Hustle – 2020/2021

Percussion Trio – Vibraphone, Toms, Marimba
Duration 3’20”

Bakrnčev’s Hustle is a fusion of traditional Macedonian folkdance rhythms and modern music techniques, creating a unique and energetic piece. This piece showcases the composer’s versatility and musical ingenuity, inviting listeners to come together and enjoy the music, regardless of their background or cultural differences.

Percussion Trio – Vibraphone, Toms, Marimba
Performed by Rebecca Lagos, Timothy Constable & Mark Robinson
Studio recording, ABC Studios, Sydney.

This work was made possible through the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s 50 Fanfares Project and was commissioned by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, supported by Geoff Stearn.

Hustle

Bakrnčev’s “Sky Jammer” for orchestra is a bold, dark and intense composition that captures the energy and urgency of a dystopian world. The work features driving rhythms, intense orchestrations and vivid sonorities that come together to create an explosive and powerful musical experience. The piece evokes images of towering skyscrapers and a haunting, urban landscape, making it a true masterpiece of neo-noir orchestral music. According to one local traveler, “…my favourite was ‘Sky Jammer’ by young composer Michael Bakrnčev, an astringent nightmare of tower-blocks, with some very effective orchestration.”

Sky Jammer [Live]
Robert Spano, conductor
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Recorded live at the Metropolis New Music Festival
Saturday May 21 2016

Sky Jammer

Idyll definition:  an extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque period or situation, typically an idealized or unsustainable one.

Dedicated to my mother Dee on the occasion of her 60th Birthday. 

Piano performed & recorded by Brian Barber.
Orchestral Rendition by Michael Bakrnčev Using:  Sibelius Notation Software, With Noteperformer 3 Playback Software. 
Cove art by Emily Bakrnchev

Companion poem:

Rock Me to Sleep by Elizabeth Akers Allen

Backward, turn backward, O Time, in your flight,
Make me a child again just for tonight!
Mother, come back from the echoless shore,
Take me again to your heart as of yore;
Kiss from my forehead the furrows of care,
Smooth the few silver threads out of my hair;
Over my slumbers your loving watch keep;—
Rock me to sleep, mother, – rock me to sleep!

Backward, flow backward, O tide of the years!
I am so weary of toil and of tears,—
Toil without recompense, tears all in vain,—
Take them, and give me my childhood again!
I have grown weary of dust and decay,—
Weary of flinging my soul-wealth away;
Weary of sowing for others to reap;—
Rock me to sleep, mother – rock me to sleep!

Tired of the hollow, the base, the untrue,
Mother, O mother, my heart calls for you!
Many a summer the grass has grown green,
Blossomed and faded, our faces between:
Yet, with strong yearning and passionate pain,
Long I tonight for your presence again.
Come from the silence so long and so deep;—
Rock me to sleep, mother, – rock me to sleep!

Over my heart, in the days that are flown,
No love like mother-love ever has shone;
No other worship abides and endures,—
Faithful, unselfish, and patient like yours:
None like a mother can charm away pain
From the sick soul and the world-weary brain.
Slumber’s soft calms o’er my heavy lids creep;—
Rock me to sleep, mother, – rock me to sleep!

Come, let your brown hair, just lighted with gold,
Fall on your shoulders again as of old;
Let it drop over my forehead tonight,
Shading my faint eyes away from the light;
For with its sunny-edged shadows once more
Haply will throng the sweet visions of yore;
Lovingly, softly, its bright billows sweep;—
Rock me to sleep, mother, – rock me to sleep!

Mother, dear mother, the years have been long
Since I last listened your lullaby song:
Sing, then, and unto my soul it shall seem
Womanhood’s years have been only a dream.
Clasped to your heart in a loving embrace,
With your light lashes just sweeping my face,
Never hereafter to wake or to weep;—
Rock me to sleep, mother, – rock me to sleep!


Listening to this work with high quality, noise-cancelling headphones is recommended.

Idyll For Piano & Orchestra

An adaptation of a gorgeous old folk melody.

Sweetness When She's Smiling

Composed for my Wife, Emily, as a gift to her on our Wedding Day, 2017.

I hope you enjoy the relaxing, meditative and reflective nature of this work. 

My most humble and sincere thanks to my supporters who helped finance the creation of this recording, and, to the musicians who recorded this work from abroad, who were:

Flute - Heline Fay 
Violin - Peter Voronov 
Harp - Mercedes Bralo

Calm - Trio for Flute, Violin and Harp

Bakrnčev’s Elegy was written during a time of personal turmoil for the composer, inspired by grief and tragedy, hopelessness, and despair. The piece is characterized by its deep and sorrowful mood, with a slow, melancholic melody that speaks to the pain and sadness the composer was feeling. The somber harmonies and minimalistic approach to the piano only amplify the sense of loss and desolation conveyed in the music.

Piano – Alex Raineri
Live Performance at the Brisbane Music Festival, 2022
Audio Engineer – Jai Farrell  
Mastering – Michael Venia, Venia Mastering Studio
Performed on a Shigheru Kawai Concert Grand Piano, generously provided by Kawai Australia

Elegy For Piano - M. Bakrnčev

Bakrnčev’s Trio for Clarinet, Violin & Piano is a romantic interpretation of an Aromanian (Vlach/Vlashki) love song from Macedonia. The piece showcases the folkloric aesthetic, with a focus on the expressive melodies that are characteristic of this genre. The intimate nature of the trio makes for an emotional and captivating performance.

Clarinet, Violin & Piano [Live, 2017]
Performed & Commissioned by Plexus Ensemble
Performed by Philip Arkinstall (Clarinet) Monica Curro (Violin) & Stefan Cassomenos (Piano)

Trio For Clarinet, Violin & Piano

Bakrnčev (which also appears as Bakrncev or Bakrnchev) can be pronounced in the following ways:

ba-KARN-chev (Anglicised, this is the best way for non-Slavic speakers to pronounce the name)

ba-KRN-chev (Correct Macedonian pronunciation)

Many thanks to Margarita Vasileva for assisting.

How to say Bakrnčev - Ba - Karn - Chev

Bakrnčev (which also appears as Bakrncev or Bakrnchev) can be pronounced in the following ways:

ba-KRN-chev (Correct Macedonian pronunciation)

ba-KARN-chev (Anglicised, this is the best way for non-Slavic speakers to pronounce the name)

Many thanks to Margarita Vasileva for assisting.

How to pronounce Bakrnčev - Ba - Krn - Chev

"Translations for Orchestra" Composed by Michael Bakrnčev – 2013/2014

Conductor – Johannes Fritzsch
Live Performance by the Queensland Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra, 2014

Bakrnčev’s “Translations for Orchestra” is an emotionally charged musical journey inspired by the heroic efforts of young Afghan activist Malala Yousafzai. The composer blends classical and folkloric styles with the technique of ‘monochromaticism’ to translate Yousafzai’s quotes into musical pitches, creating an explosive and powerful expression of the fight for girls’ education. 

This work also incorporates texts from Frank Zappa, who expressed strong opinions about the decay of the education system in the United States, creating a contrast between two different periods in time, both focused on the theme of education. The orchestral work serves as an early and powerful example of the composer’s use of monochromaticism and his ability to translate powerful messages into musical form.

Complete recording available on all streaming services

LICENSING / SCORES & PARTS / LESSONS / COMMISSIONS:  https://michaelbakrnchev.com/contact-2/

Music and Artwork Copyright © Michael Bakrnchev. All rights reserved

The piece aims to showcase unstability, shimmering moments of optimism, gun shots as depicted by percussion in the middle of the piece, folk melodies, controlled chaos and ultimately a strong and firm assertion that Malala's vision for education cannot and will not be destroyed.

This is the premiere recording performed by the Queensland Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra, in October 2015, conducted by Maestro Johannes Fritzsch.

Michael A. Bakrnčev

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