An intricate electronic composition built around the idea of a heavily-modified brass band.

Brass Band

Movement One

"Auroral Room" is a symphony based on a vivid dream I had; I am not sure what initially impelled me to translate the dream musically, but I am very glad that I did; it was an exciting experience and remains one of my best works. 
I recorded the dream as follows:

We walk, until we are out of town, on the border, and we navigate to the forest.  It is moderately dense, with big trees, damp like a rainforest, but not with that sort of flora.  We climb, I leading the way, until we have made it far above the tops of the tall buildings and near the clouds.  The woods become denser, the cliffs steeper, until they are virtually vertical.  It becomes so dark as night falls atop the foliage that I can no longer see a thing [it is literally all black], but this only heightens my sense of touch, and I struggle up through the tough handholds of vines, roots, and soft cliff-soil.  Leave rub against me and I emerge, pulling myself up to see, out of the forest, a sight like no other; I behold the aurora of morning, a beautiful swath of every meaningful color come together like the whole importance of the universe was in this one sunrise, the time before the sun even breaks the horizon.  I note to myself that I should call this the Auroral Room, for indeed, it is a room with hazy walls and glass so transparent it is invisible, but we have clearly emerged into a spacious room.  Then I think to call it the Auroral Arcade, for alliteration purposes, but there are no colonnades here, just a rectangular room with nothing in it but the natural surroundings.  As the star clears the horizon, we behold the sights surrounding us.  Behind are the forest and cliffs; to the left a promontory of mountains that jut out at inconceivable angles as if they were balanced on each other by giants, eroded and uplifted into the jagged spine of a titanic, primordial colossus, capped in snow and ice at their peaks.  On all sides there are unimaginable sights, sights with such beauty as to overwhelm the mind and make it question the existence of natural phenomena, and more importantly, its significance.  The sun rises, and my brother and I inspect the city from this height, which is off to the right.  We descend a bit, to a viewing platform [I do not recall if we left the room purposefully or if it just disappeared, ephemeral], and converse on some floating boats we’ve made.  We descend lower, from the viewing platform, into the grimier section of the city, but I really like it—it has such character, the rust and dust, but clean enough for us, for all its inhabitants, anyway.  The road is at a rather steep hill, and we meander along, intending to meet up with the others and evince what we have beheld.

Auroral Room - A Vertical Forest (Movement One)

An epic piece for full orchestra and choir illustrating the harrowing tale of a falsely-accused witch.  

Lyrics (not heard in this recording):

Latin:

Umbra,
Ignis,
Judex ergo cum sedebit,
Nil in ultum remanebit,
Ingemisco tamquam reus,
Rex tremendae majestatis,
Salva me fons peitatis,
Dona eis requiem,
Dies irae,
Dies illa,
Oro supplex et acclinis,
Gere curam mei finis,
Libera me de tremenda, 
Dirus igne et favilla,
Salva me, rex tremendae,
Tuba mirum spargens sonum, 
Coget omnes ante thronum,
O, ego non pythonissam. 

English:

Shadow,
Fire,
When the judge has attained his seat,
Nothing shall remain unavenged,
I groan, like one who is guilty,
King of tremendous majesty,
Save me, font of piety, 
Grant them eternal rest,
That day of wrath,
That dreadful day,
I pray, supplicant and kneeling,
Assist me in my final hour,
Rescue me from the awful,
The terrible fire and ashes,
Save me, King,
The trumpet, spreading its wondrous sound,
Will summon all before the throne,
O, I am not a witch. 

[Modified from Dies Irae]

Witch Trial

A bright orchestral piece evocative of the bucolic, verdant, and expansive.

Orchestra Of The Magical Garden

Nothing more than a rainstorm in a piano.

Nocturne For A Raincloud

Venetian Embassy.  Calabria.  Duomo.  Midnight.  Espionage.

Espionage

Waltz In G

The eleventh track of a song cycle I've been working on (the same one "Mayday" belongs to), regarding the perils and wonders of space exploration.

Sparse Yet Raging Vacuum

Do Not Speak

A weird, intense electronic piece; a concatenation of too many things to understand.  

I enjoy sounds very much.

Something More

I'm not really sure what this is, other than a nice little piece I wrote in a day (well...okay, I might have done a bit of editing the next day). 

I was intrigued by the idea of three-bar phrases, as you can hear.  Also the idea of having lots of trumpets and French horns mixed into the electronics.  (Which are also electronic, I guess, but you get the idea.)

Something Higher

A collection of sounds and rhythms arranged in a way that might reflect the sorts of things you're liable to experience if you ever partake in some adventures beneath existence.  There might be a story here, or there might not be.  The answer is probably in the next number higher. 

ABE #1: Running
0:00 - Realization
0:04 - Gaining
0:36 - The Path with Darkness Behind You
1:16 - The First Beneath
1:48 - Escape

The remaining Adventures Beneath Existence will be posted to my YouTube channel (mostly for reasons of space).  They can be found here: 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-YHGMYfUuktZweuw0TlOWXLvZFX09udT

Adventures Beneath Existence #1: Running

A collection of sounds and rhythms arranged in a way that might reflect the sorts of things you're liable to experience if you ever partake in some adventures beneath existence. There might be a story here, or there might not be. The answer is probably in the next number higher.

ABE #9: Mountaintop
0:00 - Clarity
0:04 - The Fifth Beneath
0:32 - Oxygen
0:50 - Higher the Clouds
1:18 - Higher Still the Clouds
1:46 - Distance
2:34 - Echoes Deeper
3:02 - Echoes Clearer
3:19 - Brighter the Sky

The remaining Adventures Beneath Existence will be posted to my YouTube channel (mostly for reasons of space). They can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-YHGMYfUuktZweuw0TlOWXLvZFX09udT

Adventures Beneath Existence #9: Mountaintop

Hello! I am a composer, percussionist, and pianist who enjoys writing everything from classical to electronic music, with a special interest in rhythm and sonority.  

(I've run out of free space on SoundCloud, so you'll find most of my recent work on my YouTube channel, linked below.)  

Here, I share some of my original compositions. Hopefully you'll find something you enjoy!

Leif Haley

Popular tracks