WITH PIANO

Sonatina, for clarinet (A) and piano - “Greenstone”

Originally a set of songs for alto and piano written over two days, this now stands as a sonatina for clarinet (in A) and piano in five movements.

The music itself uses a set of 88 rhythmic modes (which also define wedge-like contours) that are tied to the Akkadian syllabary. Additionally, my process for transliterating ornithological information into pitch information is used.

Duration: 11’

Duet, for flute and piano

A short and simple duet for flute and piano based on sketches from juvenilia.

Duration: 5’ 00’’

Violin Sonata No. 1, for violin and piano

Written “Nocturne” by Finnish poet Eino Leino, this three-movement sonata was composed for my friend, Viola Räisänen. Additionally, it is the first of my works to be written using my Akkadian mode of composition.

The first movement is in sonata form, and the total work is in sonata form. The Akkadian mode of composition is a process of transliteration that converts all 88 syllabograms of the Sumero-Akkadian syllabary into rhythmic sets that maintain the contour of the characters. These syllabograms provide primarily phonemic information.

A reference text (e.g., “Nocturne” in its Finnish original) is then included. From this, keywords—defined by their importance to the understanding of the text—are selected and converted into a sequence of numbers, informing you which syllabogram to use. Pitch information is arbitrary, given that the contour of the line is favoured. This, in combination with layering of sonata form sections, is the design of this work.

Duration: 19’ 50’’

Awen, for soprano saxophone and piano

A small duet for soprano saxophone and piano named after the Welsh personification of artistic inspiration.

It was composed on December 13, 2020, and it was premiered by saxophonist Kathy Clarke in the Dora Stoutzker Hall.

Duration: 5’ 30’’

Englyn, for flute and piano

Composed for the Junior Conservatoire (at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama), this work is written in a way that emulates the Welsh traditional poetic form, the 'englyn penfyr'.

The structure of the music—including the elements of rhyme, repetition, and proportionality/duration—corresponds directly to the poetic form. Also accounted for is the concept of cynghanedd (“harmony”), which defines the location and repetition of consonants, rhyme, and stress.

There are three lines, with the first having ten syllables, the second having six; and the third having seven. The first two lines use 'cynghanedd groes' (where consonants, which equal rhythmic and spatial figurations in the music, are repeated in a certain order); the last line uses 'cynghanedd sain' (an even more complex form that also includes internal rhyme within the line).

Duration: 3’ 30’’

Clarinet Sonata No. 1, for clarinet and piano

A winterttime sonata for clarinet and piano in three movements based on the poem "Jersey Lyric," by William Carlos Williams, and on the wintertime.

Duration: 15’ 30’’