Recorded October 2008 
by Michael Hutcherson and Greg Moss 
at Blast Zone, Roxbury MA 
Mastered by Jim Aveni 
at Undercurrent, New Haven CT

Strong Killings

Astral Madness

Resonator-The Inevitability

Do Nothing

Resonator-Landscape 0003-Low sun on Rigel

The cycle of modifications

R Moores-Construction #0077

From the film "The Search for Cleopatra's Crown" The main character, obsessed with finding a way to pay off her student loans and avoid losing her diploma, looks into the mirror and suddenly sees herself as Cleopatra and this changes her attitude.

The Crown2

Together

Pi 2

Movement I of Metropolitan Snapsnots

Yo Shionoya - Oboe
Matthew Fontana - Clarinet


Metropolitan Snapshots pays homage to New York City Skyline Melody by Heitor Villa-Lobos.  Like Villa-Lobos’ composition, the inspirations for the musical materials come from Sayed’s experience with specific locations in New York City.  Each location represents a point in the composer’s exhausting workday at the New York City Opera including the tiring commute back and forth and the lonely espresso filled lunch breaks.  For example, the undulating clarinet line in “Harlem River 7:00am” traces ripples in the Harlem river as the morning tide turns and the Columbia University crew team finish their practice.  However, beyond borrowing the idea of using a panoramic landscape of places in the metropolis to generate music ideas, Metropolitan Snapshots does not use sounds from the Villa-Lobos’ composition.  With the exception of the Brazilian choros syncope in the bassoon part in “Harlem River 7:00am,” each movement instead draws its sonic inspiration from some influential New York composers.  The movement, “MLK Jr. Blvd 1:00am” uses the form of Morton Feldman’s Madame Press Died at Ninety Last Week while evoking the time-suspended soundscape of Feldman’s Neither.  The last movement, “Lincoln Square 1:30pm,” employs the rhythmic phasing technique employed by Steve Reich to create a swirling sound world for the oboe solo to observe and play around in.

Harlem River 7:00am

Movement II of Metropolitan Snapshots

Yo Shionoya - Oboe
Matthew Fontana - Clarinet 


Metropolitan Snapshots pays homage to New York City Skyline Melody by Heitor Villa-Lobos.  Like Villa-Lobos’ composition, the inspirations for the musical materials come from Sayed’s experience with specific locations in New York City.  Each location represents a point in the composer’s exhausting workday at the New York City Opera including the tiring commute back and forth and the lonely espresso filled lunch breaks.  For example, the undulating clarinet line in “Harlem River 7:00am” traces ripples in the Harlem river as the morning tide turns and the Columbia University crew team finish their practice.  However, beyond borrowing the idea of using a panoramic landscape of places in the metropolis to generate music ideas, Metropolitan Snapshots does not use sounds from the Villa-Lobos’ composition.  With the exception of the Brazilian choros syncope in the bassoon part in “Harlem River 7:00am,” each movement instead draws its sonic inspiration from some influential New York composers.  The movement, “MLK Jr. Blvd 1:00am” uses the form of Morton Feldman’s Madame Press Died at Ninety Last Week while evoking the time-suspended soundscape of Feldman’s Neither.  The last movement, “Lincoln Square 1:30pm,” employs the rhythmic phasing technique employed by Steve Reich to create a swirling sound world for the oboe solo to observe and play around in.

Pi 2

Not Art

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