Jungle, by Christian Lauba

Preludio from Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, by J.S. Bach

Hackneyed Expanse, by Paul Reller (with Corey Merenda, piano)

This recording is from a live performance at the CMS Mid-Atlantic conference held at Towson University, April 1st 2017. The piece relates the story of the of it's title, an Australian folk legend about a mixed-animal beast which devours unwitting human passersby.

"The Bunyip" for alto saxophone and tape, by Tom Dempster

Sequenza IXb, by Luciano Berio

Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Violincello - III, by Edison Denisov

Concertino da Camera - I, by Jacques Ibert

Concertino da Camera - III, by Jacques Ibert

Sonata, Op. 29 - I, by Robert Muczynski

Sonata, Op. 29 - II, by Robert Muczynski

The Carnival of Venice, by Jules Demersseman

Written for and performed by Doug O'Connor

Worksong, by Christian Lauba

I have long been enamored with the music of J.S. Bach, the solo works for violin and cello especially. I have been internalizing the second partita for over a year now in my spare time, and recently had an opportunity to perform it for the students at American University in a resonant and beautiful space. Although this is a lifelong work in progress, I hope you enjoy this particular snapshot along the way. Thank you for listening.

Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin in D Minor, BWV1004 - V - Ciaccona (20190925)

Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin in D Minor, BWV1004 - IV - Giga (20190925)

Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin in D Minor, BWV1004 - III - Sarabanda (20190925)

Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin in D Minor, BWV1004 - II - Corrente (20190925)

Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin in D Minor, BWV1004 - I - Allemanda (20190925)

The Chaconne is a grand masterpiece of classical music, and to learn and perform it is also something of a journey, a rite of passage. It is akin to running an ultramarathon, thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, or some other large challenge at the end of which a person is transformed and developed. I was inspired to create a personalized transcription of this piece first by saxophonist Chien-Kwan Lin, and then again later by the brilliant spirit and mastery of harpsichordists Kris Bezuidenhout and Skip Sempe. This is the largest leap in my pandemic-project, a journey of internalizing all of the partitas by J.S. Bach, and eventually the sonatas as well. Please enjoy this brilliantly mastered and captured recording, engineered by Eric Messick, our little gift to the world during strange and challenging times.

Here is some additional information about the Chaconne, written by Betsy Schwarm and published online:

"In Bach’s Chaconne, the basic theme is four measures long, short and simple enough to allow for 64 variations. From a stern and commanding mood at the beginning, Bach gradually increases the complexity of his theme, mixing in various compositional effects. Some twists upon the theme are spacious and grand; others flow nimbly. Fast runs and large interval skips are frequent, requiring much dexterity from the performer. Bach also calls forth changes in emotional intensity, as some variations are dominated by long notes and others by many, more urgent short notes. Bach builds up his work over 256 measures, finally restating the theme at the end with new, even stronger harmonies."

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chaconne-by-Bach

Chaconne, from Partita No. 2 in D minor, by J.S. Bach (soprano saxophone)

Saxophonist with the US Army Band "Pershing's Own," member of Off on Four, co-founder of Global Premiere.

saxophonedoug

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