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The title “a leaf falls” is taken from the e.e. cummings poem with the first line “l(a leaf falls)oneliness.” Though I’ve never really lived in a place with an autumn, I nevertheless feel a sense of nostalgia for the coming of autumn, the leaves turning bright oranges and reds, and is it a sense of emptiness when the leaves fall? Eugene Carchesio captured something like this sense beautifully in his “Dead leaves of Tokyo” series. I enjoy raking the leaves in my backyard, it’s a kind of meditation. And who doesn’t love jumping into a pile of leaves? (Erik Griswold 31 August 2011)

Performers: 
John Addison - Cello
Soundstream Collective - Percussion Quartet

Performed 30 September 2011 in Elder Hall, University of Adelaide.

For more information about this work, or to view/purchase scores and recordings, visit:  www.erikgriswold.org


a leaf falls, part 1 (2011)

A road trip through the deserts of California and Arizona was the inspiration for Drifting Cowboys in a Mist.  The passing scenery from Route 66 and Interstate 40 through the western badlands and cactus strewn landscapes rekindled my secret love of country and western.  Loading up Hank Williams’ (and the Drifting Cowboys) Greatest Hits on my laptop, I began to absorb the Hawaiian tinged steel guitar of Don Helms and the poignant fiddle solos of Jerry Rivers.  As I studied and analyzed their music I somehow began to draw a connections with impressionism (Debussy), early jazz (Bix Beiderbecke - “In a mist”), and Bartok (String Quartet No.3).  All these influences merged together in a wide ranging homage.  I was delighted to have the opportunity to compose this, my first string quartet, for Kurilpa String Quartet, who bring immense talent, dedication, and inspiration to Queensland Conservatorium.

Performers:
Graeme Jennings - Violin
Brendan Joyce - violin
Yoko Okayasu - viola 
Katherine Philp - cello

 Composed for and premiered by Kurilpa String Quartet at Crossbows Festival, Brisbane, 13 May 2012.

For more information about this work, or to view/purchase scores and recordings, visit:  www.erikgriswold.org

Drifting Cowboys in a Mist (2012)

Toy instruments have been part of my musical language since 2000 when Vanessa Tomlinson and I (Clocked Out Duo) created “Felaminikuti,” a light-hearted homage to Afrobeat master Fela Kuti.  Since then I’ve created several pieces and done many improvised performances using toy piano, melodica, miniature music boxes, ukuleles, lots of toy percussion, and any number of noisemakers.  “Three Secret Gardens” was my first piece that used toy piano with chamber ensemble.  In each ‘garden’  I’ve tried to create a very intimate and immediate mood.  Perhaps dreamy, wistful, or whimsical, I envision three magical, private places.  I created “Three Secret Gardens” for an inspiring collaboration with Continuum Sax, who really brought it to life!


Three Secret Gardens (2011)

Performed by Janet McKay (flute), Rianne Wilschut (clarinet), Graeme Jennings (violin), and John Addison (cello).

I've often come back to the poetry of T.S. Eliot over the years, especially his mystical ruminations on time in The Four Quartets, pondering evocative phrases such as “the music from a farther room,” or “you are the music while the music lasts.”  Without drawing conscious connections, I sometimes recognize phenomena in his poetry which I strive to create in my own works.  When I began composing the sound textures of The Yellow Fog, some lines from “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” popped into my head:  "The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes / The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes." The Yellow Fog was composed for Either/Or Ensemble.

The yellow fog - part 1 (2010)

Prepared Piano Solo
from the album "Pain Avoidance Machine" 
Room40 | 2015

Pale Yellow Frontier - from Pain Avoidance Machine (2015)

Clocked Out
Erik Griswold and Vanessa Tomlinson
Prepared Piano and Vibraphone
from the album "Time Crystals" 
Innova | 2015