An original song, with a lyric by my friend G. Hill. OK, this one is a downer, but full of intense emotion if you're looking to connect with that. I purposely kept the piano accompaniment in the low range of the instrument using a lot of pedal to amplify the emotions of this raw text.

Demos

Scar On My Hand

Excursions is a five-movement journey for solo piano. The first movement, With Energy, is a joyful tribute to the "little engine that could." The second movement, At A Distance, is reflective while the third movement, With Liberty, allows for much freedom with regard to tempo and character. The Passacaglia movement is based on a ten-note pitch series which is first treated in the bass voice, and eventually weaves itself throughout the upper voices. The final movement, Rhythmic Dance, includes many dance-like rhythms which are both playful and a bit distorted. This recording features Enriqueta Somarriba on piano.

Excursions for piano solo

This challenging one-movement work packs many moods and musical styles into a 7-minute ’theme and variations’ form. The Introduction section features several brief motives. In the Variation section, these motives are developed through metric manipulation, augmentation, diminution and rhythmic variance. A jazz-like section eventually leads to the recapitulation of the introductory material followed by an abrupt return of the first variation material. The piece closes with a samba-inspired coda. The piece is mostly tonal in nature. This recording features the composer Virginia (Ginny) Johnston on clarinet and Merynda Adams on harp.

Introduction & Variation for clarinet and harp

The Suite for Brass Trio features trumpet, horn and trombone and is in three short movements. The first movement is an animated rollick based on the opening theme in the trombone. The second movement is solemn and reflective and features the more mellow-sounding flugelhorn instead of the trumpet in this recording. The lively final movement has a "cha-cha" feel while also quoting previous material as well as the "Dies Irae" Gregorian Chant. This recording features Brad Siroky on trumpet and flugelhorn, James Robinson on horn, and Vernon Post on trombone.

Suite for Brass Trio

This three-movement Suite begins with a gentle "Song" with two opening themes. A contrasting lively theme interjects before the opening two themes return (in opposite order) to close the movement. The stark "Interlude" movement begins with a plaintive motif in the piano with the clarinet "answering" with its own legato phrases. The middle contrasting section builds with more jarring harmony growing into a restatement of the opening theme. The final section returns to the plaintive feel of the beginning of the movement. The closing "Dance" movement features mixed meters and many fun rhythmic "conversations" between the clarinet and piano. The middle section features a "throwback" to the legato opening of the piece before a recapitulation of the rhythmic dance theme. After a quick reflective moment, a quick burst of a coda ends the work. This recording features composer Virginia (Ginny) Johnston on clarinet and Marcia Maull on piano.

Suite for Clarinet and Piano

"Blessedly" was first a poem written by Jim Haba in memory of his late wife Erica, a professional artist and gallerist. Jim shared this poem in a year-end card, and Ginny was moved and struck by the simple beauty of the verse. She was inspired to set the poem to music, with Jim's permission and gratitude. The recording features Ginny on piano, vocals, clarinet and cymbals, as well as Bob Funesti on bass. Recorded at Studio Mozart in Little Falls, NJ. Engineered by Kostadin Kamcev. Mixed and mastered by Frank Fagnano.

Here is a reflection directly from Jim Haba about the creation of the poem: "I wrote 'Blessedly' for the year-end card (which for decades we had enjoyed preparing together) eight months after my dear wife, Erica, died. To find the world from which I wanted this tribute to emerge, I instinctively turned to 'The Navajo Night Chant,' devoted as it is to expressing both the primacy of beauty and the immediacy of our relationship to the eternal.  A life-long artist, Erica worshipped all forms of beauty and, in her own work, she most loved creating time-defying ceramic tile murals, perhaps as close as she could come to revealing the timelessness that, in my experience, she carried within herself."

Blessedly

With a lyric by G. Hill, Ginny wrote the music and performs this track on piano and vocals. The lyric is about cooking and love, and pays a nod to the fun and clever lyrics of Cole Porter. Musically, I had some Randy Newman chord progressions in my head. So there you go!

You're Delicious

This original is about moving on from a bad relationship. It features members of my band - Don Bowen on guitar, Bob Funesti on bass and Jeff Guenther on lead guitar. Yours truly is on vocal and drums.

Gonna Save My Love

I wrote this song to celebrate those seemingly, small, special connections you can have with someone - a kiss, a touch. So often, those can bring full-blown joy. With Don Bowen on guitar, Bob Funesti on bass and yours truly on drums and vocals.

Steal A Kiss

Ginny has been composing modern classical music and writing songs since high school. She has often collaborated with various writers when she has not created her own texts and lyrics. Her influences run the gamut from the Beatles to Shawn Colvin to Stephen Sondheim to various classical music composers.

Ginny Johnston

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