Written first for piano, I wrote “Canticle” in London in 1991. The piano version has been recorded by Japanese classical pianist Mitsuko Kado, and the guitar version was recorded by Stephen Robinson. However, I never played the piece myself until now. So today we offer a new video of “Canticle”, and Annie and I hope you enjoy it.
“The Wizard’s Tale” is our next Monday Memory, and is a brand new video fresh from the Den. From my newest collection “Pretty Easy Pieces times Seven”, the Wizard’s Tale is one of my favorites in the book, eliciting a feeling of magic and passing through the portal to another realm.
“Not alone” - This week we look back five years to the heart of the pandemic, with a rare example of me singing and playing ukulele. My desire was to create an inspirational and uplifting piece during lockdown, and I hope “Not alone” will bring a little light into your Monday!
Ludwig’s Dream - Another new video for our Monday Memory this week. My fascination with Beethoven since childhood inspired me to write this homage to the man and the composer. Ludwig’s Dream is very loosely based on the haunting theme in the Allegretto from his 7th Symphony.
For our Monday Memory this week we revisit “Shadows Only Come From Light”. This is a composition I wrote for a friend’s birthday two years ago. “Shadows Only Come From Light” is in the poignant, mysterious style that I like so much to explore. Though we filmed and released this video two years ago on YouTube, we finally just released the audio track on Spotify as well. We hope you enjoy “Shadows Only Come From Light”.
For this week's Monday Memory we have a new video. "The Old Gardener" is a stately piece that brought an image to my mind of a man, so in tune with his garden and nature, that he reaches a state akin to zen enlightenment. This piece also inspired a short story of the same name.
“Ride” is the first movement of my suite “Glimmerings”. All the movements in this suite are in lute tuning and capoed on the second fret, giving a lighter and higher sonority to the instrument. “Ride” has a compelling groove that calls to mind a swift twilight journey with a hint of danger.
"Rainwalk" is from the collection "Pretty Easy Pieces times Seven" for solo guitar. Students have a hunger for playable works in an accessible, non-dated style, and "Pretty Easy Pieces times Seven" is my most recent offering to fill this need.
For this week’s Monday Memory we revisit “Poem No. 6”, one of my favorite pieces from my collection “Seven Poems”. Very meditative, I like the atmosphere this piece evokes.
This week we offer you Lush, a piece I originally wrote for just-intonated guitar (resulting in the guitar's wacky-looking fragmented fret placement). Exploring this ancient tuning system that celebrates the mathematical purity of harmony at the expense of modulation, Lush is an example of chords as they are no longer heard today with the predominance of equal temperament. But, Lush can also be played on standard guitar and still sounds quite nice!
For this week’s Monday Memory we revisit “Lumen”, an introspective waltz conjuring memories of a music box and church bells. Seeking to evoke the magic that lies implicit in music, I find the mood of this piece good for late night meditation into deeper matters. "Lumen" is the second movement from my “Numen Suite”.
“Avenue of the Giants” - Inspired by the old road through the redwoods in Northern California, Avenue of the Giants snakes back and forth along the Eel river through what's left of the old groves. Memories of driving twelve hours to Northern California for concerts and flying down Avenue of the Giants during the twilight. Magical!
Let’s revisit my collection of Poems for guitar. Poem No. 4 is very medieval in aspect with independent two-voice counterpoint. I like the ancient quality of this composition, music modeled from very early periods has a freshness in sound, maybe precisely because it is drawing on an ancient mindset of creating music. This piece only requires the top four strings of the guitar, giving it a focused slightly higher pitch range. I hope you enjoy Poem No. 4.
"Play Everything" - An expression of pure joy using every instrument I could find in the house. This is a nice memory for Annie and I, of setting this recorded concept to a video storyboard. We hope it brings you a smile! Not exactly holiday music, but we wish you joy and peace and a wonderful season!
"Threadbare Dance" is a piece from a collection of compositions I wrote for Just Intonated guitar. I really enjoy the unusual intervals realized by composing in this temperament in an ‘out of tune’ key. But most of all, I’m really pleased with the video Annie and I created to feature this song. We captured an artistic emphasis that brings to life the spirit of this piece. Watch out for the bullet train, and we hope you enjoy “Threadbare Dance”.
"Silent Night" - For this week’s Monday Memory . . . Another Christmas video? Yes. Here’s my take on this timeless Christmas classic, “Silent Night”. We hope you enjoy it.
"Alike" - For this week’s Monday Memory we revisit “Alike” from the collection “4 in A in 4”, the easiest student pieces I’ve written. As a composer it’s a necessary challenge to try and infuse even easy pieces with charm, and this work is one of my favorites.
"Good King Wenceslas" - Ready for a Christmas Carol? Good King Wenceslas now released on YouTube, our holiday video for this year, featuring my arrangement of the iconic Christmas classic in a charming Chet Atkins style. Ho Ho Ho, you know.
"The Equations of Beauty - h" - For this week’s Monday Memory we revisit “The Equations of Beauty - h”. Annie and I filmed this early during the pandemic, and also early in our new career as video makers. Ambitious in scope, we poured all kinds of ideas into the video and most of them worked well - though we got carried away with some of the mathematical graphics that look a little primitive. Live and learn! But it is a period piece, and the music speaks for itself.
We Three Kings - For this week’s Monday Memory we revisit my jazzy arrangement of “We Three Kings” in anticipation, albeit a little early, of the upcoming holiday season. Never too early to get into the spirit!
For this week’s Monday Memory I hearken back to my jazz days and play a little blues I wrote in the style of Joe Pass, one of my early heroes for his exceptional chord melody and improvisation skills. I hope you enjoy this little jazz blues classical interlude.
For our next Monday Memory we are excited to share with you “Dogwood Desert”. Gorgeous drone footage of high desert in cinematic format, which pairs beautifully with my funky groovy composition. Join us in this glimpse of the Wild West this week!
Yamour - This spirited piece emulates the sound of a band on one guitar, with a hint of jazz and a glimmer of Brazil. It’s one of my favorite works, and was a milestone for me compositionally to surmount the formidable challenge of composing with authority in what is now called ‘Yamour’ tuning, DADF#BD. I wrote Yamour for my friend and colleague, the fine Italian guitarist Andrea Vettoretti.
Snowflight - one of my early and most popular student pieces, I'm pleased to see this piece played all around the world by students of all ages. Seeing so many videos of Snowflight on the internet, we decided a while ago to make our own. From my collection "Eight Discernments".
Sweet Life - A very personal and lyrical expression of my long intertwining of music and life.
