For Treble and Wind Quintet

I. The Inchoate
For she who once bore us and nursed us,
Who herded us to the meadow of grace;
Woman, thou who hast experiencèd
The pangs of labour: Dost thou not feel
Pain, to what end shall it lead us?

II. Paradise
In thy vision, didst not thou desire
A world of beauty, without painful cracks?
A paradise of children, playing
In naked liberty, the sun glistening
Off of their wetted backs?

III. Dystopia
Or didst thou envision a conflicted nation?
Buildings of stone, heartless corporations,
Featureless monuments, utter control,
Endless disease, forced vaccinations?
Angry mobs, totalitarian disintegration?

IV. Eternity
No, Mother, we together envisioned a place
Where there is no time, only the freedom
To be eternal children of the human race.
Gaia, thou hast borne us unto the waters.
Have no fear, my sons and daughters.

Gaia

Fugue #1

3-part piano fugue, which also makes a great ringtone.

Fugue #3 in D Major

This music came into my brain through a sleepless night, during which an online friend went AWOL during a suicidal episode. The first hearing of the minuet theme presents an innocent, childlike quality. Following the somewhat menacing trio, the reprise of the minuet, though the notes are exactly the same, takes on a different tone, representing my friend's experience.


Minuet & Trio in F

I. Allegro
II. Valse
III. Un sogno
IV. Ländler
V. Fuga


Score: https://musescore.com/user/54291153/scores/9827665

String Quartet #1

A modern Latin song for the solar eclipse: Birds fall silent, the forest halts, humans reflect on fate and outcomes.

O Fortuna

Song Title: "The Wisdom of the Willow Tree"

Context: This song is sung by Hao-Xi's father, set between Act 1 and Act 2. It reflects his deep connection to nature and his philosophical outlook on life, which he imparts to Hao-Xi. The song also serves as a bridge between Hao-Xi's childhood and her coming of age, providing insight into the values and wisdom passed down to her.

Lyrics:

(Verse 1)
In the heart of the village, stands a willow so wise,
Whispering tales of the earth, under the open skies.
Its branches, like life, sway in the wind's gentle song,
Telling us to be resilient, telling us to be strong.

(Chorus)
Oh, the wisdom of the willow, with roots deep and wide,
Teaches us to stand tall, with time as our guide.
In the dance of its leaves, a story unfolds,
Of courage, of patience, of a spirit that holds.

(Verse 2)
From this ancient willow, I've learned to see,
The beauty in bending, the grace of a tree.
In every leaf's turning, in every new bud,
Lies the cycle of life, the unending flood.

(Chorus)
Oh, the wisdom of the willow, in the quiet of dawn,
Speaks of embracing change, of carrying on.
Through seasons it whispers, through sun and through snow,
In life's fleeting moments, it teaches us to grow.

(Bridge)
As my daughter steps forward, into life's flowing stream,
May she carry these lessons, may she live her dream.
With the willow's enduring strength, and its gentle sway,
May she find her path, in her own unique way.

(Outro)
So listen to the willow, with its timeless embrace,
In its whispers, find peace, find your place.
For in its simple wisdom, under the sky so vast,
Lies the key to our future, the bridge to our past.

Translation into Chinese to be sung in the opera:

(Verse 1)
在村庄的中心，矗立着一棵明智的柳树，
在开阔的天空下，低语着大地的故事。
它的枝条，像生命一样，在风的轻歌中摇摆，
告诉我们要坚韧，告诉我们要强大。

(Chorus)
哦，柳树的智慧，根深叶茂，
教我们挺立，以时间为向导。
在它叶子的舞蹈中，一个故事展开，
关于勇气，关于耐心，关于坚持的精神。

(Verse 2)
从这棵古老的柳树，我学会了看见，
屈服的美，树的优雅。
在每一个叶子的转动，每一个新芽中，
生命的循环，永不停息的洪流。

(Chorus)
哦，柳树的智慧，在黎明的宁静中，
讲述着拥抱变化，继续前行的故事。
通过季节它低语，通过阳光和雪，
在生命的短暂时刻，它教导我们成长。

(Bridge)
当我的女儿踏上生命的流动之河，
愿她带着这些教训，愿她实现她的梦想。
以柳树的持久力量，和它的柔和摇摆，
愿她找到自己的道路，以她独特的方式。

(Outro)
所以聆听柳树，它永恒的拥抱，
在它的低语中，找到平静，找到你的位置。
因为在它简单的智慧中，天空如此辽阔，
是我们未来的钥匙，是我们过去的桥梁。

Silk Dance

A broken man's arduous journey to a monastery in Bhutan, where he gains spiritual solace.

Path To Solace

You should not ask, it is wrong to know, what end the
gods will have given to me or to you, O Leuconoe, and do not try
Babylonian calculations. How much better it is to endure whatever will be,
whether Jupiter has allotted more winters or the last,
which now weakens the Tyrrhenian Sea against opposing rocks:
be wise. Strain your wines, and because of brief life
cut short long-term hopes. While we are speaking, envious life
will have fled: seize the day, trusting the future as little as possible.

Horace Odes: Book 1 #11

Created for my nephew on the occasion of his 14th birthday.

Fourteen moves ahead

a woman who keeps budgies. One escaped forever from her care.  She values freedom above all. She is an unconventional person who challenges government control and censorship.

Based Amy

[Intro]
At heart a meat-and-potatoes boy, who’s travelled overseas
I’ve seen and tried a few of these that brought me to my knees
I once ate things I won’t describe, on docks and desert sand
And still I dream of mashed-up peas and gravy close at hand

[Verse 1 – Blue Cheese]
It started with a noble mold, a wedge of veined delight
A pungent bite of Stilton served by candlelight
It stung the nose, it tingled lips, it wasn't love at first —
But somewhere ‘tween the salt and funk, I found my primal thirst

[Chorus]
I’ve got a taste for the rotten, a hunger most obscene
From barnyard wafts to fungal drafts, I dine where few have been
So hold your nose and raise your glass, let civilization scream —
I’ll eat what smells like Satan’s foot and call it haute cuisine

[Verse 2 – Washed-Rind Wonders]
Then came a slab of Époisses, it slouched upon the plate
It oozed like guilt from Burgundy, with rind you love to hate
The monks who made it must have wept — or laughed beneath their hoods
It smelled like feet and sacred vows and all misunderstood

[Verse 3 – Natto & Century Egg]
I wandered east to breakfast rice, to natto’s stringy mesh
It clung like ghosts to every chopstick — brave was my first thresh
Century eggs like dragon stones, in black and silver shells
A thousand years in every yolk, and hints of sulfur spells

[Verse 4 – Durian]
The fruit they guard like treasure — the durian of fame
Its flavor sings of heaven, but its scent invokes deep shame
They banned it on the subway, they whisper as you pass
Yet brave souls split the spiny husk, and praise its creamy gas

[Verse 5 – Casu Marzu & Balut]
In Sardinia they serve it live — Casu Marzu reigns
With maggots writhing in the cheese, immune to laws or chains
And down in Southeast Asia, a boiled surprise awaits
A duckling still mid-gestation — Balut, the bold man’s fate

[Verse 6 – Surströmming]
But all roads lead to Sweden, where demons learn to swim
Surströmming waits in tins of doom — fermented to the brim
You pop the lid, the gods retch loud, the sea itself recoils
The fish, undead, still whisper things as brine and madness boil

[Final Chorus – Raucous]
We’ve got a taste for the rotten, a banquet brewed in hell
From ripened mold to fetal gold, we cherish every smell
So mock us, flee, or join the feast — let reason be unseated
For what is food, if not the proof that humans can’t be defeated?

[Final Stanza – Reflection]
I’m a meat-and-potatoes boy, who’s travelled overseas
I’ve seen and tried some different foods that brought me to my knees
I once ate things I won’t describe, on docks and desert sand
And still I dream of mashed-up peas and gravy close at hand.

Special Foods

Original autobiographical piece about missed chances, grit and resilience.

In The Running

Heather

[Soprano nel registro grave, solo inizia come recitativo]
O Lord, why standest Thou afar?
 The wicked strut through gilded gates,
 They tax the sweat, they bind the jar,
  And turn our grain to golden plates.

 They decree injustice with the pen,
 They crush the child, forget the men.
 Widows weep, and orphans cry—
  "How long, O Lord? Must we still die?"

[Baritone solo]
    I came with sandals worn and thin,
    No parchment seal, no clan within.
    A whisper marked me as unclean—
    Yet am I not made by the King?

[Chorus of Israel]
    Remember Egypt’s bitter rod:
    You too were strangers, cries to God.
    You too were chained, your sons were sold,
    Until His arm made Pharaoh fold.

[Baritone]
    Babylon sits on scarlet seas,
    Decked in pearls, drunk on decrees.
    She sells the bodies, names them trade,
    And on her throne, the tax is laid.

[ Alto (as Babylon – seductive, mocking):

    I am no widow; I shall not mourn.
    I built this throne from blood and corn.
    Let kings and merchants drink my wine—
    The coin is yours, the soul is mine.

[chorus of Israel, idem]

[Soprano]
    Fallen, fallen is the harlot’s place!
    Smoke shall rise and blot her face.
    Come out, O people, from her sin,
    Lest ye partake of wrath within.

[Baritone, as God]
I  have seen. I will arise.
 I will break their sharpened lies.

    [Baritone]
Behold, He comes to judge the earth,
    With fire, and truth, and fearful worth.
    The books are opened, none escape,
    Each crown is weighed, each cloak and cape.

[Chorus of Angels]
    O nations, tremble! Princes fall!
    The Lamb shall level great and small.
    He shall not judge as men have done—
    The meek shall rise; the proud shall run.

[Treble (Soprano) as God, con voce chiara, quasi senza vibrato]
I have seen. I will arise.
I will break their sharpened lies.

[duet] 
No more tributes, no more chains—
    The city shines, washed of its stains.
    No need for sword, nor need for gate,
    The King has come. The hour is late.

    Sing to the Lord a song anew,
    For justice rolls like morning dew.
    The stranger, poor, the orphaned one—
    Now reign beneath the Risen Son.

Tribute and Justice

The Great Big Beautiful Bill

Cette œuvre est une fiction. Toute ressemblance avec des personnes existantes ou ayant existé, ou avec des situations réelles, ne serait que pure coïncidence.

(Ballade pour voix de femme seule, en trois temps – Innocence, Perte, Héritage)
1. L’Innocence

    J’avais seize ans, un ruban blanc,
    Les mains tachées de jus de mûre.
    Le monde sentait bon le temps,
    Et l’avenir dormait en murmure.

    Il m’a parlé d’un cœur ouvert,
    Avec des mots comme du miel.
    Je croyais l’amour un éclair,
    J’ignorais qu’il tombait du ciel.

2. L’Enlèvement

    Ils sont venus sans dire pourquoi,
    Un sac jeté sur mes épaules.
    Je n’ai pas crié, pas une fois—
    J’écoutais battre mon rôle.

    Ils m’ont laissée dans un matin
    Où la lumière semblait faussée.
    J’ai lavé mon corps dans le thym,
    Mais rien ne s’en va sans laisser.

Refrain (I – fragile)

    Et toi, Maurice, tu savais,
    Tu m’as vue revenir brisée.
    T’as détourné les yeux, jamais
    Tu n’as dit un mot pour m’aimer.

3. Les Jours Vides

    Ma mère pleurait dans son tablier,
    Mon père s’enfonçait dans l’outil.
    Moi je marchais, bouche fermée,
    Le ventre creux, l’âme en exil.

    Le curé parlait de pardon,
    De croix, de péché, de silence.
    Moi je creusais ma rébellion
    À la pointe d’une existence.

4. L’Amour Inattendu

    Puis un homme, simple et doux,
    M’a tendu du pain sans parole.
    Il n’a pas demandé d’où
    Je venais, ni mes symboles.

    Il m’a donné un toit, un nom,
    Trois enfants nés dans l’espérance.
    J’ai appris à rire sans raison,
    À donner sans récompense.

Refrain (II – firmer, warmer)

    Et toi, Maurice, qui m’as laissée,
    Regarde comme j’ai grandi.
    Je n’ai pas oublié les plaies,
    Mais j’ai semé ma propre vie.

5. La Guerre

    Mes fils sont partis un matin,
    Avec leurs bottes et des chansons.
    L’un est tombé dans un ravin,
    L’autre n’a jamais vu la maison.

    J’ai reçu deux lettres scellées
    D’un tampon rouge, d’un mot glacé.
    Et j’ai pleuré, sans me coucher,
    J’ai pris le deuil, mais pas la paix.

6. L’Héritage

    Ma fille chante au bord du puits,
    Elle connaît mon vieux silence.
    Elle lit dans mes gestes appuis,
    Ce que je n’ai dit qu’en absence.

    Si je suis vieille et un peu courbée,
    Ce n’est pas que je meurs de chagrin.
    C’est le poids de ce que j’ai aimé—
    Et ce que j’ai porté sans témoin.

Refrain (III – final, solemn)

    Et toi, Seigneur, si tu m’entends,
    Je n’ai ni plainte ni orgueil.
    Mais garde en paix mes enfants—
    Car moi, j’ai marché dans le feu sans deuil.

Enlish translation:

There is not enough room here to post the English lyrics. See https://allpoetry.com/poem/18526437-Yvette-by-gtfalk#tr_18526437

Mémoires d’Yvette

The dark, mysterious undersea world of the octopus.

The Octopus

Me: Dear God, please hear my prayer.
God: Ok, I have a few minutes. What is the matter?
Me: We have many conflicts on Earth. Please give us peace.
God: Where are you? I have so many worlds to administer, I lose track of them all.
Me: Earth is located in the Orion spur of the Perseus arm of the Milky Way galaxy.
God: Ah, I vaguely remember it. That was an early experiment to develop a technologically-advanced civilization. It didn't turn out very well.
Me: Can you do anything to stop us from killing each other?
God: Umm... You haven't developed nuclear weapons, have you?
Me: Yes, we have got nuclear weapons.
God: Shucks. Okay, I'll put in a temporary protection order for you. But you'll have to work through your own problems. Right now I am distracted by a huge problem in another galaxy.
Me: Can Jesus help us?
God: Oh, I vaguely remember. I sent an emissary to your planet 2000 years ago. That was a lot of work for me. Since then you've screwed things up so badly, I don't know why I bothered.
Me: He has made a difference in my life!
God: That's wonderful. Now you have to realize that there are three or four dangerous supernovas and black holes that I have to deal with every day. According to my database, there's no galactic threat to your planet at the moment.
Me: That's good to know. But it doesn't make me feel much better.
God: I will get back to you.

The Big Picture

[Verse 1]
We  rolled into town in the gleam of the frost,
From Red Deer, from Rimouski,at personal cost.
A honk for the workers, a flag held high—
In the heart of the capital under a sullen sky.

[Verse 2]
There was laughter in alleys, guitars in the cold,
Lanterns of kindness where stories were told.
They fed one another, they swept every street—
Canada’s heartbeat in rhythm and beat.

[Chorus]
The Feds broke their own laws to break our will,
Free speech was a slogan… 'til the truth stood still.
They jailed the peaceful, they painted us black—
But we sang through the night, and we never looked back.

[Verse 3]
Tamara spoke strongly, her eyes burning bright,
A mother of reason in the glare of the fight.
Chris kept it steady, through pressure and spite,
The charge sheet was fiction, the courtroom a blight.

[Verse 4]
Where was the Charter they taught us in school?
Where are the judges who answer to rule?
They froze every dollar, they smeared every name—
For honking a horn, they brought riot and shame.

[Chorus]
Oh Canada, where is your spine?
When the free are in cuffs for what was not a crime.
No looting, no fire, no riot, no raid—
Just working-class voices the regime betrayed.

[Bridge]
What good is the charter, if it's crushed in the snow?
If dissent gets you shackled, how free do we go?
They built the gallows, their law us to mock,
While we shoveled the sidewalks and passed out warm socks.

[Verse 5]
The courtrooms are theatre, the Crown wears a mask—
They punish the question, not even the ask.
But winter remembers what spring dares regret:
That liberty dies when the people forget.

[Final Chorus]
So raise up your banner, your thermos, your pride—
We still have the truth, and we won’t step aside.
From the farms to the towns to the Parliament Hill,
The convoy still echoes—
and the people still will.

Freedom Convoy

Ben… c’tait pas un gros jardin.
Juste une p’tite bande de terre, en arrière, rue Chambord.
Mais pour moé, c’tait tout l’univers…

Couplet 1
Dans l’jardin, c’tait ben tranquille,
La terre brune collée sur nos doigts.
Maman tirait une carotte toute fine,
Pis elle m’disait en m’regardant droit :

Refrain
« Celle-là, c’est pour la Première dame…
Celle-là, pour l’Premier ministre…
Mais la meilleure, mon p’tit gars,
La meilleure… elle est pour toé. »

Couplet 2
Y’avait trois marches en béton gris,
Qui montaient vers la ruelle en haut.
On entendait passer l’tramway, pis
Ça grondait jusque dans nos os.

Refrain
« Celle-là, c’est pour la Première dame…
Celle-là, pour l’Premier ministre…
Mais la meilleure, mon p’tit gars,
La meilleure… elle est pour toé. »

Pont (spoken, half-sung)
Aujourd’hui, y’a pus d’jardin…
Juste un balcon sur l’asphalte pis l’bruit.
Mais quand j’trouve une carotte toute croche, ben…
J’pense à elle. Pis j’souris.

Refrain final (plus doux)
« Celle-là, c’est pour la Première dame…
Celle-là, pour l’Premier ministre…
Mais la meilleure, mon p’tit gars,
La meilleure… elle est pour toé. »

(Coda)
Les rails m’porteraient loin du jardin,
Loin des marches en béton pis des lilas.
Mais chaque fois qu’j’verrais un vieux tram au loin,
J’me r’verrais p’tit gars, assis là avec toé.

Carottes

A young boy dreams of becoming a valant knight.

The Knight's Valour

The traditional New Year's song "Auld Lang Syne" translated into Scottish Gaelic.

Auld Lang Syne

Christmas 2004

Ecclesiastes 9:7-10

Curtain Call

A father and son go ice fishing in Alberta.

Frozen Memories

La Noche del Chupacabra

(Verso 1)
Luna leve, loma larga,
grita el coquí con garganta clara.
Cabra caída, cuerpo cansado,
dos dientes dejan silencio sagrado.

(Estribillo)
¡Chupacabra, sombra que sangra!
¡Chupacabra, clava y clama!
Cierra la cerca, cuida la casa,
camina la noche, nunca descansa.

(Verso 2)
Don Julián juró con miedo,
vio la bestia brincar sin ruedo.
Espinas erguidas, espalda de acero,
sus ojos eran brasas, su salto, ligero.

(Estribillo)
¡Chupacabra, sombra que sangra!
¡Chupacabra, clava y clama!
Cierra la cerca, cuida la casa,
camina la noche, nunca descansa.

(Puente – susurrado/entonado)
Sal en la puerta, ajo en la mesa,
todavía ronda, todavía empieza.
Llama como niño, ríe como muerto,
si escuchas su canto, corre desierto.

(Estribillo final – fuerte, repetido)
¡Chupacabra, sombra que sangra!
¡Chupacabra, clava y clama!
Cierra la cerca, cuida la casa,
camina la noche, nunca descansa…

English:

The Night of the Chupacabra

(Verse 1)
Light moon, long hillside,
the coquí cries with a clear throat.
Fallen goat, weary body,
two teeth leave a sacred silence.

(Chorus)
Chupacabra, shadow that bleeds!
Chupacabra, clawing, crying!
Close the fence, guard the home,
it walks the night, it never rests.

(Verse 2)
Don Julián swore in fear,
he saw the beast leap without end.
Spines upright, a back of steel,
its eyes were embers, its leap, unreal.

(Chorus)
Chupacabra, shadow that bleeds!
Chupacabra, clawing, crying!
Close the fence, guard the home,
it walks the night, it never rests.

(Bridge – whispered/intoned)
Salt on the doorway, garlic on the table,
still it circles, still it begins.
It calls like a child, it laughs like the dead,
if you hear its song, run from its tread.

(Final Chorus – strong, repeated)
Chupacabra, shadow that bleeds!
Chupacabra, clawing, crying!
Close the fence, guard the home,
it walks the night, it never rests…

El Chupacabra

A conscripted Roman soldier ponders the future of his empire and his own fate.

Militas

The Staffordshire

Old English:

Hors on heora stofol licgað,
Būtan lēohte to līhtan heora weg,
Þystro is, and mǣst is behȳded
Fram heora bellgum and midden.

Þonne sē morgen cymeþ, þonne
Hīe ēode, to bēon gewācne of morgen,
And on þǣm mægencræfte, hīe sind gecīged
To dōn heora hǣsum, swā cildru.

Se hlāford cymeþ, mid his swipe,
Ond mid clǣme, hē hit dyde snappan,
Þā horsa cumeþ tō andgitte,
And hērfor cymeþ sēo mǣden.

Hē sett þone sadol on þā mīere,
Ond sēo hlǣfdige stīhþ hēr þǣr,
Swā se hlāford hēo upahof þǣr,
Mid oferfylcum gife swǣr.

Hēo stōd wlanc ofer þone hengest
Swā hēo rād weg fram him,
Intō micelre weoruldlican gefeohte,
Mægenlic wīf-hilderinc.

Se hlāford wiste þæt hēo sceolde
Wesan gearu tō gefeohte, on his bedde.
Swā hēo rād weg, hē cwæþ:
Nān ōþer, oþ þæt ic bēo dēad.


modern English translation:

Horses lie on their platform,
Without light to illuminate their way,
Darkness is, and much is hidden,
From their bellies and their midst.

When the morning comes, then
They go, to be awake in the morning,
And with the strength, they are called,
To do their chores, like children.

The master comes, with his whip,
And with a crack, he makes it snap,
The horses come to attention,
And here comes the maiden.

He puts the saddle on the mare,
And the lady mounts her there,
As the master hoists her up there,
With exceeding profound care.

She stood handsome upon the horse,
As she rode away from him,
Into a great worldly battle,
A mighty warrioress.

The master knew that she would,
Be fit for battle, in his bed,
As she rode away, he said,
"Not another, until I'm dead."

My Kingdom for a Horse

A national song for the new Republic of Palliser, to comprise the current provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada.

Hymn to the Republic of Palliser

Proposed national anthem for the new Republic of Palliser, comprising present-day provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada.

Lyrics:

Anthem of the Republic of Palliser

Stanza 1
From mountains high to golden plain,
The rivers flow, the fields of grain.
The northern lights, the endless sky,
Our land, our love, our battle-cry!

Chorus
Rise, Palliser, rise!
Lift your voice unto the skies.
Unbroken hearts, forever be,
Surgimus Invicti!

Stanza 2
The forests strong, the valleys wide,
The aspen stands, the bison stride.
The earth is rich, the people free,
Our home, our hope, eternity!

Chorus (repeat)
Rise, Palliser, rise!
Lift your voice unto the skies.
Unbroken hearts, forever be,
Surgimus Invicti!

Anthem of the Republic of Palliser

Crappy Pop Song

Psalm 46 adapted

Professional software developer. Amateur composer, photographer, chef. (Note I am not the other Geoffrey Falk in Toronto who writes music. That's Geoffrey David Falk, who often goes by just "Geoffrey Falk.")

Geoffrey Trueman Falk

Pinned to spotlight

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