Classical Music
compositions and some mp3s of music for players from classical backgrounds
(go here for string quartet music).
For scores of many of these pieces, go here.
List of "classical" works and opus numbers
FOR SOLO PERFORMERS:
solo piano collections
Hockets & Inventions (2010, 30 minutes)
Five Little Monsters (2010, 7 minutes)
Fractals on the Names of Bach & Haydn (2011, 4 minutes)
shorter piano pieces:
Belvedere (1984, 6 minutes)
Letter to Skip James (1985, 4 minutes)
Fanny Brice (2009, 4 minutes)
Mabel at the Wheel (2009, 7 minutes)
solo organ
Hockets & Inventions (1990, 30 minutes)
Organum (five pieces, 2011, 30 minutes)
solo violin
Chorale: a boy has never wept nor dashed a thousand kim (2009, 3 min)
Duo for violin & Meade Lux Lewis (1990, 4 min)
solo woodwind (flute, clarinet, oboe, or saxophone)
Utah Dances (1990, 12 min)
solo bass flute
Little Andre (1986, 3 min)
solo viola
East St Louis, 1968 (1999, 9 min) with CD
solo violin or clarinet
Duo for violin (or clarinet) & Meade Lux Lewis with CD
accordion
To Spike Jones in Heaven (1989, 9 min) with CD
INSTRUMENTAL DUOS:
The Complete Victrola Sessions (2010, 1 hour)
12 pieces of violin and piano
Duo Sonata for violin & cello (1988, 20 min)
INSTRUMENTAL TRIOS:
Sontag in Sarajevo (1994, 11 minutes)
for accordion, violin, guitar, cello
Clever Hans, a sonata for violin cello harpsichord: also ballet version (2006, 14 minutes)
FOR STRING QUARTET:
String Quartet, #1, The Impossible (1990) with drum kit & conga
String Quartet #2, Bambatta Variations (1992) for a set if quartet instruments designed by Ken Butler
String Quartet #3, The Essential (2009) with electroencephalograms, written with Brad Garton
shorter quartet pieces:
Sequence Girls
LOnesome Train
Sojourner Truth (1990, 7 min)
Five Little Monsters (1984, 7 minutes)
If I had it to give (I'd give it to him)
Michael Callen
East St. Louis, 1968 (1999)
Prelude (1984)
arrangments for string quartet, some with extra players/vocalists :
Here Comes the King (arrangement of Raymond Scott)
Paris 1919 (arrangment of John Cale)
Water Babies (arrangement of Wayne Shorter)
Bo Diddley (arrangement of Bo Diddley)
Ugly (arrangement of Robert Pete Williams)
In Time (arrangement of Sly Stone)
VOCAL WORKS with ensemble including MUSICAL THEATER, OPERA, ORATORIO
The People's Choice (Most Wanted and Most Unwanted Music) for large mixed ensembles, with Komar & Melamid, lyrics by Nina Mankin, based on poll results on musical preference
The Most Wanted Music (soprano, baritone, el guitar, synth, violin, cello, bass, drum, soprano/tenor sax)
The Most Unwanted Music (soprano, child choir, bagpipe, tuba, banjo, synthesizer, harp, harmonica, bass drum, organ)
The Apotheosis of John Brown (text from Frederick Douglass)
soprano, mezzo, tenor, baritone
baroque string orchestra, violin solo, harpsichord, percussion
Chorea Lascivia (aka Smut)
soprano, alto, bass, 2 electric guitars, trumpet, trombome, 2 percussion
Ice-9 Ballads (with Kurt Vonnegut) (30 min)
4 singers and chamber orchestra with balophone, harmonica, guitar, violin, harp, 3 violins, mandolin, electric organ, bass
A Soldier's Story (radio play, with Kurt Vonnegut) (25 min)
narrator, 4 singers, violin, trumpet, trombone, guitar, cello
Naked Revolution (1997, 1 hour)
with Komar & Melamid, libretto by Maita di Niscemi,
socialist realist opera with soloists, chorus, chamber orchestra
War Prayer (30 min, text from Mark Twain)
vocal soloists, orchestra
FOR ORCHESTRA
Double concerto for violin, cello, and orchestra
Ultraviolet Railroad
Marching Band with Elephant Orchestra
The Pastorale Symphony, 1st movement
List and opus numbers
for pieces that have conventionally written scores that can be performed (sometimes with adaptions required) by performers
Opus 1
Sequence Girls (1985, 8 min)
for string quartet and trap set drums
Opus 2
Three Delta Blues (1986, 9 min)
for string quartet
from songs by Robert Johnson, Skip James, and Charlie Patton
alternate duo from Muddy Waters
Opus 3
String Quartet #1 The Impossible (1987, 25 min)
for quartet and trap set drums
Opus 4
Duo Sonata (1988, 30 min)
for violin and cello
Opus 5
To Spike Jones in Heaven (1989, 7 min)
for accordion and tape (or CD)
Opus 6
Hockets & Inventions (1990, 30 min)
for organ
Solo Piano version, (2010)
Opus 7
Utah Dances (1990, 15 min)
for saxophone, clarinet or flute
Opus 8
The Apotheosis of John Brown (1990, 35 min)
text adapted from Frederick Douglass
for narrator, soprano, mezzo, tenor, baritone, vln solo, strings, bass, harpsichord, percussion
Opus 9
Ultraviolet Railroad (1991, 25 min)
Double concerto for violin and cello,
the orchestra of the Brahms double plus piano
violin, cello solo: 222(in Bb) 2 - 423(i1 bs trmb) - tymp, perc, piano, strings
9b Piano trio version (2010,)
for violin, cello, and piano
Opus 10
Smut, a.k.a., Chorea Lascicia, (1991, 30 min)
Latin homoerotic medieval lyrics
sop, mezzo, bass, tpt, trmb, 2 electric guitars, 2 perc
Opus 11
String Quartet #2, Bambatta Variations (1992, 30 min)
for Ken Butler's amplified T-square string quartet
Opus 12
Mark Twain's War Prayer (1993, 30 min)
text adapted from Mark Twain
tenor, bass, gospel choir (with robes), and chamber orchestra;
1,1,1,1 + 1 trumpet, 2 French horns, 1 trombone, strings, 1 double bass, 1 el. bass, electric organ, 2 perc
Opus 13
Sontag in Sarajevo (1994, 11 min)
for accordion, violin (or clarinet), cello (or bass), guitar (or other chordal instrument, including keyboard)
Opus 14
Ice-9 Ballads (1995, 30 min)
lyrics by Kurt Vonnegut
narrator, baritone, 3 sopranos, 3 vlns, mandolin, harp, harmonica, cl, alto sax, guitar, tromb, bass, keyboard, gyli (aka balophone), drums
Opus 15
The People's Choice Music
The Most Wanted Song (1997, 5 min),
with Komar & Melamid) lyrics Nina Mankin
soprano, baritone, e piano, synth, piano, 3 guitars, e bass, trap set, bas drum, vln, cello, double on sop and tenor sax
The Most Unwanted Song (1997, 25 min)
with Komar & Melamid) lyrics Nina Mankin
soprano, children's choir, accordion, bagpipe, banjo, flute/piccolo. harmonica,
organ/ synth/ tuba, harp, 2 bs drums
Opus 16
Naked Revolution, an opera in the socialist realist style (1997, 90 min)
with Komar & Melamid and Maita di Niscemi, libretto
2 mezzo, countertenor, tenor, baritone, bass, chorus (3,2,2,2),
oboe, cl, accordion, piano, guitar, synth, 2 violin, cello, string bass, perc
Opus 17
East St. Louis, 1968 (1999, 8 min)
for viola and CD
17b verstion for string quartet and CD
17c version for synthesizer and CD (2009)
Opus 18
A Soldier's Story (2002, 30 min)
book by Kurt Vonnegut
two male speakers, tenor, bass, soprano, vln, trmb, tpt, ctr, cl, bs, bass, guitar, perc
Opus 19
Clever Hans (ballet) (2005, 20 min)
for violin, cello, and harpsichord
Opus 20
The Complete Victrola Sessions (2010, 1 hour, collection of 12 pieces)
Violin & Piano (optional percussion, including a gong, one pieces uses prerecorded track by Meade Lux Lewis)
Opus 21
String Quartet #3, The Essential (2011, 35 min)
for string quartet with EEGs for brainwaves (cowritten with Brad Garton)
after Schoenberg's Second string quartet, second movement
Opus 22
Dean Swift's Satyrs for the Very Very Young (2011, 40 min)
12 pieces for mezzo or baritone with flute, viola, and harp
Opus 23
Organum, Book I (2011, 30 min)
Five pieces for solo organ
Opus 24
Fractals on the Names of Bach & Haydn (2011, 5 min)
For piano solo
Shorter scored pieces without opus numbers
Little Andre (1986, 3 min)
for bass flute
Five Little Monsters (7 min, 1985)
string quartet and drums (1985)
piano solo piano version (2010)
Sojourner Truth (1989, 6 min)
for string quartet
Lonesome Train (1989, 6 min)
for string quartet and trap set drums
If I had it to give (I'd give it to him)
Michael Callen
Arrangement of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony
for high school marching band and Elephant Orchestra:
including giant marimbas, drums, box string bass, and harmonicas
Prelude (1984) for listening (see also SCORES webpage, which has recordings of many pieces):
organ
Hockets and Inventions
I wrote Hockets and Inventions (1987-1989) to explore how polyphonic music of the Ars Nova might evolve. They are progressively more complex and each in two or three parts that can be played by any instruments, here by the great Walter Hilse on the Aeolian Skinner organ.
listen to the entire series (about 30 minutes)
or single movements:
1. Hocket I Jordan
2. Invention 1
3. Hocket II Fuelgen
4. Invention 2
5. Hocket III Neville
6. Invention 3
7. Hocket IV Otto
8. Invention 4
9. Hocket V Roscoe
10. Invention 5
11. Hocket VI Resolution
12. Invention 6
solo woodwind
Utah Dances (1990), baroque dances as a 90th birthday present for Otto Luening. Can be played by any solo woodwind and performed here by Michael Swartz on alto sax.
hear the entire series
or single movements:
1. Jig
2. Fugue in one voice
3. Cortijo
4. Allemande
5. Forty-niner and double
The Forty-niner is a social dance performed in the "checkerboard" region of northeast Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. It's named from a vaudeville group that played the Kiowa reservation in Oklahoma: the barkers yelled "come see the gals of forty-nine!"
violin and cello
Duo Sonata (1989) played by Laura Seaton and Erik Friedlander on violin and cello.
Reverie
Lent:scordatura
Tribute Electric
Ultraviolet Railroad (1986)
double concerto for violin and cello and orchestra
performed by Mark Feldman and Erik Friedlander; Richard Auldon Clark, conductor, Neil Kirkwood piano soloist
1.Betonia, where I fell into a trance
2. Rapture
3. I'm going upstairs, I'm to take off all my clothes
viola and tape
East St. Louis, 1968
(1999) Memories of my early life as a viola player exploring my home town. Played by Richard Auldon Clark on viola, Dave Soldier synthesizer and harmonica, found tapes and electronics
East St Louis, 1968
violin cello and harpsichord
Clever Hans (2005) six variations based on the Grimm's fairy tale, and written for a ballet by Freefall. Here's the concert version played by Rebecca Cherry on violin, Karlos Rodriguez on cello, and Michael Mizrahi on harpsicord.
Clever Hans
accordion and ensemble
Sontag in Sarajevo
for accordion (parts for standard or Strad accordions both on the scores),
chordal instrument (guitar, piano, or other),
treble melody instrument (violin, clarinet, trumpet, etc.),
bass instrument (cello, bass, trombone, tuba, bassoon, etc.).
Fluor Phosphor Lumen and Candle
Dance for the Tetragrammaton
Performed by Regina Carter, violin; Anne de Maranis, accordion; Dave Soldier, guitar; and Dawn Buckholtz Avery, cello
for accordion and tape (or orchestra)
To Spike Jones in Heaven
(1989) for accordion and tape, performed by William Schimmel. This piece can be performed with orchestra (but never has been).
To Spike Jones in Heaven
piano
Romances From the Second Line
(1986) Le Belvedere portrays Ravel's ghost wandering his home. I was influenced by New Orleans piano music. Performed by Christopher O'Riley.
1. Easy Street
2. Letter to Skip James
3. Le Belvedere
4. Die Heiterkeiten
5. Tillie's Puctured Romance
clarinet
Duo for clarinet and Meade Lux Lewis
A feature for clarinet from Ice 9 Ballads, from an incident in the book that the piece is meant to accompany
Duo for Clarinet and Meade Lux Lewis.
chamber group
Chorea Lascivia (Smut)
(1992) for chamber group and singers
two electric guitars, percussion, trumpet, trombone,
Soprano, mezzosoprano, bass voice
In the early 90’s members of Congress including the late Jesse Helms that only modern art extolled homosexuality. We need to bring back a classical education in this country where you read Plato and Sappho! Chorea Lascivia, nine gothic rock songs, with mostly homoerotic Latin lyrics by medieval monks is dedicated to to Robbert Mapplethorpe and David Wojnarowicz.
1. Dum Caupona Verterem
2. Ad Puerum Anglicum
3. Odalisque in the Seraglio
4. Miser, Miser
5. Graffiti from a 9th century manuscript
6. Quodlibet
7. Parisius Paridi
8. Letter to Ausonius
Performers: Tiye' Giraud, Wilbur Pauley, Napua Davoy - Vocals, Ben Neill - Trumpet, Dave Soldier & Bob Bannister - Guitars, Samm Bennett, Jim Pugliese- Percussion, Drums; Rob Bethea - Trombone; Richard Auldon Clark - Conductor
here is an alternate arrangement of Letter to Ausonius for two soprani, clarinet, viola, and cello played by Sequitur.
Ice-9 Ballads
For chamber orchestra and singers. Ice-9 Ballads are songs for chamber orchestra with lyrics from Cat's Cradle and narration by Kurt Vonnegut
Annihilation Life
Dyot Meet Mat
Nice Very Nice
119th Calypso
Duo For Clarinet and Meade Lux Lewis
14th Calypso
Mona's Funeral Music
Big Tyrant
Folly
performed by the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Richard Auldon Clark, conductor, featuring Jimmy Justice, Tiye' Giraud, Napua Davoy, and Janeice Thompson, vocalists
Ultraviolet Railroad
double concerto for violin and cello and orchestra
performed by Mark Feldman and Erik Friedlander; Richard Auldon Clark, conductor, Neil Kirkwood piano soloist
1. Betonia where I fell into a trance
2. Rapture
3. I'm going upstairs, I'm going to take off all my clothes
The Apotheosis of John Brown
a cantata for baroque orchestra, setting of Frederick Douglass, conducted by Richard Auldon Clark
The Apotheosis of John Brown
My first meeting with Capt. Brown (1947)
Concerto
War in Kansas (1856)
Holler
His capture and execution (1859)
My escape to England from United States Marshals
The beginning of the end (1847-1859)
Pastorale
John Brown a fisherman (1860)
Robbie McCauley, narrator; Jason White, Mary Lee Kortes, Napua Davoy, Gilbert High, vocals; Laura Seaton violin, Gwendolyn Toth, harpsichord
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