Voice, Guitar
(1983)

"The Swan is very graceful in the water."

The Animal Cantata - The Swan

The Animal Cantata - A Curious Cat

The Animal Cantata - Ducks - Mother Ducks

Chamber Orchestra
(2008)

Has American pop culture and the handful of mega media corporations that control it destroyed fine art?

America Shot Webern In The Garden Of Eden

Solitude Synching Into Something

Chamber Orchestra
(1986)

Machinery that gives us abundance has left us in want.
Our cleverness has made us hard and unkind.
We think too much and feel too little.
More than machinery, we need humanity.

Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men,
Machine men with machine minds and machine hearts.
You are not machines.
You have the love of humanity in your heart.

                                                           - Charlie Chaplin (1940)

In memory of all those killed by machines with wheels and wings.

Requiem for a Twittering Machine

Wintertime For Chattering In Basement

Fl, B.Cl, Vln, Vlc, Pno
(2009)

While the indomitable urban grid hovers over a cracking concrete, the seedling finds its home.  Eradicate this vicious weed.

Springtime For Gentle Risings Within Gridlock

for Classical Guitar - 2015

Programme Notes:
Over the past few summers I have been spending time in a Newfoundland fishing village called Bay de Verde, situated on a small outcrop jutting out into the North Atlantic.  It is surrounded by a region which the locals call “The Barrens”.  One can walk freely off trail and experience its starkness, its wonders, and its foreboding tension.  It is dotted with huge misplaced boulders and craggy hills where one can climb atop and observe vast majestic vistas.  But it is also carpeted with an exotic and intimate micro environment of low brush, moss, and lichen.  “Wandering The Barrens” attempts to musically represent a meandering journey through these Barrens.  Where to wander and what will be experienced?  The answer is unknowable.  These musical wanderings may fall prey to an ambiguous and unpredictable world.

Other Information:
Guitarist – Adam Batstone, Audio Engineer – Pouya Hamidi, Recorded live at the Canadian Music Centre (Toronto) on December 17, 2015 as part of the Class Axe Guitar Concert, co-presented by the CMC and the Guitar Society of Toronto

Wandering The Barrens

When Stompin’ Tom Connors, the legendary Canadian country and folk singer-songwriter passed away in March of 2013, I thought of paying homage to him by creating a piece of music that incorporated stomping in the same way he often pounded on a plywood board while performing.  I finally came up with “The Futility of the Furious Stomp” for flute, violin, and percussion. Although Stompin’ Tom’s plywood stomping was my jump off point to creating the piece and there are a couple of subtle references to his musical style to give the piece a kind of rhythmical drive, I did not attempt to imitate him.  My intention was to create music that has an energetic and rather eccentric character. 
The title of the piece alludes to the idea that anger and aggression never solve our problems; it is acts of compassion, kindness, and peace that make our lives and world more joyous. The music ends in a way that reflects this ideal.

William J. Peltier

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