Chamber Works

From the Latin Mass, “I will go unto the altar of God, to God who gives joy to my youth….” Written for my brother, John, who loves the words he prayed as an altar boy.

This major work, Epithalamion: A Masque, settings of poems by G. M. Hopkins, was presented in 1991 as a celebration of the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins in 1991.
Thou Art Indeed Just
Spring and Death
Carrion Comfort
No Worst, There is None
My Own Heart
Duns Scotus’ Oxford
To Seem the Stranger
Henry Purcell
God’s Grandeur
I Wake and Feel the Fell of Dark

The music was written during a sabbatical leave in 1989-1990. The Masque was directed and choreographed by Annabelle Gamson; the musical director was Arnold Gamson. The work featured a dance ensemble, string quartet, piano, harp and flute with four vocalists taking on the task of virtuosic solo parts. In addition, the Newark Boys Chorus, under the direction of Gwen Motron-Pinto, performed some of the choral works.

The beauty of the nightingale’s song is mimicked by the second flute; the first flute then tries to mimic the mockingbird in an attempt to stop the annoying imitation. They then come together as friends in song, but the true nature of each of the birds ends the work. (original title: The Sparrow and the Mockingbird. Video features flutists Heather Breene and Jennifer Pyne.)

3 Haiku on 5 Notes in 4 Minutes. Based on a Japanese pentatonic scale, the Hirajoski scale of 5 notes (G, Ab, C, D, Eb)

This piece was commissioned by a group of the St. Louis Symphony’s “New Music Circle.” It was inspired by the composer’s impressions of Stonehenge at different times of the day. Stonehenge: Fragments is a colorful work with some staging and unusual instruments such as a clicking metronome and an incense holder with incense.
Prelude
Merlin’s Tale
The Druids’ Sacrifice
Phoebus Descends

This work, commissioned by Basso Moderno in 2008, is a dialogue between an extended solo bass and piano. The interplay between the two instruments through melodic fragments (based mainly on minor 2nds) spins through quick twists and turns. There are textural changes in electrically charged rhythms in the various registers of both instruments.

This work is a dialogue between cello and piano. The interplay between the two instruments through melodic fragments (based mainly on minor 2nds) spins through quick twists and turns. There are textural changes in electrically charged rhythms in the various registers of both instruments.

This work was commissioned by Jennifer Pyne Barry for a performance at the Honors Celebration for graduate students, Manhattanville College, May 16, 2013. It was performed by Jennifer Pyne Barry, flute and Robert Yapachanyk, pianist, in honor of Professor Jerry Kerlin, Professor of Music Education, Manhattanville College.

Based on the Gregorian chant, Te Deum Laudamus. The work was commissioned for Manhattanville College’s 150th Commencement. (Audio excerpt is transferred from a cassette tape performance recording with The Westchester Brass Ensemble.)

This piece was commissioned and performed by Harold Jones’ Antara Ensemble, NYC in 2006. It won the competition “Muzyka Ogrodowa” Uniwersytetu Jagiellonskiego, Krakow, Poland, that same year. (Note: pdf is a mid-score excerpt)