Compositions

Note: Some of the compositions in this list are accompanied by recordings of either excerpts or (in most cases) complete performances in the form of .mp3 audio files. These files can be played by many applications; two of the most popular are Apple's iTunes and QuickTime. QuickTime is available for both Macintosh and Windows operating systems. For further information about the QuickTime media player, click here.

All sound clips on this site except as indicated are now in stereo. Since these files take more space and will consequently require more time to download, they will in general not work well in streaming mode with modems of speeds lower than 56k. Sorry about that!

With the recent proliferation of broadband connections, I have chosen to assume that most users have some kind of high-speed Internet access such as a cable modem, a DSL modem, or a multi-link ISDN connection. Consequently, the sound clips on this page may take a substantial amount of time to download if you are using a modem with a 56k or slower transfer rate. However, in such a case, as a "consolation prize", you can download the complete .mp3 file and listen to it offline without problems.

Links preceded by a single asterisk (*) refer to the publisher of the music. A double asterisk (**) denotes a link to the recording company (if any) that has issued a recording (LP or CD) of the work.

A link to [temporarily unavailable] signifies that the work is in the process of being transferred to American Composers Alliance from another publisher and is currently unavailable. In the meantime, if you have a particularly pressing need for performance materials for any piece so marked, please send an e-mail message to the composer via the link at the bottom of this page.

Orchestral music:

• Concerto for Computer and Orchestra (1987)
  (Picc. 2. 2. E.h. 2. bs.cl. 2; 4. 3. 3 (III bass). 1; timp. 3 perc.; hp.; strings)
  *[Merion: score available for perusal — performance materials (conductor's score and orchestral parts) available on rental basis] 19:24
  (Complete performance in .mp3 format by the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Paul Vermel, cond.)
  Click here to download and view page 1 of the score as an Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file.
  
  
• Symphony No. 1 (1993)
  (Picc. 2 (II dbl.alto fl.). 2. E.h. E-flat cl. 2 (II dbl.cbs.cl.). bs.cl. 2. cbsn.; 4 (dbl.Wgnr.tubas). 3(III dbl. Flüglhn.). 3 (III bass). 1; timp. 3 perc.; cel.; 2 hps.; strings)
  *[Merion: score available for perusal — performance materials (conductor's score and orchestral parts) available on rental basis] ca. 42:00
  First performance by the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Paul Martin Zonn, cond., March 16, 1994
  Click here to download and view page 1 of the score as an Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file.
  
  
• "Thanatopsis" for lyric baritone, chorus (SATB), and orchestra (1999)
  (Picc. 2. alto fl. 3. E.h.E-flat cl.2 A cl. bs.cl. cbs.cl. 3. cbsn; 6. D tpt. 2 C tpt. Flüglhn. B-flat bs.tpt. 2 alto.tbn. 2 ten.tbn. bs.tbn. 1; timp. 3 perc.; cel.; 2 hps.; lyric bar. SATB; strings)
  *[Merion: score available for perusal — performance materials (conductor's score, vocal-piano reduction, and orchestral parts) available on rental basis] ca. 55:00 (text by William Cullen Bryant)
  
  
• Symphony No. 2 (2004)
  (Picc. 2. alto fl. 2. E.h. E-flat cl. 2. bs.cl. 3. cbsn.; 4. 2. Flüglhn. 3 (III bass). 1; timp. 3 perc.; 2 hps.; strings)
  *[Merion: score available for perusal — performance materials (conductor's score and orchestral parts) available on rental basis] ca. 21:30
  Click here to download and view page 1 of the score as an Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file.
  Note: This work does not appear in Merion/Presser's on-line catalog because the catalog is not up to date. For information and rental arrangements, e-mail the rental department at rental@presser.com.

Concerti for instruments with computer-synthesized sound:

• Concerto for Violin, Piano and Computer (in progress)
  projected length: ca. 20:00
  
  
• Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Computer (1985)
  *[Merion] ca. 17:30
  (Complete performance in .mp3 format)
  
  
• Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Computer (2006)
  *[ACA] ca. 20:00
  (Audio clip of the first performance (complete) by Winston Choi, pianist in .mp3 format)
  
  
• Concerto No. 1 for Violin and Computer (1979)
  *[Margun/Shawnee] **[New World: originally on LP; re-issued (November, 1997) in CD format] ca. 15:00
  (Complete performance in .mp3 format)
  Click here to download and view page 1 of the score as an Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file.
  
  
• Concerto No. 2 for Violin and Computer (1986)
  *[Merion] ca.17:30
  (Complete performance in .mp3 format by Gregory Fulkerson, violin)
  
  
• Concerto No. 1 for Flute and Computer (1984)
  *[Margun/AMP] **[Centaur] ca. 17:00
  
  
• Concerto No. 2 for Flute and Computer (1990)
  *[Merion] **[Zuma] ca. 17:30
  (Complete performance in .mp3 format by Tim Lane, flute)
  Interview in .mp3 format with John Melby recorded at Bowling Green University on the occasion of a performance of the Concerto No. 2 for Flute and Computer in 2005
  
  
• Concerto No. 1 for Violoncello and Computer (1981)
  *[Margun/AMP] ca. 16:00
  
  
• Concerto No. 2 for Violoncello and Computer (1989)
  *[Merion] ca. 19:30
  
  
• Concerto No. 1 for Clarinet and Computer (1986)
  *[Merion] **[Zuma] ca. 18:30
  (Complete performance in .mp3 format by Paul Martin Zonn, clarinets)
  
  
• Concerto No. 2 for Clarinet and Computer (2006)
  *[ACA (score in preparation)] ca. 16:30
  
  
• Concerto for Viola and Computer (1982)
  *[Merion] ca. 16:00
  (Complete performance in .mp3 format by Guillermo Perich, viola)
  
  
• Concerto for Violin, English Horn, and Computer (1984)
  *[Merion] **[CRI] ca. 21:00
  (Complete performance in .mp3 format by Gregory Fulkerson, violin; Thomas Stacy, English horn; David Liptak, cond.)

  Note: CRI's catalogue has been acquired by New World Records, and the currently available information includes the statement that New World Records is "committed to keeping every title active in [CRI's] catalogue and available at all times." In the meantime, please click here to check on availability of CRI recordings.

• Concerto for Contrabass and Computer (1989)
  *[n/a] ca. 14:00
  
  
• Concerto for English Horn and Computer (1986)
  *[Merion] ca. 15:00
  
  
• see also Orchestral music

Other works for instruments and computer-synthesized sound:

• "Accelerazioni" for flute and computer (1979)
  *[Merion] 8:38
  (Complete performance in .mp3 format)
  
  
• "Alto Rhapsody" for alto saxophone and computer (1986)
  *[Merion] **[Zuma] 10:31
  (Complete performance in .mp3 format by Taimur Sullivan, saxophone)
  
  
• "And I remembered the cry of the peacocks" for English horn, string trio, and computer (1988)
  *[Merion] ca. 13:00
  
  
• "Threeplay" for flute, clarinet, contrabass, and computer (1989)
  *[Merion] 9:58
  
  
• "Transparencies" for trumpet and computer (1977)
  *[Merion] 10:00
  
  
• "Passages" for tuba and computer (1977-78)
  *[Merion] 10:00
  
  
• "In tenebris" for piano and computer (1980)
  *[Merion] 11:00
  
  
• "L'Infinito" for violin, viola, violoncello, and computer (1980)
  *[Merion] ca. 11:00
  
  
• String Quartet No. 3 (with computer) (1989-90)
  *[Merion] 18:55
  
  
• "Wind, Sand and Stars" for eight instruments and computer (1983)
  (fl., ob. [E.hn.], cl. [bs.cl.], hn., vln., vla., vlc., cb.)
  *[Margun/AMP] 15:30
  
  
• "Zonnorities" for oboe (E.hn.), clarinet (bs.cl.) and computer (1974)
  *[Merion] ca. 11:00
  (Complete .mp3 file — George Townsend, clarinet; Roy Lawrence, oboe; Marvin Johnson, cond.)
  
  
• "Zonnorities II" for oboe (E.hn.), clarinet (E-flat cl.) and computer (1991)
  *[temporarily unavailable] 12:43
  
  
• "91 Plus 5" for brass quintet [1,2,1,1] and computer (1969-70)
  *[Merion] **[CRI] ca. 20:00

  Note: CRI's catalogue has been acquired by New World Records, and the currently available information includes the statement that New World Records is "committed to keeping every title active in [CRI's] catalogue and available at all times." In the meantime, please click here to check on availability of CRI recordings.

Other instrumental ensemble works:

• "Epitaph" (in memoriam Carl Ruggles) for winds and percussion (1975)
  (Picc., 2, 2, E.h., 2, bs. cl., 2, cbsn.; 2, 2, 2, 1; timp., 3 perc.)
  *[Margun/AMP] ca. 9:00
  (Complete performance in .mp3 format by the University of Illinois Wind Ensemble, Paul Martin Zonn, cond.)
  
  
• Septet (1975)
  (fl., ob. (dbl. E.h.), cl. (dbl. bs.cl.), bsn., tpt., trb., tba.)
  [ms] ca. 6:00
  
  
• Four Pieces for String Quartet (String Quartet No. 1) (1963-64)
  *[Merion] ca. 11:00
  
  
• String Quartet No. 2 (1968)
  [ms] ca. 11:00
  
  
• Composition for Five Brasses (1968)
  [1,2,1,1]
  *[Merion] ca. 9:00
  
  
• Music for Six Players (1966) (ww. quintet and piano)
  [ms] ca. 16:00

Vocal (including choral) music:

• In Darkness for soprano and computer (2007)
  *[ACA] 17:43 (texts by Amy Lowell)
  
  
• Three Wordsworth Songs for soprano and computer (2005)
  *[ACA] 13:30 (texts by William Wordsworth)
  (Complete performance in .mp3 format by Patricia Sonego, soprano)
  Click here to download and view page 11 of the score as an Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file.
  
  
• Two Stevens Songs for soprano and computer (1975)
  *[Margun/AMP] **[CRI] 9:10 (texts by Wallace Stevens)

  Note: CRI's catalogue has been acquired by New World Records, and the currently available information concerning this acquisition includes the statement that New World Records is "committed to keeping every title active in [CRI's] catalogue and available at all times." In the meantime, please click here to check on availability of CRI recordings. As of this date, the CRI recording of this work by Phyllis Bryn-Julson is unavailable (other than an occasional appearance on eBay). Until it is again made commercially available, I am posting an audio clip in .mp3 format of the complete recording of the work by Phyllis Bryn-Julson.
  

• "Peter Quince at the Clavier" for soprano and computer (1988)
  *[Merion]
  (.mp3 sound clip of the first six minutes: Anne Petrie, soprano. Please note that this recording, taken from the first performance of the piece, contains some sound distortion that was unfortunately impossible to remove.)
  17:37 (text by Wallace Stevens)
  
  
• "The men that are falling" for soprano, piano, and computer (1978)
  *[ms] 11:00 (text by Wallace Stevens)
  
  
• Two Norwegian Songs for soprano (or tenor) and piano (1965-66)
  *[available from the composer] ca. 6:00
  (texts [in Norwegian] by Henrik Ibsen)
  
  
• "Valedictory" for soprano and computer (1973)
  *[ms] 16:00
  (text by L. E. Kramer)
  
  
• "Oculi omnium in te sperant, Domine" for chorus (SATB) a cappella (1976)
  *[available from the composer] ca. 3:30
  (text [in Latin] from Ps. 146, Vulgate)
  
  
• Due canti di Leopardi for soprano, horn, and piano (1966; 1974)
  [ms] ca. 6:00
  (texts [in Italian] by Giacomo Leopardi)
  
  
• "Two Dances", song for tenor and piano (1970)
  [ms] ca. 3:00
  (text by L. E. Kramer)
  
  
• Quietus, opera in one act for four voices, fourteen instruments, and computer (1968-70)
  [ms] ca. 1 hr. 10 min.
  (libretto by L. E. Kramer)
  
  
• See also Orchestral music (Thanatopsis)

Music for solo instrument:

• First Piano Sonata (1964-65, revised 1993)
  *[Merion] ca. 12:00
  (Complete performance in .mp3 format by Charles Gangemi, piano [original 1965 version])
  
  
• Second Piano Sonata (1966)
  *[Merion] ca. 12:00
  (Complete performance in .mp3 format by Charles Gangemi, piano)
  
  
• "The rest is silence . . ." for organ (1994)
  *[Merion] ca. 11:30
  (Complete performance in .mp3 format by David Bohn, organ)
  Click here to download and view page 1 of the score as an Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file.
  

Works for computer-synthesized sound alone:

• "Chor der Steine" (1979)
  *[Merion] **[GMEB] 10:00 Note: "Chor der Steine" was previously available on an Advance LP, Vol. 6 of the American Society of University Composers record series, which has been out of print for many years. The CD of this work from GMEB mentioned above is the first time that this composition has been available to the general public.
  (Complete recording in .mp3 format)
  
  
• "Chor der Waisen" (1985)
  *available on the commercial CD: **[Centaur] 10:04
  (.mp3 sound clip of the first three minutes)
  
  
• "Chor der Toten" (1988)
  *[available from the composer] 11:10
  
  
• ". . . of quiet desperation" (1976)
  *[Merion] 10:00
  (Complete recording in .mp3 format)
  
  
• "Layers" (1981)
  *[CSC] 9:43
  (Complete recording in .mp3 format)
  
  
• "Å forandre": Seven Variations for Digital Computer (1969)
  *[available from the composer] **[ASUC] 11:22
  (Complete recording in .mp3 format)
  

Key to publishers:

"Margun/AMP" = Associated Music Publishers

"Margun/Shawnee" = Shawnee Press

"Merion" = Merion Music., Inc. (Theodore Presser Company)

"ACA" = American Composers Alliance

"CSC" = Centro di Sonologia Computazionale dell' Università di Padova (Italy)

"available from the composer" = (click on the link or see the e-mail address at the bottom of this page)

"ms" = in manuscript and unavailable

"n/a" = not available

Margun Music, Inc., the publisher of several of the works listed above, has recently been sold to Associated Music Publishers, Inc., a division of Music Sales Corporation. Compositions for print distribution with the publisher listing Margun/Shawnee Press are available from Shawnee Press, although there is currently no link to Margun pieces on the Shawnee Press Web site. I have been assured that the site will soon be updated, but in the meantime one must call Shawnee Press to obtain the score. Pieces whose publisher listing is Margun/AMP are available on a rental basis from the Rental Department of Associated Music Publishers, Inc.

A link to [temporarily unavailable] signifies that the work is in the process of being transferred to American Composers Alliance from another publisher and is currently not commercially available. In the meantime, if you have a particularly pressing need for performance materials for any piece so marked, please send an e-mail message to the composer via the link at the bottom of this page.

Key to recording companies:

"Centaur" = Centaur Records

"CRI" = Composers Recordings, Inc.

"GMEB" = Institute International de Musique Electroacoustique

"New World" = New World Records

"Zuma" = Zuma Records

"ASUC" = American Society of University Composers
(now the "Society of Composers, Inc.");
LP issued as a supplement to Vol. 7/8 of the
Proceedings of the American Society of University Composers,
1973: long out of print

Discography

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