The idea for this piece came from a conversation/argument with a friend about which hymn tunes are 'bangers' (yes I'm aware how nerdy this is). I loved that we had very different but equally passionate opinions and so I decided to compose something which used two of our favourite tunes as the source material. 

The result was a light-hearted and exciting piece, radically different in tone from the original melodies, and as occasionally ludicrous as the conversation that inspired it.

For the purists, there is also a version for Organ.

Two-Tune Toccata

Southern Lights; for String Quartet
Composed 2013 
Recorded at Nelson Composers workshop 2014 
Photo Credit Daniel Pietzsch 

Programme note

The inspiration for this piece came while travelling by bus on the southern motorway of Auckland at night. Looking back at the traffic brings to mind the long exposure photography of the traffic nightlife of urban cityscapes. The music draws from the continuous streaming layers of light and movement of the motorway.

Southern Lights

This is a recording of myself performing my fourth Ballade in F minor from several years ago. I have always been greatly inspired as a pianist and composer by Chopin's Ballades and of the four I've written this is my best. A single theme dominates the entire work and is put through many forms and rhythms, heard first as a solemn nocturne type theme then expanded aggressively before being interrupted by a second related theme before returning as a march only to be expanded again as before to finish. Hope you enjoy it! 

Ballade in F minor Op. 58 No. 4

This work is written in remembrance of Oliver Huang-Hsu. For those who did not know him, one cannot forget his infectious humour, unwavering good nature, and exceptional talents as a musician and composer. My encounters with Oliver in the later years of our friendship were often marked by his perpetual motion, navigating swiftly from one engagement to the next, from one lesson to another.

The opening of this work attempts to capture the tranquility that I know he must have found in the brief respites between the chaos of his schedule. Perhaps a calm that seemed to emanate also from the steadfast beliefs he held. It is a calm I wish to experience, but do not.

The lively, second half of this work is a more true Intermezzo, and a tribute to the Oliver I cherished and remember most: animated, brimming with wit and cheer, and always adamant on upholding a façade of joviality with what he playfully referred to as our ‘monkey smiles’. The persistent, vivacious nature of this final section is a nod to Oliver’s style as a composer who’s works were always brimming with a sense of mirth that again, I wish to conjure in my own works, but do not. My only wish is that the work evokes a semblance of the vibrant energy that defined Oliver’s remarkable spirit as a composer, and as an individual.

Intermezzo, for Oliver

In Hebrew poetry, some poets would occasionally use a device in which two l contrasting ideas and distinguish their choices on the same experience. An example of this can be seen in the Hebrew proverbs, such as Proverbs 10:5 which says “The son who gathers during summer is prudent; the son who sleeps during harvest is disgraceful,” or Proverbs 15:7, “The lips of the wise broadcast knowledge, but not so the heart of fools” (CSB).

“two characters” was written with this binary form in mind, first describing an individual who is beautiful but with a quasi stoic quality, whereas the second individual exudes beauty with depth and more apparent qualities, yet both are nonetheless beautiful characters. Written with 12-tone tendencies, the idiom fluidly passes between serialism and conventional harmonies, a method of composing Daniel Gowans enjoys writing in.

Performed by Dr. Priscilla Oliveira, DMA on May 13, 2024.

Two Characters

Four movement sonata for piano: I Allegreto Misterioso; II Andante; III Vivace; IV Allegro
Dedicated to Suzanne Ward Dusch

Piano Sonata No. 1

Background and context: https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/01/15/j-r-r-tolkien-reads-from-lotr/

MORE

J.R.R. Tolkien reads from The Lord of the Rings

Standing as one of the founding pillars of English literature, the Old English poem Beowulf has long been an inspiration. The story tells of the fictional warrior-king of the Geats who slays the monsters of Scandinavia. Beowulf and the Dragon is a programmatic piece depicting the final fight in the alliterative poem where, in old age, Beowulf rides out with his companion Wiglaf to slay a dragon that has been attacking his people. Though victorious over the dragon, Beowulf is mortally wounded, and it is his ride out the dragon, his fight with it and his heroic death that this piece depicts.   

Beowulf And The Dragon

From Manslayer's "Gamer Poop:Skyrim" #6. 
Lyrics:
Oh Really?
Listen well slut
I'm Jarl Balgruf
And I be
BALLIN
BALLIN BALLIN
Jarl BALLIN
BALLIN
BALLIN
SWAG
Woman I'm Lord of the rings
Holler if you need me
Haters gonna hate
Haters gonna hate
Bitches gonna hate
Yo mommas gonna hate
Swag
Swag
Swag
Swag
Holler if you need me
Holler if you need Reefer
BITCH
Theres more!
I'm lord of the rings
BITCH
Lord of the rings
Lord of the Reefer
BITCH
Lord of the Reefer
This basically repeats for almost three minutes 

Jarl Ballin'

Auckland-based composer, arranger, pianist and more. A smattering of my more personal works are here for your enjoyment. Soundtracks for my more theatrical/commercial work are available on Bandcamp under the same moniker!

Beowulf And The Dragon

E.F.J.Fagan - Composer

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