Concert Works
SAATB choir, Tenor and Alto soloists, 8 celli, 8 violas and tape
Written for tape, SAATB choir, Alto and Tenor soloists and Cellos and Violas. The tape part uses a new timbre, which I've called a chorgan- a morph between a childs voice and an organ. The piece reflects on the innocence of a child in this situation, while continuing to treate the requiem in its traditional fashion. ****[sheet music: Download Requiem - Introit]****
Diptych
[duration: ca. 6 min.]
solo clarinet
Written as part of the second and third International Summer program of Composition in Prague, Czech Republic, Diptych is a two movement work. The first is a rhythmic deveropment of a 4 note idiom. The second movement, the longer of the two, is more melodically based, while embracing elements of the first movement.
****[sheet music: movement I & movement II]****
- Winner of the IMRO prize for Composition at the 1998 RTE Young Musician of the Future Contest.
- Winning performance of the Contemporary Music Cup at the 1998 Siemens Nixdorf Feis Ceoil.
Innocent Marpl [duration: ca.12min.]
Violin and some tape!
A 2 movement piece telling the tail of the crazy composer, using celtic and contemporary musical interpretational tools.
****[sheet music: movement I & movement II]****
- Commissioned by the Latvian Ministry of Arts & Culture
The Persistence of Memory [duration: ca. 4min 30sec.]
Clarinet / saxophone quartet and tape.
Can be performed either by 4 clarinets or 4 saxophones AND tape. It is based on the painting of the same name by Salvador Dali. Both examine the irrelivence of time. In the music, each of the clocks from the painting are represented with their own theme in the piece. [More detailed information on this piece can be found here]
****[sheet music: Download Score]****
- Selected for performance at the SBCM-IV in Brasilia, Brasil, by the Brasilia Saxophone Quartet.
- Selected for performance at the 1st Electro-acoustic Festival of Cadiz, Spain, by the ITALICA saxophone quartet.
Tremolo Mystique [duration: ca. 6min.]
violin, cello, piano and tape
An electro-acoustic work which examines the 'beat' effect that occurs on a slightly detuned piano. This 'beat' effect is treated as a tremolo, and the piece develops using this very relationship between the violin and cello tremolos and the piano, tremolo'd using samples.
****[sheet music: Download Score]****
Reflections of Prague [duration: ca. 8min.]
solo piano
Written over two summers in Prague, it is in two movements, each being based on a different garden in Prague - the first based on the Wallenstein Gardens, and the second based on the Royal Gardens. As a 2 movement work, I feel it closely causes the reflections and contemplations of Prague that I wished for.
An Gort Mhor-The Great Famine(1846-48) [duration: ca. 13 min.]
Soprano, Clarinet, piano and optional electronics and tape
A trio for Clarinet Soprano and Piano, (optional electonics and tape/sampler).It is based on the libretto by the composer. The piece is in three movements - each running into the next. The libretto tells the story of a lady in the devastating Irish famine of the 1840's.
****[sheet music: movements I - III]****
- Finalist: International Clarinet Association Composition Competition, 1998
Lolita [duration: ca. 6min.]
clarinet, cello, piano
A one movement piece for Clarinet Cello and Piano. It is written in a wholetone scale, beginning on C#, and is a development of the opening idea that is heard on cello. Elements of rock and traditional music are incorporated, forming an energetic zestful new sound which was composed while reading the novel "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov. The music reflects upon the Lolita character in the book, who is bold, playful, innocent, crafty and repressed.
****[sheet music: Download Score]****
The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory [duration: ca. 8min.]
Clarinet / saxophone quartet and tape.
This piece is written for either 4 clarinets or 4 saxophones AND tape. It is based on the painting of the same name by Salvador Dali. It is a derivative work based on the 1997 piece "The Persistence of Memory". In the music, as in the painting, the composer represents his view of what the onset of the nuclear age would do to the earlier work. The interpretation is that the disorder of the initial work is now more orderly, as the painting shows blocks of images floating away, and this symbolises a structure of sorts.
****[sheet music: Download Score]****
Audio Samples
| work | description | ||
| Diptych - mov. I | solo clarinet, contemporary | ||
| Diptych - mov. II | solo clarinet, slow, 20th Century | ||
| The Persistence of Memory | lush clarinet quartet + tape | ||
| Innocent Marpl section I | solo violin, celtic | ||
| Innocent Marpl section II | solo violin, celtic, electronics | ||
| An Gort Mhor - (1846-48) | soprano, clarinet, piano | ||
| The Disintegration of The Persistence of Memory | lush clarinet quartet + tape | ||
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