Hauser playing Rachmaninoff Vocalise on Cello 

Night ~ Rachmaninoff

A poem from my late father. An old tape I recovered.

** Sinfonia dos Mundos **

Que faço aqui, eu que vou
tentando o verso e a prosa
num Cosmos que começou
por uma explosão monstruosa?

Que tenho a ver com o percurso
do hélio e do hidrogénio,
com o teórico discurso
desses físicos de génio,
que tentam aprisionar
o real em equações,
e compatibilizar
galáxias e electrões?

Nada tenho. E, no entanto,
leio seus livros profundos,
buscando a chave do canto
da sinfonia dos mundos.

Sinfonia Dos Mundos

I began this piece with quite a dainty, almost dancelike tune; but I had forgotten the potential for B flat minor to be dark, menacing and almost aggressive. I soon remembered, and in a few places this character comes to the fore, but there are also some sunnier, more elegant moments (notably when the music turns to a major sharp key in a couple of places). Of course, B flat minor has to finish the day, but the composer has the last laugh by playing with the expectation for a doom-laden, powerful final cadence with a little cheeky insertion just when one isn't expecting it...! The key has the final 'word', however...

SWW 34.2

I watched some years ago a TED presentation, and I was impressed by an interesting idea about sheep and sheperds. I do not recall the topic of the presentation nor the identity of the presenter. Here I wrote down the basic idea in my words and made some extrapolation regarding our human condition.

Javier Valero track I used with permission is found in https://soundcloud.com/jvaleroalb/rpr07_64/comment-2292988850

*** MORNING PRAYER *** 

How clever of sheep to acquire shepherds!
Doing so, they outsource their protection from predators
their food finding, their health maintenance.
All that for just a small loss of freedom.
They can even afford to be more stupid
than their relatives trying to survive in the wild.
And that is why, at each new dawn, 
I prostrate myself and praise the Lord, 
the Gracious, the Merciful, saving us from extinction.    
Thanks to Him, I can afford to be a mindless idiot.

Sheeheep.wav by HerbertBoland -- https://freesound.org/s/75190/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

Sheep in a field on the top of a mountain in Bask Country by felix.blume -- https://freesound.org/s/138424/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Morning Prayer (Based on Javier Valero Piano Piece)

The Berceuse (Op. 13, No. 7) by Russian composer Alexander Ilyinsky (1859-1920).  (A "berceuse" is a lullaby or cradle song.)  Recorded by Romantic pianist-composer Robert Cunningham on January 11, 2025.

See also:
Robert Cunningham's YouTube Channel:  www.youtube.com/c/RobertCunninghamsMusic
Robert Cunningham's Fan Page:  www.facebook.com/RobertCunninghamsMusic
Robert Cunningham's Web Page:  www.RobertCunninghamsMusic.com


Alexander Ilyinsky, Berceuse

In specific domains of human reasoning, like the games of Chess and Go, AI is now outmatching the best human capabilities. Music creation is now being explored, with already quite pleasant results. This is dedicated to the AI that may someday replace us. It's a sci-fi short story, describing a musician's last desperate attempt to stay afloat... 

*** Last Human Musician ***

Rats! Another pointless meeting with an automated record label!…
They showed a total lack of vision regarding my new music genre proposal.
I did explain it was not a matter of taste. At most, a matter of smell.
How comes they don't see the assured success of Explicit WC Pop?
A most promising new genre, full of realistic AI generated laments,
and lots of melancholic moaning and groaning behind locked doors.
This allows for complex textures and exquisite microtonal harmonies,
the perfect bed for my haunted lyrics, focused on the waste of our lives.
But alas, my two best demos
"Throwing Up at Martha's Cocktail" and the amazing
"I Shouldn't Have Eaten That Salad"
were utterly rejected. 
As I left the label building, angry and broke,
it suddenly dawned on me that I no longer have a place to stay.
I couldn't pay my rent… 
I would now gladly eat some cheap ultra processed food, 
if only I could pay for it.
Well… Who cares, anyway? 
I'll just try to sleep, perchance to dream, laying in the freezing cold.
This is going to be a long, long  night coming. 
I suspect not too long before I'm gone…

Last Human Musician

Stefan Kraft added some beautiful orchestral sounds to Debra's piano piece. Here I used the exactly same vocals as in the previous version with just the piano.

Reverence JFC (based on Debra Buesking / Stefan Kraft instrumental)

My synaesthesic sense tells me Bb major is the blue key, so that is what I used (back in 1992) for the June movement of my Musical Calendar. I hope you sense a summery feel, even if the connection of blue skies to the key of the piece is not so evident for you!
For the full cycle of the months, click here: https://soundcloud.com/rokmusic-913408066/sets/a-musical-calendar?si=bc65dc4f7ce64d769fdfafc3c279b646&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

A Musical Calendar: 06 June

This prelude has an intense dark energy that comes from the Presto tempo and the key of B flat minor; there are some moments of respite, including a few tender, aching phrases just before the end, but largely the mood is one restless momentum, with touches of fury and pain in the mix. The ending is one of defiance.

Prelude 22 in B flat minor

Frédéric Chopin's Waltz in B Minor, Op. 69/2.  Recorded by Romantic pianist-composer Robert Cunningham on May 19, 2025.

See also:
Robert Cunningham's YouTube Channel:  www.youtube.com/c/RobertCunninghamsMusic
Robert Cunningham's Fan Page:  www.facebook.com/RobertCunninghamsMusic
Robert Cunningham's Web Page:  www.RobertCunninghamsMusic.com

Chopin, Waltz in B Minor, Op. 69, No. 2

TEMA  MUY BONITO, EN LA INTERPRETACION DE  F. CANARO CON SU ORQUESTA , CANTANDO ERNESTO FAMA. EN ESTA OPORTUNIDAD CANTA: NORMITA GUARACIO.

TODO TE NOMBRA (TANGO)

I love composing; always have done. I write Opera, Oratorio, Orchestral music, Chamber music, Church music and Song. An ongoing project is composing 'Songs without Words' for solo piano; it is a way of trying to articulate my experience of life, its joys and its pains, its hopes and its disappointments. Currently I have composed 237 songs without words.
For further information, including how to access scores of my music, and any projects you may have that need a composer, please message me on SoundCloud - I will get back to you and we can use other media to discuss music (one of my favourite pastimes!)

SWW 34.2

rokmusic

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