Miscellany I

Pablo Villegas, guitar

from Sketchpad for guitar, op. 4

The Deutsche is of course counted in three.  But my accompanying line is counted rather in two, making for some rather piquant rhythmic clashes.

A friend who heard this recording once told me, to my dismay, that the number sounded Spanish!  I wondered, would quite anything played by Spanish guitarists sound that way to her?  Then I remembered the hemiola (two against three)effect I had employed; yes, a widely recognized hallmark of Hispanic music! 

Recoded in New York City
2006

German Dance; op. 4, no. 3

Scott Roche, baritone
Sweet Plantain String Quartet

from Eight Poems of Amy Clampitt for baritone and string quartet, op. 62

This poem, one of Clampitt's few involving a significant personal dimension, concerns the breakup of an amatory relationship.

A link to the poem. (If it becomes inactive, please do let me know and I will try to find another.)

http://books.google.com/books?id=plPqF3hbcXkC&pg=PT80&dq=clampitt+%22hairline+fracture%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=qGAgVJ-UGpD4yQSk_YGQCQ&ved=0CBQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=clampitt%20%22hairline%20fracture%22&f=false

Recorded in New York City
2007

A Hairline Fracture, from op. 62 (live)

One thing I like about SoundCloud is that it doesn't provide a medium just for professional level recordings, but also for others (with something to recommend them of course) in between.  If a given listener doesn't want to experience the industry's seamy underbelly, she can just skip that particular track!  Elsewhere on this site, I have my complete Salon Music for piano trio, recorded in Bulgaria in August of 2014.  So if anyone wants to hear a polished and perfectly recorded and rendered version of this number, please just go there.  But I am so fond of this demo that I wonder if others will enjoy hearing it too.

It is common practice when a composer can't be physically present at a recording session to send her a preliminary demo, to make sure there weren't any misread notes, or to invite commentary.  Musicians the world over will attest that I always have something to say, in good English and French, and pretty good Italian and German, or poor Spanish.  But in this case I was brought up short.  I couldn't get over how these European musicians (British violinist, Bulgarian 'cellist, Romanian pianist) had such a feel for its popular American idiom.

The recording has too high a gain, but that just makes it sound like a hoary radio broadcast; the rehearsal piano is subpar, but that just makes it sound more honky-tonk.  Everyone seems to be enjoying their roles:  'cellist as superannuated vaudeville hoofer; violin, his trusty sidekick; pianist, stolid manager and emcee.  Everyone's having as much fun playing here as I did writing it!     

Soft Shoe (raw demo)

Peter Fletcher, guitar
CBC Radio Orchestra
Mario Bernardi, cond.

In a single, sectionalized movement (Intrada, Bolero, Cadenza, Rondo).

Recorded 1997
Point Grey, British Columbia

Concertino for guitar and chamber orchestra, op. 17 (live)

THE LAST ACT...(CHOIR and ORCHESTRA)

билет на игрушечный поезд

I've started posting a few tracks that feature isolated instruments on previously uploaded songs, just for fun. On this one, I've done a bit of a short remix to highlight the nasty harmonica solo at the end of one of my fave songs I collaborated on with the charming & talented Eclectic Collective gang. It was the first time I'd tried playing that style with the heavy echo/reverb effect, and I was surprised how it turned out. 
Here's a link to the original full song, featuring wicked solo turns by several members of the group:

https://on.soundcloud.com/NcZz44EUFyChiR4LA

More goodies in the "ISOLATED TRACKS" playlist:
https://soundcloud.com/user-432503709/sets/isolated-tracks
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image created using a mix of ChatGPT AI and Photoshop

A Brush With Death (BLUES HARP SOLO)

This is a song originally written and performed by Soundcloud artist 'A Girl From Wonder' (@user-712848711), whose music I've admired for a while. I've loved this one since the first time I heard it, and aways wanted to try some sort of collaboration, but it's hard to mess with the stark simple beauty of the original. But here's my attempt to add some dashes of colour to her voice and guitar strumming, adding instruments like upright bass, organ, banjo, cello, and percussion. The banjo parts are mainly a bunch of sound samples I found and cut up and arranged to fit in with the melody I wanted to play (wish I could just play banjo instead!). I tried to keep her evocative voice the main focal point, and we're both pretty happy with how this turned out. 

Thanks again Brittany for letting me work with your song, it's pretty special. 

Here's the original, and I encourage folks to check it out as well as other great tunes on her page. Thanks for listening!

https://soundcloud.com/user-712848711/wild-walking

Wild Walking (collab with A Girl From Wonder)

Music: Little Man & Janne Hennie
Lyrics & Vocals: Janne Hennie
Instruments & Mix: Little Man

Lyrics:

Do you see something falling from the sky?
Be afraid
Maybe you have lost your mind!

All the crap you filled into your brain
It may explode
And you will end up insane!

Do you hear bells and screaming in your ears?
Be afraid
It's something that shouldn't be there!

All the crap you filled into your brain
It may explode
And you will end up insane!

Do you see scary monsters in the dark?
Be afraid
Now it is going to far!

All the crap  you filled into your brain
It may explode
And you will end up insane!

Do you find yourself crawling on the floor?
Be afraid
Your brain couldn't take anymore!

All the crap you filled into your brain
It has exploded
And you have gone insane!

Insane

this is my old buddy mike's original song from the 80's that he asked me to record. also his pen drawing.

paranoid neozoid

I wrote this song in Summer 2023. It's a joyful get-up-the-morning and enjoy the day song.
I recorded most of the instruments in a tent at a festival on a very very hot day, where I was storytelling.

Fly with the Day like a runaway Kite

28.02.2025 only fly 1

Reworked on Musescore, due to be recorded live in studio at end of March'25

Creed

""Don't Be Denied" is a key song in Neil Young history. It's from the live stage album Time Fades Away taken from tours done to support Young's outstanding smash hit Harvest, and at the same time done during one of Young's darkest times, right after longtime collaborator Danny Whitten had died of an overdose of alcohol and Valium. Young was hitting the bottle pretty hard here and singing in a falsetto voice, the combination of which would cause him to develop a throat infection. Young, with his heart always on his sleeve, sang what he felt.
As stated in Neil Young: Long May You Run: The Illustrated History, "'Don't Be Denied' is an unguardedly autobiographical tune that traces Young's life from his parent's [1961] divorce to his current dichotomous status as poor in soul but rich in commercial success."
The time of Young's parents' divorce was turbulent, as the separation was anything but amicable. However at the time, 16-year-old Neil was raising chickens and selling the eggs, with plans to go to Ontario Agricultural College and be a farmer. Only his leisure activities foretold his future, when he would hide from his family problems in his room with his transistor radio playing local station CHUM. From this, Young learned admiration for Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and of course Elvis. In 1958, his father bought Neil his first music instrument, a plastic ukulele. His father would later recall, "He would close the door of his room... and we would hear plunk, pause while he moved his fingers to the next chord, plunk, pause while he moved again, plunk."                      Songfacts

Don't Be Denied-Neil Young (Cover)

Scores are available for study or performance for the asking, in pdf form or as hard copy.

VFrost2468@gmail.com

German Dance; op. 4, no. 3

Victor Frost — composer

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