‘If I Were A Bell’
by Frank Loesser

Bass - Alex Tremblay
Guitar - Tony Davis
Piano - Oliver Glynn 

Recorded live at Big and Tall Studios in November 2020

If I Were A Bell - Nov 2020 session

Program Notes:

For about a year or so, I have been fascinated with a program by the name of ‘PaulStretch’. It’s software that stretches an audio recording you upload through it. This is not to be confused with slowing down audio. This alters pitch as well as speed. When using PaulStretch, the finished audio still retains the same pitches as before, only now stretched out by hundreds of times. It does this by first breaking the audio down into its component frequencies. It then modulates and randomizes their phases before reconstructing it back together again. The result can be breathtaking. Frequencies and harmonics blend together, fading in and out of each other to create this beautiful, atmospheric sound world. I would really recommend searching for it on YouTube; one of the more notable examples is Justin Bieber’s “U Smile” slowed down by 800%. Upon hearing this for the first time, I was blown away. What can be a simple transition from a single note to another is turned into this magnificent build of tension and release. The use of this song in particular is of course ironic. This “paint by numbers” pop song is turned into a symphony of harmonics, hair pinning into one another to create some of the most beautiful sounds I’ve ever heard. It may be even be beneficial to the performers to listen to this before hand.

What I wanted to do was recreate this on a massive scale, using real breathing musicians as opposed to a computer program. ‘Flux’ has been carefully written to emulate the sounds produced in these recordings. Like these altered recordings, the piece focuses heavily on frequencies and harmonics. The climax of the piece is the entire harmonic series being played at once, layered among the different sections of the orchestra. When played correctly, the audience should feel as though they are being physically pushed back by the sound created. This crescendos into the orchestra “melting” into a massive C major chord.

‘Flux’ is an experiment with the perception of time. The title itself is defined as being “continuous change, passage, or movement”. The piece is almost monotonous, moving at a lethargic tempo of 30 bpm. It’s my goal that the act of listening to the piece does not reflect this, and that the listeners attention is focused without force on the sound world created during the performance.


Samples Used:
East West Symphonic Brass
East West Symphonic Winds
East West Symphonic Orchestra
East West Symphonic Percussion
East West Twisted Textures
Logic Pro X Stock Samples 


Flux - for Orchestra and Computer (Midi Realization)

!A!B!C!D! is a piece exploring an abrupt “!” transition before and between four distinct sections (A, B, C, D). A motive of a short descending scale is heard at the beginning and exists in different forms throughout the piece. The four sections are meant to be untied formally so as to exaggerate the abrupt transition. The “!” transition could be compared to clicking between tabs on a browser, or changing a channel. 

This recording is a performance (April 2, 2016) by the UNCSA orchestra under the baton of Christopher Lees. The performance took place at Crawford hall in UNCSA's campus. I am extremely grateful to the musicians and conductor for putting so much effort into the piece while having little time to learn it. 

!A!B!C!D!

This piece was co-composed by Nicholas Karr and Oliver Glynn.

"Numbers That Are Pleasant Together" is an exploration of polyrhythms. Each member of the quartet has headphones giving them a click tempo that is different from the other three players. The result of the overlapping tempos creates a steady 11 over 7 over 5 over 3 polyrhythm. 

A 12 tone row derived from numbers in the golden ratio is also embedded in parts of the piece.

This recording is from a performance on December 4th, 2016. 
(the audio starts shortly after the beginning of the piece: I forgot to record at first)

Soprano Sax - Caleb Carpenter
Alto Sax - Kyle Greaney
Tenor Sax - Timothy Bachman
Baritone Sax - Andrew Hasher

Numbers That Are Pleasant Together (December 2016 performance)

Original Music: Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development

An arrangement of the main theme from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Scored in Logic Pro X with sample libraries by East West, Spitfire and Native Instruments.

Breath of the Wild - Main Theme - Orchestral Arrangement

This recording is from a performance in UNCSA's Watson Hall on October 28, 2017.

John Glynn - Horn
Oliver Glynn - Piano

'One of my earliest introductions to composition was writing short pieces for my father and I to play. The voice of the horn has remained an influence throughout my writing. "Atticus Toast" is referring to the character Atticus Finch from Haper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Although I am sure Atticus would enjoy some toast, I am using the word as a verb not as a food.'

Atticus Toast (October 2017 performance)

This recording is from a performance in UNCSA's Watson Hall on October 28, 2017.

Mezzo-Soprano soloist – Sara Roberts
Piano - Oliver Glynn
                                              Sopranos:
Logan Trotter 
Madelyn Ward 
Peyton Marion
                                              Tenors:
AJ Robinson 
Christian Burleson 
Micah White
                                               Altos:
Sara Roberts 
Veronica Siebert
                                               Basses:
Jalen Hicks 
Eric Powell 
Scott Lee

'This piece is an exploration of how the world and our thoughts often change at night. Sometimes it fills us with calm, or anticipation, or turmoil. Occasionally we are awe-inspired to see the world blanketed in stars.'

Poems:
Sleepy Birds (translated from Romanian)
by Mihai Eminescu 

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer
by Walt Whitman

Nighttime Search (October 2017 performance)

Cricket Standard Time

Night Shift

Written for violinist James Ehnes in memory of cellist Toby Saks, Resonance is scored for violin and three cellos.  The cellos lead a canon with the violin following.  The violin takes up the gestures of the cellos in a recognizable way, but with a personal stamp. Over the course of the piece, the cellos splinter off to wrap themselves around the violin line in a shadowy, warm embrace.

RESONANCE

Blackbird
written by Paul McCartney

Thanks to the super talented Carolyn Weller for singing!
Vocals - Carolyn Weller
Piano - Oliver Glynn

from an informal recording session September 15, 2019

Blackbird - September 2019

Moonlight in Vermont 
Featuring the amazing Oliver Glynn on piano. (Thanks Oliver!)

September 2019.

Night Shift

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