Six Pieces For Piano

Traces 1

Piano Sonata

05 Crow Songs, poems by Karl Kempton

A reflection on Byrd’s Ave Verum Corpus

Roderick Williams - Ave Verum Corpus Re-imagined (Album: Upheld by Stillness)

The Benedictus from Bach's Mass in b minor performed by John Martin and the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra.

J. S. Bach - Benedictus (from Mass in b minor)

John performing "Bright Is the Ring of Words" from Ralph Vaughan Williams' song cycle "Songs of Travel" at his Master's Recital.

R. Vaughan Williams - Bright Is the Ring of Words (from Songs Of Travel)

Vishnu Sahasranam

Vishnu Sahasranamam: Maharishi Vedic Pandits

I am a lightning thorn
I am that bitter fire
I am the star-lit sword
I am broken shards of color
Showy, radiant, bright

I am the halo that burns
I am the day of harsh wonders
I am the poison that kills, the poison that heals
I am the darkening of the light

You are shattered, unheard
Silver-white and pale
I am the cold breath that wakes you from sleep
The one at the back of your mind
You are forgotten, uncounted
Fading, fallen
I am the word you don't want to hear
A phantom thought, made of wind

I am the darkening of the light

I am the halo that burns
I am the day of harsh wonders
I am the cold breath that wakes you from sleep
I am the word you don't want to hear
I am the darkening of the light

An unopened letter waits for you
The promise of more
The hope for less
Ever in shadow
I wait here for you
I am the darkening of the light

Darkening of the Light (sopr cl va pno pc)

"Snap" for Orchestra; originally "Snap" for piano from "Show of Hands," winner of the 2020 Jeffrey Jacobs Piano Composition Award

Snap for Orchestra

A short and spontaneous reaction to the appalling events of Jan 6th, 2021 aka the storming of the United States Capitol, contextualized here by both humorous and idealistic statements/sayings of  "Sophia", an allegedly female and allegedly artificially intelligent robot and the "Governator", a former athlete, action hero and retired politician.
Includes some uncredited patriotic samples and footage from live streams and web.

(originally intended as part 1 of a collaborative "Work in 26 progressions" to be put together during the first 26 weeks of 2021)

Pandemonium, formerly Wi26p_pt1

The music of Joanne Metcalf, critically acclaimed as “music of great beauty” (Klassik-Heute) and “extraordinarily beautiful” (International Record Review), is known for its evocative lyricism, rhythmic extravagance, and “beautiful use of vocal colours and texture” (Glasgow Herald). Ms. Metcalf has received commissions from the Hilliard Ensemble; Singer Pur, Germany’s pre-eminent vocal ensemble; Cappella Nova; and Canty, Scotland’s premiere vocal quartet. Her choral compositions have been performed by Variant 6, the Gothic Voices, The Crossing, and the Dresden Chamber Choir.

Darkening of the Light (sopr cl va pno pc)

Joanne Metcalf

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