"Re-Callings" by david e. farrell. performed february 2008 at the midwest composers symposium. 

véronique mathieu, solo violin 
university of iowa center for new music ensemble

*******

i love string music. i love music featuring string soloists. i love violin concertos.

this piece has a restless energy inside it - musical ideas appear, get tossed around, go away, and come back without a lot of predictability. it feels to me as though fragments of all my favorite concertos have been tossed in the blender and spread across the pages of the score.

re-callings was most recently performed by the north/south chamber orchestra in 2012, with claudia schaer as the soloist.

Re-Callings - for solo violin and chamber orchestra

"i have spread my dreams under your feet," by david e. farrell. performed april 27, 2013 by the Playground Ensemble in Denver, CO.

megan buness, soprano
richard von foerster, violoncello
alix corboy, piano


text, “appearances”
by William Henry Hudson

in the city of my dreams, 
where at times I dwell apart, 
nothing is, but only seems –
in the city of my dreams.

and I find them luckier far, 
deep within my secret heart, 
things that seem than things that are – 
yes, I find them lovelier far!

i am glad that in my dreams 
nothing is, but only seems!

note:
this song sets william henry hudson’s poem “appearances.” the poem speaks of  the secret places in our dreams; the music seeks to steal a glance into those secret places. when i finished writing the song, i couldn't help but think of the words from yeats that ended up becoming the title to this song; i like thinking of those words alongside the words of this poem as i hear the music.

more at davidefarrell.com.

i have spread my dreams under your feet - for soprano, piano, and cello

chiptune arrangment of the traditional carol, "god rest ye merry gentlemen." this is the carol for 2021.

BLEEP_BLOOP_YE_MERRY_GENTLEMEN

"21" by david e. farrell. performed october 27, 2013 by the perrysburg symphony orchestra in toledo, oh.

robert mirakian, conductor

postmodern approaches towards art often emphasize the ambiguity between states previously thought irreconcilable - high and low, orderly and disorderly, new and old. 21 works in the space where the distinction between new and old becomes unclear.

the work's title refers to mozart's concerto for piano no. 21 in C major, k. 467. the andante movement from mozart provides the canvas on which the sounds of 21 are painted. some elements from mozart present themselves clearly, but often the thematic contents are distorted - stretched out, compressed, interspersed with new materials, or overlaid with new counterpoint. the resulting music retains some of the rhythmic and melodic elegance of mozart's music, but these sounds contrast with twenty first-century sounds to create a more complex, dream-like sonic environment.

21 - for orchestra

an 8-bit / chiptune arrangement of the traditional christmas song, "once in royal david's city." this is the arrangement from 2010.

ONCE_IN_ROYAL_8-BIT_CITY

an 8-bit / chiptune arrangement of the traditional christmas song, "blessed be that maid mary." this is the arrangement from 2011.

BLESSED_BE_THAT_8-BIT_MARY

an 8-bit / chiptune arrangement of the traditional christmas song, "bring a torch, jeanette, isabella." this is the arrangement from 2012.

BRING_A_TORCH_8-BIT_ISABELLA

an 8-bit / chiptune arrangement of the traditional christmas song, "o come, o come emmanuel." this is the arrangement for 2013.

O_COME_8-BIT_EMMANUEL

chiptune arrangment of the traditional song, "the cherry-tree carol." this is the carol for 2022.

THE_CH8RRY_TREE_CAROL

chiptune arrangment of the song "do you hear what i hear." this is the carol for 2023.

DO_YOU_BLEEP_WHAT_I_BLOOP

an 8-bit / chiptune arrangement of the traditional christmas song, "lo, how a rose e'er blooming." this is the arrangement for 2014.

8-BIT_A_ROSE_E'ER_BLOOMING

chiptune arrangment of the song "in the bleak midwinter." this is the carol for 2024.

IN_THE_BLEEP_MIDWINTER

ambient prelude on a bach chorale.

for live electronics; performed with ableton live & max for live.

chorale_prelude

another ambient prelude on a bach chorale.

for live electronics; performed with ableton live & max for live.


chorale_prelude no. 2

chorale_prelude no. 3

recorded live at the King Center in Denver, CO, on 10/16/2015

david e. farrell, live electronics
mark harris, saxophone

composer's note:

The Ravaging Hours contrasts the lyricism of the previous work; motorhythmic attacks relentlessly push the work forward. Snarling bass notes unfurl, tones twist and become distorted, percussive sounds clang out. The saxophone spirals through a series of recurring motives that contrast highly – the instrument bounces between long tones, melodic fragments, jagged hockets, and swirling runs on its travels.

Epic - The Ravaging Hours

recorded live at the King Center in Denver, CO, on 10/16/2015

david e. farrell, live electronics
sarah whitnah, violin

composer's note:

Sudden Light is the most lyrical of the works. The electronic accompaniment is subdued behind the expressive lines of the violin. The chordal sounds are complimented by recorded sounds of humanity – both individual breath and the rustling voices of a crowd. Subdued sounds transform into brilliant ones throughout the course of the work.

Epic - Sudden Light

recorded live at the King Center in Denver, CO, on 10/16/2015

david e. farrell, live electronics
peter friesen, piano

composer's note:

Flying Past 10,000 Suns evokes the sense of travel, at great speed, across great distance. The first half of the work is characterized by non-stop shimmering motion in both the piano and electronics, traveling quickly through different harmonic clouds. The movement finally transforms into a hovering stillness of slow, celestial counterpoint. When we begin to move again, the motion is irregular, and we quickly arrive at a subdued melodic finish, trailing off into the distance.

Epic - Flying Past Ten Thousand Suns

an 8-bit / chiptune arrangement of the traditional christmas song, "i saw three ships." this is the arrangement for 2015.

I_SAW_8_BITS

Come Back To Me
for trumpet and piano

Michael Hengst, trumpet
Peter Friesen, piano

Come Back To Me

lux aeterna
for womens choir & piano

recorded live at the King Center in Denver, CO, on 11/1/2014
msu denver women's chorus, mb krueger, director

a setting of the lux aeterna text. modality and counterpoint abound. i wrote this in a time of enjoying simple line-against-line music.

• • • • •

Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine,
cum sanctis tuis in aeternum,
quia pius es.
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis,
quia pius es. 

Let everlasting light shine upon them, Lord,
with Thy saints for ever,
for Thou art merciful.
Grant them eternal rest, Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them,
for Thou art merciful. 

MSU Denver Women's Choir

Lux Aeterna

an 8-bit / chiptune arrangement of the traditional christmas song, "coventry carol." this is the arrangement for 2016.

David Farrell's Album

COVENTRY_CAROL (BLOOP-BLEEP, BLOOP-BLAY)

an 8-bit chiptune rendition of the traditional christmas song "pat-a-pan."

this is the carol for 2017.

PAT-8-PAN

an 8-bit chiptune rendition of the traditional christmas song "we three kings."

this is the carol for 2019.

WE_EIGHT_BITS

an 8-bit chiptune rendition of the traditional christmas song "il est né."

this is the carol for 2020.

David E Farrell

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