Personent Hodie
Combining medieval aesthetics with modern harmonic sensibilities and growing from chant to polyphonic ecstasy, this arrangement is a grand processional for the Christmas season.
the truth you cannot see
The text for the truth you cannot see is taken from the end of Alfred Bester's novel The Demolished Man. It offers a measure of hope, and a plea for patience and understanding. The complex harmonies serve to underscore how difficult these things are to achieve.
Wanderer
Wanderer was written soon after I began singing Renaissance music in my high school madrigal group. I became enamored with the concept of text painting and imitation. Each verse of the poem is reset with slightly different decorative elements to illustrate the text.
Fairy Lullaby
A setting of the creepy crawly, creature-infested lullaby from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Le Cigale
Written for a laugh during the cicada bloom in the summer of 2021, Le Cigale is composed in the renaissance style of Josquin de Pres’ famous El Grillo.
St Teresa’s Bookmark
A short, but moderately challenging setting appropriate for a small or large adult choir. Appropriate for use as a church anthem.
Liberty
Liberty was composed a few months after September 11, 2001. The text is from the opening of Emma Lazurus’ poem “The New Colossus”, and serves to remind us of the noble ambitions which tie us together as a nation.
Hope is the thing with feathers
Inspired by 16th century madrigals, this setting of Emily Dickinson’s poem of the same name uses rich word painting and a traditional structure, but with more modern harmonic language.
Tension, Apprehension, and Dissention
In this intricate shouted fugue, traditional imitation processes create an ever increasing pressure while the constant counting, “Eight, sir: Seven, sir…”, portrays the maddening irrational rationality of modern existence.
The Sea is Calm Tonight
A contemplative and wistful setting of the opening of Matthew Arnold’s "Dover Beach” The polyphonic setting mirrors the relentless churning of the ocean, jumbles the text and creates new meaning.
