"The human mind is an instrument with a certain range of notes, beyond which in both directions we have an infinitude of silence." - John Tyndall, British physicist (1820-93)
Sketches from a project tentatively titled "Na Bóithre" ("The Roads" in Gaelic). Contemplative improvisations recorded directly from my Fender Rhodes 73 Mark II into Audacity on OS X. Not sure where I'm going to go with this project, but I like listening to this stuff, so I just keep making more.
This piece was written during the period from summer of 1996 through the spring of 1997 at Skidmore College. From the program notes at the piece's first public "performance":
I think of working in the recording studio as being akin to a visual artist working on a canvas. I concieve of and record a section, listen to it a few times, modify it later, and eventually usually paint over it. But the process of all this working and reworking has the effect of getting an intention settled in my mind. The first half of this piece is based mainly on what are originally acoustic (versus digital, or synthesized) sounds -- recordings of Charlie Parker, controlled Microphone feedback, and various traditional instruments. The second half was programmed in large part with an object-oriented programming invironment called "Max". The piece is based around a 10-note scale, where the pitches within an octave are divided into 10 equal regious instead of the typical 12. This "decimal" theme is echoed in other ways within the composition; and several themes related to dreams, perfection, and awakening are drawn throughout. I have also been told that it sounds like R2D2 on acid.
I arranged this John Denver tune for the Skidmore Bandersnatchers while I was musical director. It garnered the award for best arranagement at some sort of a cappella competition. I try to stay away from those. Anyhow, this is a performance from 1997, on Martha's Vineyard -- about 2 weeks before I finally moved out to San Francisco to catch that lady I eventually married.
