LIMBERLOST
Mvmt. 3 (of 6) from SPIRITS (1993)
- by Michael Schelle

SPIRITS is a work about infamous Hoosiers, commissioned by 
the Indiana State Orchestra Consortium (16 orchestras)

Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra
Neal Gittleman, conductor

LIMBERLOST comes from the early 20th Century teen novel "The Girl of the Limberlost" by Ms. Gene Stratton-Porter (1863-1924) - an author way ahead of her time: a women's lib advocate, she wore pants (oh, the horror!) and smoked cigarettes.  Ms.Stratton-Porter's books were iconic "must read' literature for adventuresome young ladies, early in the 20th century - the books deal with beauty, hardship, fellowship, independence, empowerment, romance and dreams.  The music reflects early 20th Century yearning and nostalgia.
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SPIRITS (1994):
JONESTOWN ECHO .. https://soundcloud.com/rimsky-1/michael-schelle-jonestown-echo
DETOUR TO NOWHERE .. https://soundcloud.com/rimsky-1/michael-schelle-detour-to
LIMBERLOST
ONE FOR THE GIPPER .. https://soundcloud.com/rimsky-1/michael-schelle-one-for-the
BEN BONHOMMES ROUGE .. https://soundcloud.com/rimsky-1/michael-schelle-ben-bonhommes
THE LAST RIDE .. https://soundcloud.com/rimsky-1/michael-schelle-the-last
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Visit: www.schellemusic.com
.

Gene Stratton-Porter .. http://www.genestratton-porter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=39&Itemid=2


LIMBERLOST, from "Spirits" (1993) for orchestra

Ray Hardman talks with Wesleyan University music professor Neely Bruce about the life of American composer Anthony Heinrich

Neely Bruce on composer Anthony P. Heinrich

Composition for viola and computer tape
Performed in Smith Music Hall
University of Illinois, 1996
Shirley Meyer Blankenship-Viola

On Stilts Among Ducks By Herbert Brun For Viola And Computer Tape

I composed my "Trois Vieilles Chansons Françaises" for soprano Camille King. Each is a tribute to my love of France and her music. In "Sur le point d'Avignon" the "belles dames" (lovely ladies), "soldats" (soldiers) and, finally "musiciens" (musicians) come out for a bow. This score is unpublished at present but available from the composer.

Plaisir d'amour

Recorded in concert. "This Is It!" No. 12, Sunday 19 February 2017. This composition was originally written for harpsichord solo, and was the final number in "A Book of Pieces for the Harpsichord" (1965-85), dedicated to Larry Palmer. This piece is inspired by the complex canons of Conlin Nancarrow. It is probably impossible for one person to play it. The version for two harpsichords, heard here, is the definitive version of the piece.

Canon (1985)

Composer: Neely Bruce
"Arkansas" -- from The Sacred Guitar; based on a tune from The Sacred Harp, by S. P. Barnett, #271 top.
Performed by Thomas Schuttenhelm on a 1976 American Telecaster

Arkansas: based on a tune by S. P. Barnett, #271 (from the Sacred Harp)

"This Is It!" #15 The complete piano music of Neely Bruce. This piece is a quasi-random scramble of fragments of dozens of Schubert waltzes. The waltzes themselves were also chosen at random. Sometimes the right and left hands are coordinated, more often they are not. Photocopies of the waltzes were cut up and taped together according to the taste of the composer. All key signatures have been removed, resulting in a giant pandiatonic collage, played entirely on the white keys. The composer acknowledges his profound love of the original Schubert miniatures, which he first heard played by Leonard Fletcher in the early 1960s in Birmingham, Alabama. He also acknowledges his debt to the Liszt "Soirée de Vienne" and Ravel's "Valses nobles et sentimentales."

Furniture Music in the Form of Mutilated Schubert Waltzes

This is a set of ten short pieces, separated by brief pauses. They were written down with pencil and paper, but in a totally spontaneous manner, as one would improvise at the keyboard. This is the first piece of mine that my teacher Herbert Brün liked. (He liked only a few pieces on mine...)The complete piano works of Neely Bruce. "This Is it!" #15. July 15, 2018.

Improvisations One (1967)

Circular 14 (2013-2017)is an oratorio for eight solo voices, two choruses, and large orchestra. It tells the story of Aristides de Sousa Mendes. In 1940 this Portuguese diplomat, in direct defiance of the orders of his president, issued an estimated 30,000 illegal visas that allowed refugees in occupied France to escape to Portugal. His actions saved countless lives, but infuriated Salazar, who punished him severely. For more information about Sousa Mendes and this composition go to http://sousamendesfoundation.org

Circular 14 #20: Finale

I like to amuse myself once in awhile and write something uncomplicated. Here's a simple modal fugue for an intermediate piano student.

Pieces For The Young - Fugue

Penumbra for String Quartet.  Performed here by the sadly now defunct Cordova Quartet.

Penumbra for String Quartet

I am a composer/performer. Today I begin to upload a lifetime of recordings! Be patient. A lot more to come...

Furniture Music in the Form of Mutilated Schubert Waltzes

neelybrucemusic

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