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"Hi Joost,
I just had the opportunity to listen to your chorale. First of all, it has a magisterial quality, a regal beauty and spirituality that I quite enjoyed. It does participate in the Nimrod vibe; however, it is a lovely piece. Since you didn't…"
I just had the opportunity to listen to your chorale. First of all, it has a magisterial quality, a regal beauty and spirituality that I quite enjoyed. It does participate in the Nimrod vibe; however, it is a lovely piece. Since you didn't…"
"Thanks, checking it out as I write... August Champlin said:
Thank you, Joost, for your thoughtful feedback. I think you’re probably right about the ending. I’ll have to reconsider that. The problem is that I kind of like it. I tried alternate…"
Thank you, Joost, for your thoughtful feedback. I think you’re probably right about the ending. I’ll have to reconsider that. The problem is that I kind of like it. I tried alternate…"
"Thank you, Joost, for your thoughtful feedback. I think you’re probably right about the ending. I’ll have to reconsider that. The problem is that I kind of like it. I tried alternate endings but they felt fake. Perhaps I can find a sincere ending…"
"Wow! Stunning! So well done!Excellent orchestration, very colorful, your story helps to imagine what’s going on.
I lived in China a few years and I’ve been all over Asia in the last 30 years so I can relate to your work easy.
Between time 9:07 and…"
I lived in China a few years and I’ve been all over Asia in the last 30 years so I can relate to your work easy.
Between time 9:07 and…"
Perhaps no performance has moved me more than Bessie Griffin's earth shattering rendition of the old African American Spiritual "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" (Google it!). After hearing her sing this piece, I could not get the tune out…
"A joyous romp, Fisher Bait Man Jazz is dedicated to my friend Denny Lin (1966-2016), a fellow composer who always had a word of encouragement for me. It features the sound of the Embertone Fischer Viola, one of the finest sampled string instruments…"
"For my wife who spent sleepless nights nursing a beloved aunt dying with cancer, I wrote Solace. It is my empathy for her pain, my appreciation for her character. To my beloved, in whose embrace I find solace, may my music comfort you in your grief…"
"Inspired by the Oriental cranes I saw on my walks in Korea, I composed Aves Orientalis for wind quintet. At the university where I taught, a collection of these majestic creatures lived caged in an aviary. They seemed so demure when I would walk…"
"Is Embertone's Joshua Bell Violin the best sampled violin ever produced? Listen to this user demo, and decide for yourself. Embertone's Joshua Bell Violin certainly has one of the most comprehensive sample sets available for solo violin. It's also…"
In the Fall of 2010, I joined the William Chunestudy Men's Chorus as a second tenor. When Dr. William Chunestudy told the choir that he was looking for new a...
"Hi, Slava. Your Aria for 2 Cellos is mesmerizing. Thanks for sharing!"
"Thank you, Tyler, for your feedback! It's interesting that you wished for more polyphonic sections in the piece, because in listening to it, so did I. It's a bit too homophonic for too long, perhaps because I originally conceived it in purely…"
"Really liked the harmonic language and the text setting was very nicely done. Wished there were more polyphonic sections but the homophony was well written.
Two things I would suggest:
One: Notationally dynamics and tempo markings go above the…"
Two things I would suggest:
One: Notationally dynamics and tempo markings go above the…"
I started working on A Dawn Never Ending in university. It was the 1990's, and the piece was much simpler then. A friend of mine conducted the premiere of th...
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Greetings August,
Your music has some very nice qualities. Thanks for sharing.
Very best,
Larry Elliott
Glad you found time to listen to that!
☺
On June 16, you wrote, " I was just listening to your music. I especially enjoyed listening to Quantum Concatenations. It is unified and coherent, yet it occupies a musical territory of its own."
I wanted to reply to you earlier, but I was out of town for a while, and then very busy until recently.
Thank you very much for your generous assessment of Quantum Concatenations.
Given your musical sophistication and overall experience, I take it as a very high compliment.
I liked what you said to Bruce Baldwin in one of your replies to comments:
"Thanks for the comment, Bruch! Yeah, I was worried about one of the motives sounding too similar Bartok. I even asked my composition instructor if I was getting a little too close to Bartok, especially in the anguished descending motive; however, he generously framed it as an allusion. :)"
I am not sure anyone can get "too close to Bartok" today, in overall style. Some musicologists say that there is something almost "syntactically Hungarian," is his idiom, so unless you speak fluent Hungarian, and think in Hungarian, you are unlikely to fall into an imitation trap.
I was re-reading a section from McHard's book on the Philosophy of Modern Music, and he admonishes modern composers, citing Iannis Xenakis and Julio Estrada as exemplars; and tells us, we should always do something new, different and original in each work.
That will keep us from imitating Bartok or anyone else, if it is a special worry.
Here is a "spectral view" of Xenakis' "Metastasis," if you haven't heard it yet, or are looking for inspiration.
Iannis Xenakis - Metastasis (Spectral View)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2O8bMlEijg
Thanks again, for your encouragement.
O.
Thanks for your comment about Sunshiny Day! More to come!
Aves is thoroughly enjoyable! Thanx 4 sharing.
Beautiful music August. Love your choral work.
Cheers,
Charles Mazarakes
Hi August,
Studying with Naudia Boulanger was, as you would expect, a very interesting experience. One interesting note that I remember is a time when she was putting together an organ concert for her financial contributors and I was helping with the list of pieces to be performed. I suggested Olivier Messiaen’s “Dieu parmi nous” from his Nativity Suite. It’s somewhat modern but not all that culturally challenging. Her reply was that her investors were far more conservative and would prefer to hear something written further back in time. What I find ironic is that here she is, the ambassador of modern music, even still, she had to do what all of us have to do for a living: please the people with the money. So the lesson I learned is that there really isn’t a thing called selling out. It’s all about survival through choosing one’s battles very carefully.
Thanks,
Chris
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