composed by Joseph Scardetta
performed by Mike Harris, clarinet
The clarinet is a curious instrument. While other woodwinds overblow at the octave, the clarinet overblows at the twelfth. This curious fact gives the clarinet clearly defined ranges, each with their own sound. With that thought in mind, I set about composing this piece.
I took three different octotonic scales and assigned them to the three biggest ranges. Each range also has a small theme and several variations of the theme. "Cries and Drummings" is meant to evoke a sense of antiquity. The middle range plays slow laments of mostly long sighs. The upper range plays more upbeat lyrical melodies, but because of its high range, the piercing sound is more evocative of screams then of songs. The lowest range plays percussive rhythms with very pointed attacks.
recorded in Dingledine Music Center, Bradley University on March 26, 2010

Cries And Drummings (Mike Harris, 2010)

composed by Joseph Scardetta
performed by Laura McCormick, oboe, and Joel Harper, piano
     "the and of Two" is a musical dialogue between the oboe and the piano.  The melody is traded between the two players and is accompanied by very short rhythmic interjections that at times make it a bit difficult to distinguish who is "saying" what.  The work uses a variant on the traditional twelve-tone technique: I assigned the pitch classes specific eighth-note pulses in a 2/4 measure according to where they occurred within the row.  This allowed me to create rhythmic ideas that would not normally surface through my usual sketching.  The row begins (and releases) on the "and" of 2 (that is, halfway through the second beat.  About two-thirds of the way through the piece, the pitch classes are reassigned based on the row's inversion.
     In writing this piece I took the opportunity to explore the capabilities of the oboe.  The oboe line juxtaposes the instrument's range of pitch and dynamics.  This was also a good opportunity to write idiomatically for the piano in the twelve-tone system.  The piano allowed me to explore the diverse harmonies of the row, while at the same time allowing me to exploit the possibilities of the piano's rhythmic dexterity.
recorded in Dingledine Music Center, Bradley University, Peoria, IL on Friday, March 26, 2010.

the and of Two (Bradley Univ. Students, 2010)

composed by Joseph Scardetta
performed by Jenna Ferdon, Brianna Smith, violin; Hannah Salazar, viola; Britney Whiting, cello, Stephanie Meyer, soprano
"A Bee" was my first attempt at writing serial music, composing music with a fixed set of notes.  The piece begins with a six-note array introduced by the individual string instruments.  These six pitches form a single chord that becomes the central harmony in the piece itself, while the array helps to determine the ensuing pitches.
The title references the sounds of the strings buzzing, shaking, and fluttering, as well as a spelling bee, in which competitors recite the letters of the words they are spelling.
recorded in Dingledine Music Center, Bradley University, Peoria, IL on Friday, March 26, 2010.

A Bee (Bradley Univ. Students, 2010)

performed by "Peoria Lunaire": Marcia Henry Liebenow, violin; Timothy Archbold, cello; Dr. Kyle Dzapo, flute; Dr. Stephen Heinemann, clarinet; and Dr. John Orfe, piano.

A fractal is a natural phenomenon or a mathematical set that exhibits a repeating pattern that displays at every scale. If the replication is exactly the same at every scale, it is called a self-similar pattern. A piece of music is a painting of sound across the canvass of time in the space of the mind. I wanted to create a piece that itself was a fractal of sound taking place over a period of time. I tried to incorporate the fractal concept into as many of the elements of music as possible: melody, meter, key, harmony, dynamics, phrasing, and form.

The number three and its powers are crucial to the structure of Fractal.  I began with a simple three note melody: FA-SOL-RE, and transposed the melody by the two intervals within the melody: FA-sol-re-SOL-la-mi-RE-mi-ti. I repeated this process five more times until I had a roughly nine-minute fractal melody with 2,187 notes. This melody can be heard as a constant eighth-note pulse in a triple-compound meter (9/8 time signature) throughout the entire work.  The music changes key every measure following the same formula as the melody. The music gradually get sharper with drastic modulations to much flatter keys at higher levels of the pattern. I composed variations on the three-note motif in counterpoint with the fractal melody in order to create fractal-like harmonies. The phrases created by the variations tend to change every three measures. New variations and new rules of counterpoint are introduced at points of change at the fifth power, or every 27 measures.  At the sixth power, or every 81 measure, the variations cycle back and the previous 81 measures are repeated twice, first up a Major 2nd and then down a Perfect fourth.

Fractal is a self-similar and self-organizing machine that, once started, propels itself forward until its soft and abrupt end. Fractal unfolds from its first note like a fern, blooming in an organic progression from moment to fleeting moment.  This organic quality mirrors my experience composing this piece.  Once I had calculated all the mathematical mechanisms, composing the music felt more like discovering the music, as if the music was composing itself organically and I was merely notating it.  I think the most exhilarating part of composing Fractal was figuring out when and how to break the rules to make it even more compelling.  Composing Fractal was such a joy, and I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed composing it. 

Recorded in Dingledine Music Center, Bradley University, Peoria, IL on December 3, 2014

Fractal (Peoria Lunaire, 2014)

About "Bibliophilia"

            "Bibliophilia" is the original theme for the Bibliophilia Podcast. The Bibliophilia Podcast is hosted by Denver-based, freelance writer Becca Chavez. The podcast focuses on books, the people who write them, and the ideas they contain. Every week, the host discusses a book with her guest or guests. The discussions often vary in scope, but always strive to be interesting and entertaining. The Bibliophilia Podcast offers a view of literature that allows readers to connect with stories in a way they may have never thought of before. The Bibliophilia Podcast is available for free via Libsyn and iTunes, or wherever you subscribe to podcasts.

Composer's note

	When Becca Chavez commissioned me to compose an original theme for her new podcast, she expressed a desire for music that was original and instantly recognizable with an indie/folk feel that listeners would identify with her brand. What resulted was a short piece borrowing the chords and layers associated with indie-rock music combined with idiomatic figures taken from classical music.  The music is meant to represent the journey that is taken when reading a novel. Tension is created through the phasing of two ostinatos in an asymmetrical meter over a relatively static harmonic progression. Each time the phrases come around, a new motive is introduced above the texture. The music evokes the turning of pages in a book as well as the enjoyment that come from reading a great work of fiction.


Music for a Podcast (MIDI)

Two-channel Fixed Media, premiered February 8, 2016 at the MOXI Theater in Greeley, CO.

A Quantum Chime in Hyperbolic Time (fixed media, 2016)

performed by Ching-Hsuan Wang, violin and Katie Hughes, piano.

Off Topic was commissioned by Ching-Hsuan Wang for her doctoral violin recital in January 2017. It combines various styles from classical and the blues while displaying the virtuosity of the performer.

Recorded by Greg Heimbecker in Milne Auditorium, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO on February 27, 2017

Graduate Recital 2017

Off Topic (Ching-Hsuan Wang, Katie Hughes)

performed by Katie Hughes, piano.

Tetrapod represents the physical realm of human experience and is stylized after Latin American dances.

Recorded by Greg Heimbecker in Milne Auditorium, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO on February 27, 2017

Scalene Paradigms: III. Tetrapod

performed by Katie Hughes, piano.

Trinity represents the mental realm of human experience and makes use of nonfunctional triadic harmony.

Recorded by Greg Heimbecker in Milne Auditorium, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO on February 27, 2017

Scalene Paradigms: II. Trinity

performed by Katie Hughes, piano.

Pentagram represents the social realm of human experience and is composed in atonal serialism.

Recorded by Greg Heimbecker in Milne Auditorium, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO on February 27, 2017

Scalene Paradigms: I. Pentagram

performed by clarinet students at University of Northern Colorado:
Nancy Williams, Eb clarinet; Kaitlin Fahy, Kyle Angley, Winsome Lewis, Michaela Wright, Jacie Matzke, Stephanie Lyman, Bb clarinet; Scotty Vela, alto clarinet; Taelor Blakesly, bass clarinet; Hannah Ford, conta alto clarinet; Jarod Sorum conductor.

scored for E-flat clarinet, six B-flat clarinets, alto clarinet, bass clarinet, and contra alto clarinet.

cla·ri·no·pho·ny (klar-uh-NOF-uh-nee) noun, plural clarinophonies

1. A sound resembling the timbre of a clarinet or group of clarinets

2. A brave new genre for clarinet ensembles that explore the various colors of the ensemble through the stark contrast of a variety of musical textures
A portmanteau of “clarinet” (Eng. from Old. Fr. “clarin” meaning “clarion”) and “phony” (Eng. suffix from Gr. “phonos” meaning sound); coined by composer Joseph Scardetta in 2016

Recorded by Greg Heimbecker in Milne Auditorium, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO on February 27, 2017

Clarinophony (UNC Clarinets, Jarod Sorum)

My name is Joseph Scardetta.  I live in San Antonio.  I am a composer, a double bassist, a pianist, a vocalist (bass/baritone) and an avid music listener.  I have a Bachelor of Music degree in composition (2010) from Bradley University in Peoria, IL, and a Master of Music degree in music theory and composition (2017) at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, CO.

Joseph Scardetta

Popular tracks