Fly to paradise remixes

Paradise

Eric Whitacre

Fly Away

Meditations

Chill

Whitacre

Grammy Award-winning vocalist Hila Plitmann's live performance of my work, Hummingbrrd, adapted specifically for her for this concert at the Boston Court Theater, Pasadena, CA, May 23rd, 2010.

Hummingbrrd (Hila Plitmann, live)

Some people called the choir in the official version a "background choir". In this remix I pushed it more to front, trying not to change the character of the original. So all tracks are used (changed volumes), only the dynamic of the choir-track is softly modified.

Fly to Paradise (pushed choir mix by Volker Tietze)

Fly to Paradise (pure a cappella mix by Volker Tietze)

Fly To Paradise - Orchestra and Full Virtual Choir

All three of my previous remixes joined up and blended into one. All sounds from the VC4 remix pack.
I didn't plan to do this but it just happened to work...I do visual collage and I treated the sound material in a similar way (which worked!) thanks to all who listen, fave and download. I do sing, but I didn't sing in this project.

Fly to Paradise-memories/want/bliss

I was requested by the Composer of the Virtual Choir, Eric Whitacre, to do a remix for Virtual Choir 4 (Fly To Paradise). We thought it would be a good idea to create a whole new sound for VC4. 

Me being the ambassador of Pain Killing Music. I felt it was only right, as a code for what we Pain Killers stand for.  
And here is the result..
Lyrics here http://rapgenius.com/Static-playa-fly-to-paradise-remix-lyrics

Fly To Paradise (Remix)

My attempt at a synthesized orchestral remix of Eric Whitacre's "Fly to Paradise" and my first attempt at remixing anything, really. Download at https://www.dropbox.com/s/fovnvayctvddjx1/Fly%20to%20Paradise%20Synth%20Orchestra%20Remix%20%28Peter%20Anglea%29.wav?dl=0.

Fly to Paradise Synth Orchestra Remix (Peter Anglea)

LIVE performance from historic Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor. 

This performance features the McIver Quartet [Marjorie Bagley and Katherine McLin, violins, Scott Rawls, viola and Alexander Ezerman, cello] and the University of Michigan Symphony Band with Michael Haithcock, conducting.

Short Stories is a string quartet concerto commissioned by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, The University of Michigan, The University of Texas, Northwestern University and the University of Colorado and dedicated to Kevin Geraldi.

Approximately 21 minutes long and scored for string quartet, winds and percussion.

View perusal score here: joelpuckett.com/Puckett_Short_Stories_perusal
Part I:

1.	Somewhere near the end [tutti]
2.	Introit [quartet]
3.	The Priests [viola and cello duet]

Part II:

4.	Recitative [quartet]
5.	mother and child [violin duet]

Part III:

6.	sonno agitato [ensemble alone]
7.	The Bridge [cadenza] [quartet]
8.	Ma Fin [tutti]

Program Note

“There will come a time when you believe everything is finished;
that will be the beginning.”

— Louis L’Amour, Lonely on the Mountain

What makes the construct of the short story itself so unique among other literary devices is the demands placed on the author to create a meaningful narrative. They must describe the relationships between characters, present a conflict, and resolve it in a remarkably short span. It takes a deft writer to cleverly craft within these restrictions, and yet some have pushed the genre further by creating collections of stories that seem at first disparate, but eventually are revealed to be intertwined. Much like these painstakingly crafted works of literature, Joel Puckett’s Short Stories is a study in structure. On the surface, it bears the appearance of eight vignettes strung together into a concerto for solo string quartet and wind ensemble. Upon listening, however, the work’s movements reveal themselves as inextricably linked through a layered thematic language that plays out through a sort of “game of pairs.”

The external movements of the work serve as a frame story, not unlike Chuck Palahniuk’s novel Haunted, which the composer cites as an influential on the structure of the work. Between the external movements, Puckett presents three pairs of linked movements. Each of these sections highlights two of the solo voices, featured at the section’s conclusion with a virtuosic duo cadenza. The final internal grouping—the sixth and seventh movements—takes the independent duo cadenzas and superimposes them. It is only at this climactic moment that we hear that the concerto’s primary theme—the basis for both the first and last movements—is the combination of the elements within these cadenzas. In a sense, the entire work evolves from the constituent solo playing of its stars.

The opening—amusingly titled “Somewhere near the end”—introduces the notion of pairs in its own way. There is diametric conflict between both the soloists and the ensemble as, until the end of the movement, the two groups play almost exclusively in isolation. The harmonic language likewise poses friction, first hinting at the unbridled optimism of D major, and almost immediately thereafter shattering it with a tempestuous dissonance of extended harmonies in G minor. The effect is that of a series of dramatic wailings that set the stage for the players.

The first internal section, comprising the movements “Introit” and “The Priests,” is based on ancient liturgical materials. The introit itself is a part of the Proper of the Catholic mass, and this placid movement also presents a part of the Mass’ Ordinary by way of a “Kyrie,” passed from instrument to instrument in the movement’s center. The dramatic beginning of “The Priests” is a stark contrast with its bold chorale scored solely for brass and saxophones, and the rhythmic ostinato from the low strings (“Regina Coeli”: a reference to the antiphon to the Virgin Mary). Complex mixed meters dominate the pulse as a punchy homophonic accompaniment supports the vivid rhythms of the soloists.

The contrasting middle pairing (“Recitative” and “mother and child”) has a basis in Baroque opera, modeling a recitative and aria. “Recitative” serves mostly as an introduction, with a sparse accompaniment of vibraphone, celesta, and harp. The opening of “mother and child” expands the instrumentation to include the woodwinds and horns, dancing about gracefully with a patient, yet lilting tempo. This middle section is the longest single segment of the piece, and harmonically the most static, as it floats past slowly in a cloudy, dreamlike E-flat major. The gentle caress of the violin duet is both captivating and endearing throughout.

The tonal center of E-flat remains for the sixth movement, but little else is held as the pleasant dream of the middle section is roused by “sonno agitato”—literally, “restless sleep.” This movement, solely for the ripieno, harkens back to the most tumultuous moments of the first movement. The pulse quickens unrelentingly and the ensemble spills over, out of control, into “The Bridge,” a cadenza for the concertino. Here the previous duo cadenzas are pressed into conflict with each other in a manner that seems incompatible and dissonant. As the soloists play together, however, the argument between them is sated and they begin to find a synergy in their florid and virtuosic variations. The energetic realization of the work’s opening motive ushers in the ebullient “Ma Fin” (a nod to Machaut’s rondeau “Ma fin est mon commencement”—literally, “my beginning is my end”). This finale starts with a return to the first movement, but this time, the soloists come together as one and, with a battering of thirty-second notes, breaks through the restlessness of the ensemble and forces them back on track into the brilliant opening, finally moving together toward their happily ever afters.

—Jacob Wallace

Short Stories [string quartet concerto] UMICH LIVE

On Eagle's Wings (Acapella) - In loving memory of Helen Daehn and Lily Brielle

Sleep My Child (Paradise Lost Demo)

The day before the old years done
I think of things I haven’t done
And I resolve to do them, once again

I’ll heal the wounds that never dried
Wipe the tears from my eyes
Take a step a little further than the last

I’ll be kinder and gentler with me and you
Laugh at the foolish things I do
Make amends and start each day anew

It’s time for a New Year
Time for a New Year
It’s time for a New Year to begin
It's time for some good cheer
Toast the ones that you love dear
It’s time for a New Year to begin

I see brighter days ahead
A fuller life without regret
I hear a voice that says it’s time for change

Release what no longer serves you well
Break the shackles and chains that hurt like hell
Discard your fears and step into the new

Cause it’s time for a New Year
Time for a New Year
It’s time for a New Year to begin
It's time for some good cheer
Toast the ones that you love dear
It’s time for a New Year to begin

Time for some good cheer
Toast the ones that you love dear
It’s time for a New Year to begin

Let’s do it right and make it count
Light new fires, ignore old doubts
Rise to heights soaring bright and clear
Here in this New Year

Copyright © 2012 Kevin A. Reid
As Above So Below Music ASCAP

A New Year

An experimental arrangement of OLD 100TH created entirely with digital instruments in Logic Pro 9.

Doxology

The Florida State University Chamber Winds and Women's Glee Club
Richard Clary, conductor

Opperman Music Hall, Tallahassee FL, April 11, 2013 
Dr. Judy Bowers, Music Director, University Women's Glee Club
SCALE SHIFT by Marcella Durand, used by kind permission of Belladonna* Series and Marcella Durand.
