Composing a piano piece for the left hand is not a new concept. In the past many composers, from Alexander Scriabin, to Maurice Ravel and Sergei Prokofiev, composed pieces of this sort for the keyboard repertoire. As a composer who has had Cerebral Palsy on the left side of my body, however, I became increasingly dissatisfied with this music because it tended to focus on virtuosic writing for a "normal" left hand. It was my task to compose a left-handed piece that was also accessible to all performers: specifically, those who share my condition or who need to strengthen their left hand.
My Impromptu for the Left Hand is a slow, Impressionistic piano piece that is somewhat pedagogical in scope. Unlike most keyboard scores for the left hand, which utilize two staves (something that I found odd and confusing), I wrote this composition on three staves. In this way, performers can follow the flow and direction of the musical lines more clearly. In terms of technique Impromptu for the Left Hand features frequent upward arpeggios that require wrist relaxation and dexterity in crossing the fingers. At certain points this work consists of wide tenths that must be rolled in order to emphasize the downbeat. In recognition of Claude Debussy's 150th birthday in 2012, this piece additionally makes use of Impressionistic techniques reminiscent of his music. Long pedal markings in the work serve to create a blurred musical texture. Likewise, several passages in the score, suggest pentatonic and whole-tone scales. This video makes use of a "3-D Ripple" effect.
This video utilizes a "Changing Color Spectrum" effect and slow "Zoom Out" amid the blurred texture.
This is the first in a set of three Musique concrete pieces involving the manipulation of random gibberish from my phone using the "Notepad" feature, a digital recorder and Sound Forge Audio Studio 9.0 software. As the title of the piece implies, the accompanying visual (a negative photo from 2008 of my left hand) gradually pixelates into molecular status. This is a Musique concrete piece that I composed using the Sony Sound Forge Audio Studio 9.0 software, ProTools and a digital recorder.I recorded and distorted various kitchen sounds from my home (jars and bowls hit with a wooden spoon), snippets of me playing piano clusters in the bass register and random gibberish from my phone via the "Notepad" feature. To make this work especially intriguing, I utilized the "Sci-Fi Mod" feature from ProTools, which gives the piece a rather effective futuristic feel to it. Somatognosis, for recorder or flute, electric keyboard, percussion, and mixed media (2012-13)4/15/2013 I. Hearing II. Sight III. Touch IV. Smell V. Taste As the movements of this work suggest, this collaborative project (conceived during the summer of 2012) attempts to explore the Five Senses through the incorporation of musical and visual and interactive elements. This cyclical work is intended to provide more of an abstract representation of these senses rather than a literal depiction. Although the music coincides with the visuals, I had actually composed the score beforehand. The music, which coincides with the interactive elements (such as darkness, blurred vision, murky textures, and food) includes plethora of timbral and percussive effects. The single motes in the flute (performed here) in Hearing depict tinnitus: ringing in the ears. Other effects, such as tone clusters in the electric keyboard, the ringing of tubular bells, scratches on the guiro or brushes on the drum set, serve to provide motion and intriguing sounds in Sight, Touch, Smell, and Taste. After reviewing several of my older compositions in early 2012, I realized that some of these pieces consisted of traditional (albeit, predictable) musical structures. The Phobias represent a brief departure from this compositional style. They are intentionally experimental because they feature more dissonance and explore more creative uses for percussion.
Contextually this set depicts three common fears: Germaphobia, Claustrophobia and Acrophobia. To a certain degree, this work also demonstrates how a phobic person might perceive these fears. The first movement, Germaphobia, depicts the fear of germs and frequently shifts between slow and fast tempi. The piece begins with a quick pattern in the Bass Drum, signifying a beating heart and foreshadowing what is to follow. The woodwinds, brass and strings depict microbes or dirt accumulating on a surface. This is quickly followed by periods of the frantic squeaking of a Rubber Duck (or any other device that produces a similar sound). This pattern continues and builds in intensity, almost to frustration. The slow trills in the ensemble signify that the germs have not disappeared. For the second movement, Claustrophobia, I composed two particular themes: a slow Bossa Nova and the actual fear, represented by rapid triplets and tremolos, shrinking intervals (from 9ths to 2nds) and glissandi in the ensemble, save for percussion. This theme gradually interrupts the Bossa Nova to the point where the music becomes distorted. Although this music can apply to any scenario where claustrophobia is involved, I imagined being stuck in an elevator surrounded by a large group of people. To avoid being too predictable in the last movement, Acrophobia, I used glissandi in different directions, as well as various dynamic levels to create the impression of vertigo and nausea. This piece also features Rapid Breathing in the percussion, signifying hyperventilation. Of course, with this last movement, I also wanted to provide a sense of resolution in order to demonstrate that fears can be conquered. Thus, “Acrophobia” ends with the same final motive from Germaphobia, albeit on a major chord. In the past my music has tended to gravitate towards rich polyphonic textures. Monophonic music, on the other hand, seems more complex and demanding to me because only one musical instrument is involved. With that being said, the challenges for me when composing a monophonic piece lie in creating interesting music that is also playable. Such was the case when I began writing the Specter for cello in late 2011. Granted, this piece was not my first venture into composing monophonic music. The previous year, I had written a short piece for B-Flat clarinet. With Specter, my initial goal was to create a set of two concert etudes: one which focused on bowing techniques and the other on pizzicato. After the second piece did not come to fruition, I decided to make a short cello piece that retained the technical qualities of a concert etude, yet utilized modern sounds. Specter is an atonal piece that depicts a ghost wandering the earth. Although I did not utilize Twelve-Tone compositional techniques for this work, it is ironic that I drew inspiration from the music of Austrian Serial composer, Ernst Krenek (1900-1991): specifically, the first movement of his Suite, Op. 84 for cello. Of course, I was focusing primarily on the overall timbre of the piece and wanted to use similar sounds with Specter. I feel that the dark musical texture of the cello in my work, coupled with an abundance of rests and shifts in meter, serve to create an appropriately eerie atmosphere. This is a set of short, whimsical country dances for the piano. They are stylistically inspired by the mazurkas of Polish Romantic composer Frederic Chopin. Unlike Chopin’s mazurkas, however, my pieces contain dissonances and harmonies reminiscent of the Russian Neo-classical composer Sergei Prokofiev’s music. More importantly, Three Mazurkas incorporates a cyclical element in which the melodic and rhythmical motives serve to connect each other in some way.
Each piece in this set is based on an interval that was not accepted during the Common Practice Period (music before 1900). The first piece consists primarily of successive fourths and tritones in the right hand over a “normal” bass accompaniment. The B section of this work also uses additive rhythms (in this case, 2+2+3/8) and seventh chords in the right hand to break the monotony of the 3/4 meter. The second piece begins in 5/4 with sixths in the melody and open cluster-type chords in the bass. The actual 3/4 element of the mazurka does not appear until the B section. Here, this can either be played normally or with the right hand crossing the left. The third and final piece in this set begins in the seemingly uncomfortable middle and high registers of the piano. The right hand plays successive minor seconds, while the left plays open fourths and fifths. This very dissonant piece gradually moves through all of the registers of the piano from top to bottom, ending with thunderous octaves at both extreme registers of the piano. |
Anthony L. SanchezAuthor, composer, pianist, pedagogue. Categories
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