The last movement of my saxophone quartet.  Recording of a live performance by Goran Daskalov (soprano sax) Karen Cubides (alto sax) Marta Tiesenga (tenor sax) Dylan Anderson (bari sax)  

Saxophone Quartet (2008) - IV.

The first movement of my saxophone quartet. Recording of a live performance by Goran Daskalov (soprano sax) Karen Cubides (alto sax) Marta Tiesenga (tenor sax) Dylan Anderson (bari sax) A fun secret: the opening passage spells something in morse code...

Saxophone Quartet (2008) - I.

Flute solo piece inspired by the Edgar Allen Poe poem of the same title.  Recording of a live performance by Joseph Monticello, who the piece was written for.  

painting is "Blumen in der Nacht" by Paul Klee

Annabel Lee (2008)

Epistulae, which means letters in Latin, is a collection of music that I made between 2011 and 2017.

This was a time when I was new to producing and had lots of ideas, but limited technical experience. It's been great to circle back in 2021 and rework them in a way that is true to the original intent, but implemented more carefully. Some of these tracks are previously unreleased, while others are from my first two albums, Epistulae Hiemales and Variations.

I think of each track as a little world and they cover a range of genres and emotions. I like the name Epistulae as a nod to the earlier album, and also because they feel like a collection of letters describing different feelings and times of life.

Thank you for listening!
credits
released June 18, 2021

composed, produced, and mixed by Samn Johnson, who also plays some instruments including piano, guitar, viola, melodica, harmonium, and synthesizers.

violins - Anna Piotrowksi
bassoon - Daniel Goldblum
cello - Zac Lavender
viola samples - Molly Collier O'Boyle
mastering - Toshihisa Tsuruoka

album art by Samn Johnson

Fun Note forNerds:
Several alternate tuning systems are used in this record. Nothing extremely unusual sounding for the most part, and largely limited to different ways of tuning 3rds and 5ths. Here is a list of those tunings. All other tracks are in 12 Equal.

5-Limit Just Intonation: Bäume im Herbst, Aporia
Pythagorean Tuning, Hurrian Hymn
1/6th Comma Meantone: Klaglied
First Snow: Combination of Slendro and Pelog from sampled Gamelan instruments (I think, feel free to correct me)
license

Hurrian Hymn

Ockeghem

Aporia

Latin poems from Boethius' consolation of philosophy, set to music by Samn Johnson, and performed by Tis Kaoru Zamler-Carhart.

Nubibus Atris (Clouds)- ft. Tis Kaoru Zamler-Carhart

A setting of the Lord's Prayer in the ancient Gothic language

Performance by:

Atta Unsar

Across the Waves

Hyacinths (putty prepared piano)

Hyacinths

in gemitu

Nocturne

Pavane

Glassy Surface

A live recording of the second movement of my piano trio.  Alan Tilley, violin, Matthew Armbruster, cello

Distance - II. Einstein-Rosen Bridge

Cædmon's Hymn (guitar and synth version)

An electronic track which is named after and samples the great 15th century composer, Johannes Ockeghem.

Incidental Music for String Trio written for a production of Sartre's No Exit.  

Performed by 
Caroline Buse - Violin
Andy Tuck - Viola
Victor Huls - Cello

Engineered by Samn Johnson
Art by Sarah Schwendeman  

Music for No Exit - III.

Music for No Exit - II.

Blue Shift

This composition does not conform to the formal expectations of a pavan, however I think it fits the mood I associate with the dance form.  Painting is 



Pavan

nox perpetua was composed for the JACK quartet and performed on April 9 2017. The piece is inspired by three lines from Catullus 5, and uses the meter of his poem as a rhythmic motif:

soles occidere et redire possunt
nobis cum semel occidit brevis lux
nox est perpetua una dormienda 

suns may set and rise again
but we, once this brief light sinks,
will have an endless night to sleep.

Nox Perpetua

Performed on 04/29 2018 by NYUO¹ with Eduardo Leandro conducting

Empty Spirals

Tehom

A track I contributed for AAURAL II, a wonderful collection of exclusive tracks by some of the coolest cats in Ann Arbor.  Grab the whole compilation here http://grlmtn.bandcamp.com/

Pictured Rocks

performed at the 2018 Bang on a Can Festival by:

Nick Photinos - Cello/ensemble leader
Claire Niderberger - Violin
Rose Kow Xiu Yi - Violin
Yi Chun Lin - Violin
Shannon Leigh Steigerwald - Violin
Kieran Welch - Viola
Molly Collier-O'Boyle - Viola
Ashlee Booth - Cello
Rebecca Lawrence - Bass

Blue Aurora

Performed in Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan by the University Symphony orchesta under the baton of Elim Chan.  

In Some Place

A short piece for four singers and choir based on the text of a Bach chorale.

performed by:
Cassandra Venaglia - Soprano
Carmen Lustik - Alto
Dani Strigi - Tenor
Oscar Pan - Bass

Ach wie flüchtig
ist der Menschen Leben!
Wie ein Nebel bald entstehet,
so ist unser Leben.
Ach wie flüchtig!
Alles, alles was wir sehen
muss fallen und vergehen.

Oh how fleeting
is the human life!
Like a fog quickly forms,
so is our life.
Oh how fleeting!
Everything, everything that we see
must fall and pass by.

wie ein Nebel...

Samn Johnson (b. 1991) is a composer and electronic musician based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. His work juxtaposes music of different times and traditions as a vehicle to explore themes of mysticism and deep time. Samn has studied composition at The Interlochen Arts Academy and the University of Michigan and is pursuing a masters in composition at NYU, where he studies with Julia Wolfe. His current projects include an album of electro-acoustic vocal and instrumental pieces and a multimedia adaptation of Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy.

Samn Johnson

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