February 2025

Compositions by Coreen Morsink

by Coreen Morsink
cello: Sigrid Vandenbogaerde

Finalist at the 2014 Sorodha Composition Competition

Conversations with a Rose

First Two movements of "Fairy Tales for Princess Katerina" composed and played by Coreen Morsink
Movement 1: Moonlight, Movement 2: Magic Forest.  For complete recording listen/purchase at: http://coreenmorsink.bandcamp.com/track/fairy-tales-for-princess-katerina

Fairy Tales For Princess Katerina By Coreen Morsink, First And Second Movement

✨ FACELESS (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Available on all streaming platforms :)
↳ https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/insiya/faceless-original-motion-picture-soundtrack

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This soundtrack includes three short tracks which served as the score for the upcoming film by the same name, 'Faceless' written & directed by the wonderful Assel Akhmetova. It will premiere at the Reel Asian Film Festival on November 16th, 2024.

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Comment, like, share, spread the art ♡

Faceless (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

I Am Not Them

Thoughts on a Still Night 靜夜思 is one of the most popular Chinese poems by the beloved Chinese poet 李白 (Li Bai, 701-762AD) of the Tang Dynasty. Like many others, I was taught to recite the poem at a very young age. Setting this beauty poetry to music naturally became my first goal when I started to compose many years ago. The piece itself is romantic and sentimental in style. The choral setting is lyrical and non melismatic. The vocal line stresses on the natural rhyme of the words such that it echos the simplicity and hyperbolic language of the poem. The piano accompaniment is impressionistic and at times elaborate. It serves as both the harmonic pillar and the backdrop that highlights the imaginative scenario of the poem. The theme depicts the wandering feeling of the poet at his time; in a contemporary sense, the music conveys certain nostalgia for those who travel and settle abroad.
A beautiful performance by the Exultate Chamber Singers "SONGS NEW AND OLD October 25th 2024.

Thoughts on a Still Night 靜夜思 (SATB choir) - Alice Ping Yee Ho


Kerata for Straton for 19-Division Trumpet by Coreen Morsink 
This live home studio recording predates a planned World Premiere and future professional studio recording. 

' 'Kerata for Straton' depicts a day in the life of Straton, a fictional salpinx (trumpet) player at the time of the Trojan War. Although Straton is a made up character, he is based on the fact that music was a part of life in ancient Greece and the trumpet,
or rather the salpinx at the time, was used as an instrument for armies during the Trojan War as written in Homer's Iliad. References to music making are not frequent in the Iliad but even Achilles, when not fighting, sits with his friend Patroclus and plays the phorminx. In this made up story, all Straton, wanted in life was to enjoy playing the trumpet and to play instruments like the phorminx, kitharis, lyra and other instruments at happy events but he was forced to play salpinx commands in the army. Generally of good humour, Straton carries on after witnessing the horrific carnage of war
as well hearing of the sorrow of Achilles upon receiving the news of Patroclus' death. From this experience, Straton decides to become a bard and relay the sadness of the war through song and the playing of the kitharis and lyra.
Note about the title: Kerata means 'horns' in Greek and animal horns were used in ancient Greece as musical instruments (and thus the word). Straton was a boy's name in ancient Greece and is related to the word 'stratos' στράτος which means army.' (C.M.)
Quotes
"...what satisfaction can I get from that, now that my closest friend is dead, Patroclus, who was more to me than any other of my men, whom I loved as much as my own life?" Iliad by Homer-XVIII.65
"Clear as the trumpet's voice when it soundeth aloud beneath the press of murderous foeman" Iliad by Homer- XVIII.219

https://coreenmorsink.wordpress.com/about/


Kerata for Straton for 19-Division Trumpet (2024) by Coreen Morsink

Performed live by Black Box Ensemble, November 23 2024 at Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew, NYC.
Tyler Neidermayer, Recording and mixing engineer

Leonard Bopp, conductor
Annie Nikunen, flute
Tyler Neidermayer, bass clarinet
Lauren Conroy, violin
Jordan Bartow, cello
Yifei Xu, keyboard
J Clancy, pecussion

Originally commissioned by Ensemble Paramirabo. 

ABOUT
“Stygian pulse” (2023) refers to a chronic throbbing pain in my left shoulder and neck that I have been experiencing for over ten years. It is shapeshifting in its colour and intensity and even its sonic properties, but most days it is an inky, dark, and dull recurrence. The normal medical routes for pain relief have proven ineffective beyond a temporary period.

While the pain doesn’t majorly inhibit any of my daily activities, my inability to alleviate it has
created a sort of “settling:” the pain has become mundane, foreverhere – unpredictable in its exact rhythm or temperament, but with a certitude that it will return, beating darkly. As a feature of my body for over a third of my time on Earth, I’m quite sure it’s here until the end. My stygian pulse – tiny focused outbursts until I die.

Stygian Pulse (sextet + electronics)

Mecca Illuminations

erosion for solo violin composed by Coreen Morsink, live recording by Mizuka Yamamoto, Athens Greece.  Recording converted to A=432.  

erosion for solo violin, by Coreen Morsink played by Mizuka Yamamoto, violin

No. 2,3,4 and 10 from the 12-1 Preludes by Coreen Morsink.  These particular preludes use the strings of the piano which have been altered by putting blu-tak to make certain strings a quarter-tone lower (approximately!) The full set of preludes can be bought at http://demerararecords.com/ or heard/watched at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DjF13UTWEA Thank you for listening! 

12 - 1 Preludes For Prepared Piano 2,3,4 And 10 By Coreen Morsink

This version of "Andromache's Recitativo, Aria and Subtext" has been altered using Audacity programme to A=432hz.  The sound quality is slightly less nice than the original which Carla Rees recorded at standard A=440hz.  Many thanks to Carla Rees for her open-mindedness about pitch, frequency and microtones! This piece would not have existed without her fabulous collaboration and help with fingerings and techniques for this rare instrument.  

Permission to use the text from the play "Andromache" by Euripides translated by Philip Vellacott has been given by ‘The Society of Authors as the literary representative of the Estate of Philip Vellacott’.  Score available for purchase at http://www.tetractys.co.uk/photo_10848381.html

Andromache, by C. Morsink, extract converted to A=432hz, played by Carla Rees

Trumpeter specialising in contemporary music, and especially microtonal music.

Kerata for Straton for 19-Division Trumpet (2024) by Coreen Morsink

Stephen C. Altoft