Abandon (2013)

Latest Mix: 6 November 2022

David D. McIntire: Berhinger 2600 + Erica SYNTRX

Things to See & Do in Svalbard (original version)

Sextet by Makiah Heinzmann

An exceptional studio recording, by STELLAR violinist Yu-Fang Chen, of a piece written in Rome in 1989, as the Berlin wall was falling and Eastern Europe was experiencing a newfound freedom.  The opening and closing sections reflect the folk sound of these countries, while the scherzo-like middle section reflects the energy and optimism of a new era.

Soggiorno (for Violin And Fixed Media)

To hear with Richard Johnson's original video art:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAzwZweqzA8&feature=youtu.be

One of the most striking and defining visuals of the United States Deep South is that of the southern live oak tree (Quercus virginiana) shrouded in Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides). A tangled and bluish-grey flowering plant, Spanish moss can be seen draped from the sprawling, gnarled branches of oaks throughout the region, hanging ghost-like across its swampy landscape. Southern Specter adopts this poetic image as its subject and is comprised of two different kinds of music. The first is both representational and external, in that it seeks to be a musical embodiment of a moss-covered tree, depicting the delicate moss swaying in a gentle breeze and the tree’s appearance under various gradations of sunlight. The second kind of music is expressive and internal, seeking to convey the various thoughts and feelings one might have upon viewing such an image. Having grown up on the Gulf Coast of Texas, I could not help but channel my own emotional experiences which have ranged from serenity, solemnness, and nostalgia to gloom and ominousness. Richard Johnson’s accompanying film plays with analogous concerns on the visual front: perspective, representation versus abstraction, light and shadow, and ambiguity.

Special thanks to Jungle Gardens of Avery Island, Louisiana, for film footage and inspiration.

Performance on April 8, 2018, by Loop38
Douglas DeVries, flute
Jacob Schafer, violin
Sergein Yap, viola
Nathan Watts, cello
Yvonne Chen, piano

Southern Specter (2018)

This is the finished piece. Use headphones for the full effect.

Beneath The Subconscious

a glimpse of the truth in the shadowstorm

Sonata for Oboe and Piano (3rd movement)
https://composerjim.com/works/sonata-oboe/

(total) duration: 15′

program notes by the composer:

In the winter of 2014, I was asked to step in and guest-conduct a local youth orchestra. In the effort to familiarize the young musicians with the concept that “all composers are not dead”, I shared with them the fact that I was a real-life, full-time composer, who actually makes his living staying at home and writing music all day. As expected (with youngsters), there were no “oohs” nor “aahs”, nor any sign of light-bulbs going on, so we just continued on with our work and the task at hand.

However, upon completion of the rehearsal, I was approached by one of the parents, who was sitting in the back of the room, and we struck up a conversation. Apparently he had been listening to my story, and was curious about my life as a composer. As an professional inventor himself, we shared similarities in our life’s passions.

The conversation with Mr. Doug Williams went even further, and imagine my surprise and delight when he approached me with the idea of writing a new work.  The project was so compelling (to me, at least), that I immediately agreed to it, and the idea of the oboe sonata was born. The piece was to be for his daughter, as a gift upon her graduation from Juilliard.  As a parent myself, I could not think of a better gift to a child. This piece is dedicated, with pleasure, to Doug Williams, and his daughter, Lauren. Thank you for your unique and giving spirit, and for furthering the idea of new music being invented!

About the music:

The sonata is similar in form to that of the Poulenc oboe sonata (one of Doug’s favorites): slow-fast-slow. The first movement itself, however, has an internal form of slow-fast-slow, mirroring the larger picture. An octave-leap motif initiates the piece, and becomes a central figure throughout the work. In mirror-image to the first movement, the second movement has an internal structure of fast-slow-fast. The movement is a showcase for both players – as sonatas ought to be – and is meant to highlight both the technical and lyrical attributes of the soloists. The third movement is a chorale-like dirge. It is marked “funereal” – mainly for purposes of tempo. It is not as morbid as the tempo-marking suggests, but certainly carries a sense of longing. It finally resolves in E major – a key suggested throughout, but never fully realized.

Jim Stephenson; April, 2014

Sonata for Oboe and Piano - 3rd movement

Galactic Peace is the third track on "Symbiotique", the debut album of Davis & Eaton

Since 2017, Seth Andrew Davis & Michael Eaton have been organizing and playing together in Second Nature Ensemble and Social Ecology Project, exploring group improvisation and composition. With “Symbiotique”, Davis & Eaton play as a duo. “Symbiotique” consists of 8 tracks where Davis & Eaton explore each other's compositional and improvisational voices, ranging from free improvisation to heavily processed electro-acoustic explorations.


“Symbiotique” is the inaugural release of Davis & Eaton’s record label Mother Brain Records. Mother Brain Records is a Kansas City based label focusing on improvised and experimental musics.

releases May 1, 2020

Seth Andrew Davis - electric guitar/FX
Michael Eaton - woodwinds

Recorded at Parcheesi Studio in Huntington, NY
Recorded by Bob Stander at Parcheesi Studios
Mixed & Mastered by Seth Andrew Davis

Galactic Peace - Davis & Eaton

These four songs are excerpted from music written for a production of Bertolt Brecht’s epic play, The Caucasian Chalk Circle. In the context of the play, they are all sung by the heroine, Grusha Vachnadze, a servant girl working in the governor’s kitchen at the time of a bloody coup. In the confusion, the murdered governor’s infant son is left behind by his horrible mother, who is more interested in which dresses she can save. The child is found and rescued by Grusha, who flees the city, hunted by soldiers who wish the child heir dead. Over the course of her travels and travails, Grusha falls in love with the child, finally claiming him as her own. The Song of the Rotten Bridge, Lullaby, and Song of the Child reflect a progression from her loving and claiming the child, to seeing in him a future of redemption for the sins of his father. In the second song, Song of the Center, Grusha sings of her fiancé Simon, who has been conscripted into the military to fend off the invading armies. 

The music for The Caucasian Chalk Circle was commissioned by the Dordt College Theatre Department. The texts are from Frank McGuinness’ adaptation of Stefan S. Brecht’s translation of the original play. Where the original play indicated titles (Song of the Rotten Bridge, Song of the Center, and so on), they have been retained in the score. 

Texts used by permission.

Lullaby

Composer, percussionist, and guitarist. Ears wide open. Recently a professor of composition and music theory at Washington State University, currently catching my breath.

Lots more here: linktr.ee/scottblasco