The Apocalypse, Op. 1 Mvt. XIII Under Construction!
The Apocalypse is a tone poem in the tradition of Liszt, Strauss, and Sibelius with the significant distinction that its material is electronic rather than orchestral. Its activity and variety of sounds, however, do suggest the expanse of an orchestral palette. Its program, meanwhile, one which tells of fiery destruction, makes it a modern successor to the nineteenth-century concept of the tone poem. The Apocalypse, therefore, is one of several “electronic poems” I have created, although their unfolding sonic narratives distinguish them from the sound collage of the similarly-titled composition by Varèse. Albeit the screeching noises of The Apocalypse will make it a difficult sell for some listeners, those who can overcome its harsh sounds will hopefully comprehend the rhetoric which guides the musical material as it develops organically from initial ideas. Line and melody are also present and, especially in its last few minutes, a polyphony emerges between the material presented in the right and left speakers. It is these classical values that I seek in contemporary composition: a new grammar for a new music.
My composition Étude Spectrale I applies spectral thought processes in new and original ways. This is music constructed exclusively from sine waves which are generated by the computer. Sine waves are placed into twelve tracks each of whose frequencies (measured in Hertz) correspond to a member of the overtone series. One of the main ideas behind this piece is the avoidance of absolute, identifiable pitch. Not only do certain sine waves correspond to frequencies in-between the twelve pitches of the octave, but often sine waves spend little time resting on one frequency as they slide gradually into the next member of the overtone series. Accordingly, my pitch material is drawn from the frequency continuum. Mathematical calculations outline which frequencies appear in my palette as well as the intervals of time between the end of one sound and the introduction of the next. The transitions between sounds are also incredibly smooth, so much so that we might hear the piece as one sound gradually transformed over its total duration.
Please message me via the Contact page if you are interested in programming The Apocalypse.
Read More about The Apocalypse at MusicCentral:
"Looking Back: Thoughts on the Electronic Poems of My First Years as a Composer" (posted 17.12.09) Coming Soon!
List of Performances:
(None yet)
