Twelve Multiphonics of Christmas

Hey everyone. The Clariboys and I were asked to be part of this thing called "A very multiphonic clarinetmas" and have been asked to contribute a carol with multiphoniccs. I haven't decided which multiphonics will be used where but the whole point of this piece is a comedic duet where an obnoxious multiphonic replaces each numeral in "the Twelve Days of Christmas".
Have a look :)

Score

Sheep, Monkey and Rooster (Carnival of the Animals)

I'm finding it quite interesting that I don't have many low instruments to work with.

I have 2 cellos. I also have the low notes of the 2 pianos and horn. But I don't have bassoon or trombone or double bass, so the normal orchestration techniques are out of the question.

Here is some mischievous, slightly hocketing music for clarinet, horn and cello, and if I continue to like this, it will representing the Rooster, Sheep and Monkey who cross the river together on a raft. 

Romance for viola and piano

boilerplate nice music here, I just wanted to have a good time w' some nice chords

Solo Viola

Vatche you definitely inspired me to do some writing for viola! 

Here’s a piece with a pattern I love playing around with. I want to start doing the sequence with harmonics (I reckon it would sound awesome) but will need to consult a violist given how fast this is.

Meant to be played as fast as possible with retakes at every bar line. Will definitely revisit this later to develop further. 

Actual folk song (Carnival of the Chinese Animals)

I’m in the process of deciding if I should use traditional folk music in this piece. 

So I’m testing out the idea. It's been a while since I used a folk song in a composition so I'm perhaps a little rusty.

Right now its important for me to keep the idea pure so today, I spent the time in an iterative process to reduce this Horse song into its most basic form: melody and bass line only, and the bass line in as simple a form as possible and with as few changes of harmony as possible. 

I think I've managed to take out everything extraneous. I need to do this because only then can I hear the possibilities of transformations that will constitute 'composing'with the piece… 

(ps. the second period of the music is incomplete in this picture…)

a little orchestration

busy day today, so I'm posting a bit of work from this morning. I'm orchestrating this for the carols on norton concert, anybody know what the piece is? no points for the composer, it says his name on page 5.

Fiddler on the Roof Variations

Hey everyone! This is something I've wanted to get started on for years, it's writing a concert/show piece for clarinet based on themes from Fiddler on the Roof. Here's the Introduction!

Score
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bnlobvkxl7rbo8c/Fiddler%20on%20the%20Roof%20Variations.pdf?dl=0

Midi File
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qdyej8m3id4cp3p/Fiddler%20on%20the%20Roof%20Variations.aiff?dl=0

Rat, Cat and Ox (Carnival of the Chinese Animals)

It's Sunday, so here's to hanging out in Woolloomooloo Bay working on the story and some rice paper rolls. And wine 😀

Complete lil chamber opera thing

I've completed scenes 4 & 5 of my still-to-be-finally-titled Away with the fairies piece. It's about 13 minutes long and now that this phase is done I'm going to leave it for a loooong time.

Score Here

Mum song

Hey guys,

Just something little today. I told my sister about month of music and she said “ohhh you have to write a song for mum!” So I’ve kind of been writing something that I’ll sing with my siblings tomorrow with my sister on guitar. This whole “writing songs for people as quasi gifts” is actually proving to be super draining. It was a cute idea but being asked to do it has made this one a bit less fun to write. 

I wrote this bit down just so I don’t wake up and forget the melody. Still some lyrics to tidy up. 

Buddha nature (Carnival of The Chinese Animals)

This sketch is part of the Buddha Nature theme.

It requires quarter tones and I still haven’t decided which notation style to use. So I’ve tried a couple in the above page: both the arrow on its own as well as a natural sign with attached arrow mean the same thing.

I personally prefer the former but the latter is more conventional. However I don’t like the accidental for 'quarter-tone flat' because it is a flat sign with an arrow pointing UP which is counterintuitive for a flat note. So I avoid it and I will use an enharmonic quarter tone accidental to replace it.  

off with the fairies scene 3

it needs a better title
any suggestions?

Score here

This is more of a guide than anything, the intention is to record and edit the heck out of this, so everything is liable to change.

Piano Concerto

Hey everyone :) Here’s a little snippet of a scherzo for piano and orchestra I did today. There’s more stuff I wrote but this is what I have that’s legible haha... I’ve always had difficulty writing fast pieces but this all came quite easily!
Piano 2 is orchestra

To invoke Pan, god of the summer wind

Once again, I get around to properly notating a piece that's already recorded…

Alicia Crossley and Acacia Quartet are about to release an album that includes my Three Bilitis Movements for recorder and string quartet.

The third movement is of indeterminate length but lasts 30 seconds on the recording. I had simply given verbal instructions to the 5 players during the recording so this movement has not been notated till now. 

Yes I am channeling John Cage's handwriting.

two poems | LORD it's more than a week in I'm late hello everyone

[small content warning]

here are two poems that I'm trying not to think too much about and just write, one of which I'm about to set for children's choir. Most of my time here will be dedicated to text this time around, but I might set other bits of it as well.

it's a commission for a thing, and essentially what I'm trying to communicate is:

this place is different, and beautiful
I am with you here
and soon we will go home.

#1

the sky is smaller here
the air is thick with stranger's chatter
choked by smog and busy streets
far away from home
the noisy ocean crashes in
on steaming sand and man o' war sting
and sweat and grit adheres to skin

the sky is starved of stars
but shoreline through to bitumen
is glinted with familiar shards,
stubs, stubbies, broken glass
far away from home
on streets spilled out from throbbing clubs
and roaring sounds of screeching cars

the ocean blackens with the sky
but stepping out a silence starts
to dim the chaos left behind
the waters lap a further inch
and waves reach out to brush beside
so far away from home
where no such waters swell and slide

and with this moonless sky
a quiet peace descends at last
when waves roll high and gently guide
a body floating in its pass
the cooler air is soft and thin
as salted wind flows clear and fast

I won't be setting that one


#2

far away
from home

you and I, running wild under endless sky
our soles stained with ochre red sand
and our hearts free to wander far
.

.

.

.

.
you and I, side by side by the ocean's shore
our bodies sprayed by breaking waves
our minds free to chart their course

far away
from home

I will be setting that one


sorry I've not posted until now, my routine's been out of wack.
can't wait to read all youses work <3

Figment 3

Ode to civilization for Viola

I thought I may as well continue my viola trend and add more movements to the etude.  Here’s my ode to civilization.

Typesetting The River (Carnival of the Chinese Animals)

I finally got around to typesetting the theme I'm calling The River! 

Completed Song

Hey everyone!
This is a very special one for me that has taken a lot of emotional energy to create. Turns out writing meaningful lyrics is very hard to do without relying on cliches. As I mentioned in my previous post, this song is to my closest friend Loni, a harpist, and the song is about us as kids, playing, singing, and standing by eachother forever. It's a very gentle, lullaby like melody, meant to be evocative of a song to be sung going to sleep.

Score:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/aglxzo9uwonc80w/Forever%2C%20Until.pdf?dl=0

Recording of me singing with the midi file:
https://youtu.be/vAkPnzKR-uE

Lyrics:

Come with me and step inside,

We’re going on a magic ride,

Look around and look at me,

And tell me, whisper, what you see,

Take my hand, let’s play a game,

Forever is the name.

Will you play with me, ever, forever?

Let’s meet at the tree at the top of the hill,

Passing the time, as the time stands still,

Will you play with me when no one else will?

I’ll play with you, forever until

Forever until

Sing this song, sing it light,

Sing it softly to the night,

Hum along and feel its heart,

You know you’ve known it from the start.

Take my hand, I’ll sing to you,

Forever sung anew,

Will you sing with me, ever, forever?

Let’s meet at the tree at the top of the hill,

Passing the time, as the time stands still,

Will you sing with me when no one else will?

I’ll sing with you, forever until

Forever until

Monsters may come look for you

And fill your head with thoughts untrue

But here I am, and time I’ll spend,

To turn the monsters into friends.

Take my hand, I’ll squeeze it tight,

I promise it’s alright

Minutes turn to hours and days into dust,

Silver and gold will not rust

Let’s meet at the tree at the top of the hill,

Passing the time, as the time stands still,

Will you stand by me when no one else will?

I’ll stand by you, forever until

Forever until

Will you stand by me,

I will stand by you

Ever, forever until.

Two mini scenes from a mini audio-only chamber opera. Scored for voice, choir, harp and electronics

LINK FOR SCORE :)