Track 1 from the album Isolation Journal 2 - breathe by Douglas Schmidt and John Oliver.

Isolation Journal 2 - breathe

Tree Breath

Meditation_in 53_bpm " track is part of " Communal Music Vol. 9  compilation published by AEMC records -https://aemc.bandcamp.com/track/meditation-in-53-bpm

Azecevic Meditation In 53 Bpm

The music for "Blue and Sky" was composed as a way to process my profound sadness in reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It found its way into a dance and piano work "With" and was arranged as a stand-alone piece for the carillon. The version for Earplay asks the musicians to play from memory and in darkness. It is advisable for the audience to close their eyes while listening.

Recorded live at CCRMA Stage on November 16, 2022 by Earplay:
Jessie Nucho, bass flute 
Peter Josheff, clarinet 
Terrie Baune, violin 
Ellen Ruth Rose, viola 
Evan Kahn, cello

Blue and Sky (quintet version)

San Francisco New Music Ensemble
Dir. Nicole Paiement

Le temps scintillé (2006)

Violin: Jennifer Choi
Cimbalom: David Shively

Rosée du matin, flocons du soir (2012)

In beginning a new work, the choice of instruments is almost invariably made by the commissioner rather than the composer. Thus it was a rare and much appreciated opportunity to compose a work for Vancouver New Music and score it for several of my favourite instruments: alto flute, soprano sax, flugelhorn, tenor trombone, vibraphone, contrabass, and Hammond organ. Circadia is something of a neologism, a combination of circadian (“designating physiological activity which occurs approximately every twenty-four hours, or the rhythm of such activity” - OED) and Arcadia (“the ideal region of rural contentment” -OED). I don’t know too much about rural contentment, but I do appreciate the natural rhythms of the day and especially the simultaneous repetition and endless variety in the passage of time day by day. This idea is the genesis of the work: cycles of repetition and variation, changes of colour and texture. The chosen wind instruments share a rich middle register, allowing musical gestures to be passed from one instrument to another and for harmonies to be re-orchestrated without being restructured.

Research has indicated that while circadian rhythms are acquired in animal activity, they are a physiological necessity for plants, specifically the alternation of periods of light and darkness. This alternation is also an aspect of the central metaphor in this piece, both on a musical level and by extension on a personal and spiritual level. This recording is an excerpt from a live performance by the Vancouver New Music Ensemble recorded by the CBC. The full recording is freely available on the streaming service of the Canadian Music Centre. - BL

Circadia (2003) Excerpt

Haddingjar is a chamber work for five performers with live audio and video. The work is scored for alto saxophone, violin, guitar, percussion, and piano. In the spring of 2014 I spent several weeks in Norway working on a number of projects, and shot a considerable amount of video in Hallingskarvet National Park. The park is situated at the top of the mountain range in central Norway, and lies above the tree-line in many places. The severe glacial landscape is spotted with small huts and houses used by locals interested in hiking and skiing. I love the images of a sparse occupation of a very bleak and spacious landscape, and imagine a musical work that likewise emphasizes moments of focus and unity within expanses of rugged emptiness. These video clips form the basis for the optional video component to this piece, and also inspired the title: the Haddingjar are a mythological people said to have occupied this area in ancient times. The work was commissioned by the Rubbing Stone Ensemble with the generous assistance of the Ontario Arts Council. This recording is an excerpt from a live performance by the Noiseborder Ensemble performance in 2018. –BL

Haddingjar (2016) Excerpt

Brent Lee is a composer, media artist, and musician whose work explores the relationships between sound, image, and technology, especially through multimedia performance. He has created more than one hundred works, ranging from orchestral music to interactive media pieces to film soundtracks. His most recent project is entitled Homstal, a set of multimedia pieces featuring saxophone improvisation in an interactive audiovisual environment. He is a co-founder of the Noiseborder Ensemble and the Electric Improv Lab, and teaches in the School of Creative Arts at the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada.

Haddingjar (2016) Excerpt

Brent Lee

Related tracks