Deer Track, December 26, 2013

Deer Track, December 26, 2013 (mp3) (pdf)

Since this has been the Year of the Deer Track for me I thought I would post one more here on New Year's Eve. I wrote most of this one during a quiet morning on the Feast of St. Stephen, while our house was full of family and friends. I tinkered with some on the following days and recorded it on the 29th. It may not be completely finished but, for now, I'm happy with it.

This will be the 46th entry in this blog in 2013, nearly double any other year since I began in January of 2007. I've already got something prepared for the first entry of 2014. We'll see what comes after that.

Thanks to everyone for listening, especially for all the encouragement and support with the Deer Tracks project, and have a Happy New Year!

Singing in a Dark Place (for recorder quartet)

Singing in a Dark Place (mp3, performed by Dames' Rocket) (score and parts on request)

I was honored to be asked by my friends in Decorah's premier recorder quartet, Dames' Rocket, to compose a piece for them to play at our annual community holiday/solstice/Christmas concert, Burning Bright (wonderfully organized and conducted by Otter Dreaming and Kathy Reed). The quartet's members are Ellen Macdonald, Suzanne Ernst, Beth Lynch, and Elyse Hawthorn and they were a pleasure to work with. 

The recording above is a rehearsal tape from the afternoon of the concert (Saturday, December 21, 2013) so you can hear a voice or two and some pages turning but I really like the sound of the group in this performance. Many thanks to Dames' Rocket for allowing me to share it here.

The title of the piece is from the last line of an early poem by Wendell Berry, simply titled "A Music", which features a blind mandolin player. The music came first, there is no intentional correlation between the poem and the notes, I just like the title. 

It was especially fun for me to write a piece for musicians that I know and admire, knowing exactly where it would be performed while knowing that many of my friends and local community members would hear it in the context of a larger concert of mostly choral music.

It's been a busy holiday season but I wanted to get this recording posted before the end of the year. I haven't included the score and parts but, if you are interested, you can contact me through the comments. I hope you enjoy the music!

Deer Track, May 30, 2013

Deer Track, May 30, 2013 (mp3) (pdf)

Light snow is falling here in Decorah today and we may have our first measurable snowfall by tonight. The temperature has fallen below zero (Fahrenheit) the last couple of nights.

Somehow this bit of winter brought me back into the world of Deer Tracks this morning and I decided to record one of the many pieces that I wrote last spring that didn't make it onto the official Deer Tracks CD.

I began this piece on Thursday, May 30, 2013 and I recall that most of it was finished that day. I remember doing a little touch up work later and it was definitely in the running to be on the CD but, in the end, it didn't make the cut.

I should point out, in the commercial spirit of the season (not to be confused with the real spirit), that there are still a few physical copies of the Deer Tracks CD available from CD Baby. You can also purchase mp3 downloads of all the tracks from CD Baby, Amazon, iTunes, etc.

However, this May 30, 2013 Deer Track is not for sale anywhere. You can only find this recording right here, no charge. Hope you enjoy it.