Nujabes- Lovely Vibes

What Do You See

This piece was written for my friend Banri Hoshi after he enquired, “how is that new bassoon piece going?” As any composer would tell you, whenever a performer asks you to write them a piece of music, you say yes and worry about writing it later. This scenario was no different. I sat down later that night and began to write. 

I was inspired by Arabic scales (Maqam) and complex rhythmic patterns commonly used in Indian music. I was also driven by a performance by a jazz alto saxophone player I had seen many months back. With these elements, I crafted this technically challenging, upon Banri’s request, bassoon solo that begins with a lyrical melody high in the register of the instrument before the abrupt change to the driving rhythmic section. This section contains three musical objects, a repeated rhythmic pattern sustaining a single pitch, fast scaler runs up and down the full range of the bassoon, and a melodic groove that keeps the interplay between the first two objects fresh. It concludes with a somber melody employing quarter tones which come directly from the Maqam of the Middle East.

Banri

Music by Cecilia Damström
Gävle Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Andreas Hanson
Recorded: Live performance 2.6.2018 at The Royal Collage of Music in Stockholm

Time is ticking while over 65 million refugees are knocking at the door of Europe in seek of help and hope for a better life. Refugees who have lost everything, who have walked miles, who have paid everything they own for saving their own and their families’ lives. The European Union has had a hard time choosing sides. And while it is tightening the regulations for refugees, the pressured knocking at our door is growing ever stronger. A both economic and humanitarian catastrophe is starting to show its full extent.

Tundo is the latin word for “Knock” and is my description of the catastrophe of our time. I have tried to put in to music the knocking, the wars, the beautiful landscapes refugees have walked by, the rain that has poured over them, the sea and the dangerous boat ride, the screams for help, the arguing among the European Union’s elite bureaucrats, the shouts of “don’t let them in”, the grief and pain due to loss of loved ones, the sympathy we Westerners have but which only lasts as long as the refugees don't affect our own lives in any way. All of this exists at the same time simultaneously, all of this is a part of our time, all of this will be part of our history and a burden on our conscience.

Events like one of the world’s greatest nations choosing a racist, misogynistic man for president, have shattered me and put all my idealism into question. I’m not a politician, I’m not rich nor influential, but through my music I at least try to do my part for making the world a little better place to live in. By touching other people’s hearts and telling the story of those who don’t have a voice of their own in society - the refugees.

Tundo!

A serial style piece I composed for Violin and Guitar, performed live at Hamilton Hall, Denver CO Feb 2019

Fantasia - Violin And Guitar - by Max Hiner

Everybody Move

Flowing - für Orgel und drei Schlagzeuger

Flowing

Still (432) was inspired by the paintings abstract expressionist painter Clyfford Still. The composition is less of a reaction to the paintings but rather, a representation of them in sound. Clyfford Still utilizes many themes in his paintings including the concepts of life and death which I represent in the music. This composition is focused on the instrumental colors of the combination of five instruments and not focused on melody or other traditional musical idioms. This piece is meant to challenge the listener just as the paintings of Still challenge the viewer by creating “environments” to envelop the viewer.
 
Performers: 

Catherine Flinchum-Flute/Piccolo
Chris Leech-Oboe
Kevin Sakai-Clarinet in B-flat
Edwin Savelson-Horn in F
Banri Hoshi-Bassoon

Still (432)

Classical period style sonata - Movement 2 - Andante

U N D E R W A T E R

I never thought I would be the one to join the crowd, to do what everyone else does. Spoiler alert: I did. And I am not sure how I feel about falling into that abyss.  
Throughout Western music history, a general trend among composers of each era has been to react against the music written by their direct predecessors. Growing up with a classical education, I learned (whether I liked it or not) to appreciate and value the past and how it affects us today. So when I had the opportunity for one of my pieces to be premiered in Vienna, Austria the summer of 2020, the history of the city inspired me to compose a piece that merged my developing musical style with musical elements of the past I like. Sort of, taking portions of the past and re-imagining it through the looking glass of the present, if you will.
While in Vienna, I met a violinist who gave a few masterclasses on composing for the violin that I was privileged to attend. One afternoon, this violinist talked with a small group of us about his views on what is valid contemporary art music. They deemed current art music which does not result from music of the twentieth century and the avant-garde tradition to be “old music in new bottles”. By this, they meant, essentially, that music which has been previously written (“old music”) is just re-packaged in today’s perspectives and called ‘new music’. 
Ironically, my first reaction to this notion was to do the very thing I strove to avoid while preparing for Vienna. I began thinking perhaps it could be argued that the music the violinist claimed was the only valid contemporary art music had become “old music in new bottles” itself to many composers today. In doing so, I joined the crowd of composers who reacted against the music and ideas of their predecessors.
But before I just wrote off the violinist’s idea of new music, I decided to give it a try. So, the concept for Falling Into The Abyss for solo violin was born. I quickly lost interest in the piece and abandoned it for a few months in favor of other projects. Nevertheless, Falling Into The Abyss haunted me and forced me to confront it and my opinions on the music of today. Thus, I decided to return from whence I began and re-imagine this “old music in new bottles” through my looking glass of the present. 
Please join me as we fall into the abyss.

11-10-2019

Falling into the Abyss (or) Old Music in New Bottles

Born in 1988 in Greeley, Colorado, Spence deLéon has an inquisitive attitude towards the human condition which manifests as emotional intensity in his musical compositions. From an early age, he remembers music having a profound impact on his life and for being therapeutic, helping him through his toughest times. Because music has made such an impact on him throughout his life, he made the decision to pursue music full heartedly so that he may pass along that experience to others. With a background in yogic teaching and meditation, his works often have an ethereal quality providing a sound scape in which the listener explores a world of texture that slowly progresses. With his background in yoga being a vital part of his life, second only to music, Spence deLéon often incorporates breathing into his music whether literally or representatively. 

Spence deLéon received his B.A. in music composition from the Metropolitan State University of Denver. There he studied with Fred Hess, Leanna Kirchoff, and Cherise Leiter and immediately following his graduation, studied in Germany with Ofer-Ben Amots and Jan Jirasek during the summers of 2014, 2015, and 2016. After living in Munich, Germany he returned home to Denver where he is currently pursuing a M.M. in composition from the University of Denver studying with Bill Hill.

Still (432)

SpencedeLéon

Recent comments

Veills

Related tracks