Untitled Piece for Mandolin and Guitar

jeff harrington · Joined: Nov 08, 2003 Posts: 84 Location: Brooklyn

An as yet untitled composition commissioned by super virtuosi Duo Ahlert und Schwab for mandolin and guitar. This piece combines the sound worlds of Erg with the extremely dense pop/arab/blues-based use of material as in my recent piece for piano, DeltaBandResonator. 13 1/2 minutes (and in performance it'll end up being about 15 mintues) of polyrhythmic multi-instrument mayhem!

Untitled Piece for Mandolin and Guitar

Also, Duo Ahlert und Schwab's new CD with their fantastic performance of Erg will be out later this month online and in most major record stores. My first real CD! Wink

mosc · Posted: Sat May 29, 2004 9:59 am Post subject:

This is a very interesting piece, Jeff. I like it a lot.

Please tell me that this is a recorded MIDI performance. No real people can play that accrurately, can they?

jeff harrington · Joined: Nov 08, 2003 Posts: 84 Location: Brooklyn

Hehehe... yeah this is MIDI. Birgit and Daniel play very accurately, but this is amazing! Must be some type of computah playing it I think! Wink

Thanks for the listen... Sorry I haven't been around more... been trying to crank this piece out. Invited astroid powerup over here fwiw! Cool

mosc · Posted: Sat May 29, 2004 10:37 am Post subject:

jeff harrington · Joined: Nov 08, 2003 Posts: 84 Location: Brooklyn

Yeah AP is an interesting musician no doubt!

I started the piece after hearing the duo live here in NYC playing an extremely hard contemporary piece. I'm sure parts of this are going to be impossible Rolling Eyes

and they'll be a pain to re-write... but that's all part of the process.

I'd better not send you the MIDI. I'm not even sure I should be posting the MP3 without the group having heard it and made some comments.

Wink

mosc · Posted: Sat May 29, 2004 11:01 am Post subject:

OK, but please send it when it is appropriate, perhaps after the recording is complete or something. I understand. Smile

astroid power-up! · Joined: Mar 23, 2004 Posts: 334 G2 patch files: 15

aww.

shucks

i'll come listen to this when i take a break, jeff. looking foward to it!

edit:
responded to this over at electronicbboard.com. summary: very VERY good, can't wait for the live musicians.

elektro80 · Posted: Sat May 29, 2004 6:35 pm Post subject:

This is excellent music! I like this! There are some very interesting things going on in here. This is perfect stuff!

jeff harrington · Joined: Nov 08, 2003 Posts: 84 Location: Brooklyn

Thanks elektro! Smile

There's a new version up with more holes and a nutso canonic finale from Nancarrow hell... Wink

Still looking for a title... ow...

Laughing

http://parnasse.com/mp3/Jeff-Harrington-Untitled_Piece_for_Mandolin_and_Guitar.mp3

elektro80 · Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 5:40 pm Post subject:

Grabbing the new candidate now.

A name-that-song contest?

Hmm.. any sponsors?

elektro80 · Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 11:53 pm Post subject:

Excellent!

seraph · Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2004 12:50 am Post subject:

good job Jeff
it's very nice compositionally-wise. I do not how much playable it is. I hope your performers are marvelous Very Happy

jeff harrington · Joined: Nov 08, 2003 Posts: 84 Location: Brooklyn

Thanks seraph! I've been assured by the group that it's playable... I'm sure there are a few changes here and there but I have to say working with a group this great is just soooo inspiring...

BTW... belated congratulations to you and your family on the adoption! Very cool... (I'm learning Italian, btw... but I'm not brave enough to type any yet - we're going to Rome this August for a couple of weeks! )

seraph · Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2004 8:31 am Post subject:

jeff harrington · Joined: Nov 08, 2003 Posts: 84 Location: Brooklyn

astroid power-up! · Joined: Mar 23, 2004 Posts: 334 G2 patch files: 15

listening to this again (i've been away from e-m.com for a bit, getting swamped with various things, including my own music)
i love that you can hear that theme most of the way through. you speak to me and what i want to hear-organization, balance, development, polymeter, bitonality, but all within and easily accessible framework which builds up from the ground of a singable theme.

this sounds almost blues based on the second time through. seems like it's mostly 3 over 4 and 8 polymeter (and 4 over 3-you develop the meter nicely). The little digressions into the songy bits are really nice.

that finale's coming up. let's hear the nancarrow.
lol
those sequences are pretty funny+ the end chord with the minor/major third after the long bach-like wrapup- just great.

jeff harrington · Joined: Nov 08, 2003 Posts: 84 Location: Brooklyn

Thanks astroid, that's one of the more interesting comments I've gotten online. It's funny, even with the deterioration of ES and most of the other sites being fairly generalist, I still think this community, the electronic BBS community has some of the more open-minded and interesting of all musician oriented communities, bar none. Take a look at say, the hardcore contemporary communities like rec.music.classical.contemporary and you'll find almost no analysis or criticism. Just big name praising or bashing... Etc...

Thanks for the fascinatingresponse! geek

mosc · Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 11:00 am Post subject:

astroid power-up! · Joined: Mar 23, 2004 Posts: 334 G2 patch files: 15

jeff harrington · Joined: Nov 08, 2003 Posts: 84 Location: Brooklyn

Ha... didn't all I say was WHERE'S THE BASS??

Mr. Green

astroid power-up! · Joined: Mar 23, 2004 Posts: 334 G2 patch files: 15

jeff harrington · Joined: Nov 08, 2003 Posts: 84 Location: Brooklyn

Well I just hope someday, when I am brilliant (haha) you can really recognize it ! Wink

Got a title!

Cassotis - for Mandolin and Guitar

Cassotis was the spring at the Temple of Delphi that the priests drank from before beginning their rituals of divination. It was supposed to bless the priest with 'mantic' powers. It's also the name of the wood nymph that lived there. Elsie was saying how spring like the piece was (with the bubbly theme) and this just fit!

mosc · Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2004 8:10 am Post subject:

That's a good title... surprise