Steve Reich has often described the role of keys and chord cycles in his compositions. This retrospective treats Reich’s oeuvre as a meta-cycle of chords, using harmonic mixing to match tracks whose endpoints share a common key or subset of pitches. Vol. 2 focuses on Reich’s earlier, longer pieces, and includes most of his major… Continue reading Steve Reich Keys, a Mixtape, Vol. 2
Category: Postclassical
Quarter-Tone Study
This piece was composed and recorded when I was a student at York University, most likely a partial result of attending the late James Tenney’s course on the music of Charles Ives and hearing the latter composer’s Three Quarter-Tone Pieces. Although I took the time to prepare a neat modular score (see below), my involvement… Continue reading Quarter-Tone Study
Queen Peace
Today is Philip Glass’ birthday, my birthday and also the birthday of my first child, Aderemi. In honour of the last celebrant, I’m posting a piece from a suite I wrote for her in the year of her birth. Aderemi is a Yoruba name and translates “the crown brings peace.” This is a very simple,… Continue reading Queen Peace
Kenza’s 40 Days
Our daughter has been with us 40 days, which is a significant milestone in Islam. The number 40 appears a great deal in the literature of all the Abrahamic religions. “Fourths + Fifths” is the first movement of the three-movement work Kenza (2012). It is structured around a sequence of six diatonic modes, each associated… Continue reading Kenza’s 40 Days
Best of 2011/2012
The past 24 months have been full of wonderful blessings and have witnessed the happiest period of my life so far. Alhamdulillah, for all that has been given. It thus seems fitting to me, in doing a best of list, to look at the last two years as a whole. Here’s what has brought (re)new(ed)ness… Continue reading Best of 2011/2012
Anni
Anni is for solo piano in three movements; the first and last a prelude and postlude, respectively, to the longer and more developed middle. I have posted the audio for this movement only. The key of the second movement is ambiguous during the opening chorale, then settles into A major/F-sharp minor. It is based around… Continue reading Anni
