I Prefer Laughter to Tears

This past week I was inspired to do something I have never done before-write a jazz tune (I Prefer Laughter to Tears) . I was trying to write a flute/pan duo for my friends Beaux Lux and Jason Baskin but found myself gravitating away from my original concepts and more towards the jazz idiom. The process was very quick surprisingly and I found myself really enjoying fleshing out the work but leaving room for improvisers to leave their mark as well. This piece also marks the end of my three year hiatus (for lack of a better word) from writing purely instrumental music. So, yay for new experiences! I hope to have a recording (other than the MIDI rendering that I have now) in a few weeks. 

P.S. A free copy of the lead sheets will go the first person who can tell me what the title is referencing. 

Four African Dances- New Recording

Just got a fantastic recording of my percussion ensemble Four African Dances performed by Sheena Richardson and friends. FAD was performed on her degree recital on May 16, 2014 at the University of Trinidad and Tobago. She is a student of Josh Watkins. 

The Birthday Project: Shadow Play (Part 4)

Yikes It's been a while since my last Birthday Project post. Just got the first rehearsal recording of the first two sections of Shadow Play from my performers. I am pleased with the opening section but the brilliant form I devised doesn't work AT ALL. Needless to say, I will be revising that section. The Kotekan patterns that I chose also proved to be somewhat difficult to perform. Lot's of things to tweak plus I still need to write the last two sections. Definitely going to spend my spring break at my work desk.

New Performance Dates and Shadow Play Updates

I just received confirmation that the University of Trinidad Percussion Ensemble, directed by fellow Mizzou alum Josh Watkins, will be performing my percussion ensemble Four African Dances on April 16th. This will be the first time my music has been performed in South America and needless to say I am very excited to hear this wonderful group perform my music.

The next item of business is an update on the progress of Shadow Play. I spent the weekend dreaming up blueprints for the Encounter section and I think I have come up with a pretty clever layout. What I wanted to do with this section of the piece is for each performer in the duo to maintain their own musical identity, which in this case represents their "shadow" but have them switch roles.  I also wanted to use diminution on a large scale so I started subtracting consecutive eighth notes (using mod 8 math I subtracted 1 eigth note from 8/8 then 2 from 7/8. 3 from 5/8 and so on). From there I grouped the odd meters (for instance 7/8 and 5/8 make 12/8 or in my case 6/4) into a four bar pattern of 4/4, 6/4. 4/4. 6/4 but still keeping the odd groupings with the larger meter structure. After that I applied the same approach to form and came up with a 36 bar structure. By mere accident I stumbled upon the discovery that if I simply subtract 1 bar at a time (going simply from 8 bars to 1 rather than the mod8 approached mentioned earlier) I would still get a 36 bar chunk of music. So all of this leads up to the idea that each part will occupy the same space but their musical role, material, and structure will be unique to them. Here is a formal diagram if you are more of a visual person.

Also, in this section both performers are using different versions of the octatonic scale for harmonic and melodic roles which the players will switch halfway through the section. Since the performers are going to be dealing with different meters changes and formal structures occurring at different times I decided I will use the low C of the tenor pan to mark formal division in the piece, much like the use of a gong in Balinese gamelan music (one at the beginning of the section, then agin in the middle, and at the beginning of the new section (Merge). Another device I am borrowing from gamelan music is the use of "follow the leader" type kotekan patterns.

That's a lot of info but not alot of music so I should get back to my desk (after I watch Walking Dead of course) and hammer this thing out.

The Birthday Project: Shadow Play (Part 2)

Today I started working on Shadow Play for flute and pan. This is the first piece of purely instrumental music I have worked on since 2011. I had a great composition session and came up with an opening section that plays around with various sound effects to create an ethereal atmosphere (harmonic trills, singing and playing in unison, slow glissandi, flutter tonguing, measured vibrato) while the pan provides support in the forms of drones and imitation of melodic ideas. The title of the first section (The Appearance) is in reference to the Jungian archetype of the Shadow. There will be four sections that make up the work (The Appearance, Encounter, The Merge, and Healing Spirals), each one referencing the Jungian concept of the Shadow. It is my goal to complete one section a week and get feedback from my players. This will allow me to  make the appropriate edits before the March 6th deadline.

Update on Saturday, February 1, 2014 at 09:56PM by Wes Stephens

Just spent the day putting the first minute or so of music into Finale (despite Finale 2014's best attempts to thwart me, but that is another matter entirely). Just sent the PDF of the music to Jason and Beaux and eagerly await their input!