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Song Title
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Instrumentation
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Composer’s Notes
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| The Fruits of Your Labor |
Taylor 6-string (DGDGAD tuning), Collings 6-string, mountain dulcimer, Taylor 12 string, Les Paul Custom, EMU Proteus. |
This song tells the tale of the man depicted on the cover of this disc. The harvest has been completed and he is reflecting on the way his life is tied to the cyclical changing of the seasons. Drinking a glass of wine, he sits and watches his beautiful wife prepare a meal in the kitchen. His children play in front of the fireplace and the scene is a peaceful one save for the view out the window, which adds a slightly ominous reminder of the coming of winter. The man is represented by the steel string acoustic guitar, his wife by the electric guitar and the children by the 12 string. The foundation for this piece is the Serendunt by 12th century composer Perotin. I have retained the long notes sung by the tenor in the original work and used them as a bass part that spells out the slowly evolving architecture of the work. |
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| Tapestry #1 |
2 Taylor 6-strings (DADGAD tuning), Yamaha Classical, Taylor 12 string. |
This piece uses a compositional technique I call liquidational metamorphosis. It is my own way of using repetition as a structural device. A voice takes a repetitive figure and sends it through a set of transformations by ‘liquidating’ the original figure and building variations with the resulting material. Liquidation is a term coined by Arnold Schoenberg to describe a technique used by Haydn, Mozart & Beethoven to expand or contract phrases to escape their normal symmetrical 2, 4 or 8 bar structures. |
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| Konstantin Surveys His Land |
Collings 6-string, Taylor 6-string (DGDGAD tuning), Yamaha classical, EMU Proteus, bowed acoustic guitar, Bass pedals. |
The good landlord Konstantin takes a walk through his fields and watches the peasants working the land. |
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| Fourteen Generations |
Taylor 6-string (DGDGAD tuning), EMU Proteus, Soprano Recorder, Dumbec, Hammer Dulcimer, Mountain Dulcimer |
For 13 generations my ancestors have been born on American soil, but our genealogical tree leads back to the British Isles with branches reaching into England, Scotland and Ireland. This piece is based on the traditional musics of those lands and it is very much inspired by the great (but now defunct) band Planxty. |
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| The Veil |
Hammer dulcimer,Taylor 6-string (DGDGAD tuning), Taylor 12 string and organ bass pedals. |
The original working title for this recording was “The Veil”. You could say that I am a bit of a mystic and I wanted to bring some of this to the music. I feel that the truest way to see what lies ‘beyond the veil’ is through a deep understanding of the here and now. I began to want to create a musical picture that inspires one to see the mystical in the events and items every day life. The dizzying cascades of the Hammer Dulcimer create an image of soft, colorful textiles swirling before the eyes, but the guitar and bass pedals keep the music firmly rooted to the terrestrial with a stately melody. |
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| Sing Mother Earth |
Taylor 12 string, Taylor 6-string (DADGAD tuning) |
This is built on an Anonymous 13th century motet that was, in turn, based on the chant ‘Benedictus Domino’ for the First Vespers of solemn feasts. The text of the motet sings the praises of the Virgin Mary with the two upper parts using two different sets of words simultaneously. For this piece I composed 2 additional parts; one for 6 string guitar and one for 12 string. The 6 string is in Gsus2 tuning (DGDDAD) capoed at the 7th fret and the 12 string is tuned C,F,Bb,Eb,G,C and capoed at the 2nd fret. The remaining guitar duet functions as a response to the original motet that inspired it. If you listen closely, you can hear parts of the Ave Gloriosa Mater motet hovering like a ghost the background thanks to the bleed from the headphones used during recording. |
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| Peace is Every Step |
hammer dulcimer. organ, Taylor 6-string (DGDGAD tuning), Oboe sample. |
The hammer dulcimer creates a steady pulse, which acts as a backbone throughout the piece. The oboe states the principal melodic themes with the guitar acting as a commentator, affirming the oboe’s ideas. The organ weaves an arabesque around the guitar and oboe, wrapping them in soft undulating sounds. The simple bass pedal movements provide a ground for the other parts to stand on. The music is joyous, but again the bass pedals are used to create an anchoring effect. The title is a tribute to the writings of Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. |
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| The Family Tree |
Solo Taylor 6-string (DADGAD tuning) |
We are all branches in our own family tree. That tree goes back farther than it is possible to trace and it affects who we are, sometimes in a subtle way and sometimes in a very forceful way. This piece was written during a period when I was listening to and studying Celtic and Gaelic music. It struck me that this music keeps regenerating and propagating itself like a family and its history is older than we can trace. I play it in a guitar tuning called Gsus2 (DGDGAD) that is a variant of the popular DADGAD. British guitarist Davey Graham popularized the DADGAD tuning in the 1960s after he developed it to play with Moroccan musicians. People quickly realized it’s usefulness for Celtic music and its popularity continues to grow. |
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| Aucun Vont |
12 string, Taylor 6-string (DADGAD tuning), Yamaha Classical, Bass, Tenor, Alto recorder, sampled cello. |
Another anonymous 13th century motet based on a Gregorian Kyrie Eleison. In the original, the two upper parts again sing different words simultaneously. The first speaks of the nobility of human love, while the second set of words serve as a reminder of the connection between human love and Divine grace. The original motet is constructed of 2 repetitions of a slow moving tenor part, which is built on the pitch sequence of the Kyrie. I repeat the entire work for a total of 4 statements of the tenor melody. For this piece I added 12 string guitar, 6 string guitar, classical guitar, dulcimer and alto, tenor and bass recorders. The changing instrumentation marks the repetition points in the tenor voice, which is retained and played on sampled cello. The original upper voices are removed. |
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| The Royal Chamber |
Bandurria, Taylor 6-string (DADGAD tuning), Taylor 12 string, Collings |
This is another piece that uses the liquidational metamorphisis technique. This one was written after returning from Spain and it utilizes the bandurria that I purchased in Granada. The work is inspired by a book that I am reading on the connection between the mathematical and the spiritual in Islamic art. The book explains the derivation of the complex patterns used in Islamic art and architecture and the spiritual philosophy driving it. While visiting the Alhambra in Granada, I was struck by the repetitions used in the decorative patterns and I immediately was reminded of the music of Steve Reich. |
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| The (W)hole above Me |
Taylor 6-string (DADGAD tuning), Hammer Dulcimer, Mountain Dulcimer, Bowed Psaltery |
An introspective quartet for 6 String Guitar, Appalachian Dulcimer, Hammered Dulcimer and Bowed Psaltery that is based on the framework of the Kyrie Eleison from Guillaume Machaut’s Mass. The title comes from a poem I wrote long ago. |
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As the Crow Flies |
Solo 6-string Taylor (DADGAD) |
Played late one night to fill up the last few empty minutes of an ADAT tape. My guitar happened to be in DADGAD tuning and I accidently knocked over a slide while reaching for the recorder remote control. Thus the plan was set, and I recorded only one take. The crow refers to the alter-presence of Carlos Castenada’s Don Juan as it soars across the desert skies of northern Mexico. |
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Until Next Year (The Haymakers Dance) |
Bandurria, Taylor 12 string, Collings 6-string , Taylor 6-string (DADGAD tuning), eggshaker. |
The first time I heard bluegrass music I was struck by its similarity to baroque music. I still think of a bluegrass band every time I hear Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto number 2. This piece runs with the bluegrass/baroque idea in a playful way. The year’s crops have been harvested, the hay is collected into stacks and the peasant farmers hold a dance of celebration. |
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The Noble Vine |
Mountain Dulcimer, EMU Proteus. |
The melody that the Appalachian Dulcimer plays here is adapted from a fourth century Gallican Chant. In the words of the chant the prophet Isaiah is chastising the Israelites for their lack of awareness. He has planted a noble vine that has been left untended and has grown wild and unproductive. This vine can be seen as a symbol of the life force growing in all of us; the tolling bell that accompanies the dulcimer is a reminder to wake up and take proper care of it. |
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I have long been interested in medieval music and the compositional processes of composers Guillaume Machaut, Perotin and Guillaume Dufay. I wanted to explore some ideas I have about those processes and their connection to the music of post-minimalist composers Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt. Another factor impacting this music is the information gathered by my mother’s genealogical research. It shows both my deep American roots (since 1610) and the British Isles/Celtic ancestry still farther back. My study of traditional American music, especially the mountain dulcimer and its Appalachian repertoire, has also planted a whole new collection of sounds and ideas into my mind’s ear. A number of the works recorded here are built on specific medieval compositions. What we refer to today as Gregorian Chant was a single line musical style, with no harmony or multiple voice parts. During the 12th century, composers began to add a 2nd part to the single line of existing chants. This style was referred to as organum. By the 13th century a 3rd part was being added to existing 2-part organum to create what was called a motet. It is this idea of adding to existing works that inspired my working methods. I selected several medieval pieces and either sequenced them or created audio tracks from an existing recording. To these tracks I added 2 to 10 more tracks of overdubs. Next, the original sequences or audio tracks of the medieval work were removed. I then used the editing environment of the computer to craft the remaining tracks into the form you hear here.