"Constant Companion" is an ode to our steadfast idealism, rampant corruptibility, and our incessant ability to generate fear in ourselves and in anyone willing to believe in it. Rather than reflect literally on any one example, the piece seeks to represent a metaphorical progression through five short movements.

Symphonic Suite No. 1 "Constant Companion"

Symphonic Suite No. 1 Mvt IV: Grave / Allegro marcato

Symphonic Suite No. 1 Mvt III: Adagio lamentoso

Symphonic Suite No. 1 Mvt I: Andante con moto & Mvt II: Allegro furioso

"This Sad Knot" explores the entire plot of Shakespeare's The Tempest where instead of the events unfolding in reality as they were written, we are a witness to them from the perspective of Prospero's mind in which delusion and fact are blurred.

Much in the same way that we often dream of a different response to conflicts in our head, Prospero mulls over his choices, getting lost in his emotions and his own insanity. He begins to dream of twisted scenarios where he uses magic to torture people who have brought misfortune to his life, or at least as he perceives them to have.

It is unknown whether Miranda existed or not as Prospero's thoughts continue to be confused, but what is known is that Prospero longs for her all the same. Briefly, his mind wakes him from his trance only to sink into a deeper pit of despair as he aches for that which is unknown to him. It is then with a positive resolution that Prospero's heart feels the heaviest.

This Sad Knot

I will often try to create pieces using other recordings either of my own work or the more infrequently works of other composers. Typically, I use a single recording such as this one to create all of the sounds. Apparently, in this world of mine, not all waltzes are in three.

La Valse À Quatre

Here, again, is a piece I wrote in a score notation program (Finale 2002 I believe) only to be dissatisfied with the MIDI output. Well, that's not entirely true; I do like MIDI sounds, even the "bad" ones. I just also like to warp things.

This is the first piece of experimental electronic music I created. AT this point in time, I was using a very bare-bones program which didn't allow me to see the waveform, only had the ability to speed up, slow down, and reverse, and add recordings (but not remove).  The premise behind the piece had to do with the passage of time from the perspective of an old pianist, reminiscing about his life; and yes, that is a tape cassette player button.

Moonlight

I had the fortune of being introduced to the mandolin and (Irish) bouzouki by a good friend of mine through his music shop and through a band we had together.  Around the same time began an interest in recording acoustic instruments. Bouzoukikhan is the first piece I created by playing and recording several instruments using one of those computer desk mics you plug into the back of your SoundBlaster.

Bouzoukikhan

There's not much to say here except there's an English fiddle tune from the 1700s(?)called Nonesuch that a friend and I like to play which is a wee bit annoying. To get around that last detail, I decided it would be fun to have it run through a few keys changing the arrangement as it progressed. Then, for whatever reason, a very-not-so-savory version of "Tales from the Vienna Woods" made it into the recording (sorrynotsorry Strauss).

Nonesuch & Tales from the Vienna Woods

This was the third of a set of three character pieces I wrote for study, though to be honest, I don't remember what character this was suppose to be.

Character Piece No. 3

Based in NYC, I am a composer / musician, and among other things, woodworker / artist. I received a MM in Composition from CUNY Brooklyn College in 2019 and have been writing for orchestra and experimental playback for more than 20 years.

Much of the focus in my music attempts to grapple with our world and our experiences within and without it from historical and current events, to our relationship with nature. While his primary focus is in concert music, he also writes playback pieces to serve as sound environments and accompaniments to video which focus on enveloping the listener rather than providing a traditionally musical experience.

T.A.DePew