Picture of a Large Place by Michael Kropf

Something Borrowed (Emily Levin)

...comes the light

Jelly Knight (Calm)

The first in a series of forthcoming mixes by Ten Million Sounds, "Taking Flight" combines melodic harmonies with soothing downtempo rhythms from some of today's premiere independent artists.

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Mixed by http://soundcloud.com/bluefa for Ten Million Sounds

'Taking Flight' Mix by Ten Million Sounds

I make music for film, games, and the concert hall! Notable credits include being an additional music composer on Star Wars Outlaws and serving as the 2018-2019 Illinois Philharmonic Composer-in-Residence.

Piano Quintet No. 1 (I. Da Solo; II. Pazzo Moto Perpetuo)

Ben Ash

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