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Orchestral strings, with sparse piano highlights. A brooding, atmospheric composition. I imagined a prisoner, perhaps wrongly accused of murder, walking the yard in San Quentin. Dedicated to Malcolm Braly, who wrote the prison novel of the same name. This was one of my favorite compositions to write. You will hear the very deep bass notes typical of film music.
The Machine that Makes Defective Parts (2007): 1:28
A
short, menacing piece for orchestral strings, written in several different meters. It includes instrumental effects, such as battuto
and sul ponticello, which only strings are capable of.
I
wrote these pieces while studying
with Michael Mitacek at
Ishi (2007 – LIVE version): 2:52
Trio
for flute, clarinet, and cello. Recorded live, 9/8/07. Ishi was the last surviving member of the Yana
Indian tribe, which lived on
Flute:
Ethan Lin; Bb clarinet: Dena Orkin; cello: Jennifer Li.
1st
and 2nd movements. Middle-eastern sounding, polyrhythmic piece arranged for string quintet.
I wrote the original for string orchestra, pared the harmony down for
the quintet, adding a second movement. This
difficult piece was sight-read in the studio by five professional musicians,
after only one read-through. We had a
total of only 15 minutes studio time. Cary
Belling, 1st violin; conductor, Norman Ludwin. Recorded 9/4/07 at
A
short 19-bar orchestral strings piece, which will eventually form the nucleus
of a larger composition. Passage
is written in 6/8, and evokes the feeling of being on a ship at sea. I wrote it in memory of my grandfather’s passage
to the
6-part theme & variations.
For Bb trumpet, tenor sax, trombone, tuba, contrabass and claves.
I imagined a wake for a Tinker, Tinkers being an English ethnic group
similar to the
Duet for viola and contrabass.
The
piece has two distinct parts – a tender opening section, followed by a lively
jig constructed as a chase, which allows the viola and bass to show off.
Porch Swing then closes with a recap of the opening theme.
A million thanks to Jamie Robertson, who created this wonderfully believable
midi-realization for me using Garritan sounds!
Poly-rhythmic
solo piano. The ostinato in the bass uses an ancient Greek
scale, while the top two voices elude the barline – and the listener’s expectations.
Quintet version. Avant-garde, 20th Century piece.
The instrumentation is flute, Bb clarinet, trombone, cello, and contrabass.
Duet
for nylon-stringed guitar and baritone guitar.
A pretty, classical piece which utilizes counterpoint and root movement
by fourths. It modulates from
a minor to d minor.
4-part solo piano sketch of the quintet version above.
Ishi (2007 – midi version): 1:42
Sextet. 20th Century piece for flute, Bb
clarinet, G alto flute, viola, cello, contrabass. I adapted my trio version from this harmonically
fuller sextet.
1st
movement only. For string orchestra
– I wrote this version first. If you
listen carefully and compare the orchestral version with the quintet arrangement,
you can hear divisi parts in some of the strings in this one.
You will also hear how smooth and full orchestral strings sound.
I did these pieces while studying counterpoint with Michael Mitacek at Pasadena City College. Warning: Counterpoint is addictive!
Episode
w/ a Given Motive (2005): 0:48
Two-part, Baroque counterpoint, for piano. Listen for the hemiola I threw in just for fun – three beats against four.
Baroque piano piece, in three parts.
The
exposition occurs at the very beginning of a fugue, taking the listener to a
point of modulation.
1st movement. Listen
for modulations to new keys…
Fish-shaped Invention (2005): 1:29
Two-part
Baroque counterpoint, for piano. Bach
wrote many inventions, a musical form he’s famous for.
Renaissance Motet (2005): 1:20
For violin & cello. This sort of Renaissance motet was religious music, and would usually be sung. An alternate version with text exists, for soprano and alto voices. The words are:
Ave Maria gratia plena
Dominus tecum virgo serena.
Benidictus
tu in mulieribus.
In the Woods (1998, 2006): 3:16
Jazz
sextet. Instrumentation: Bb trumpet, tenor sax, bass
clarinet, piano, acoustic bass. On this
midi realization there are no drums, but in a real playing situation there would
be. The piano section you hear is meant
for soloists to improvise over. I wrote
and arranged this piece in 1998 while studying composition with Rick Helzer,
at SDSU, then re-arranged it in 2006.
Solo piano. A melancholy jazz piece in the style of Thelonious Monk.
Jazz
strings. Two choruses of a jaunty jazz blues I wrote,
then arranged for strings. The head, plus one chorus to showcase the bass
& ensemble hits. Writing jazz for
strings is a special art! I wrote this
piece originally for jazz guitar.
For
saxophone quartet. In this midi
version you’ll hear clarinet on top, alto sax, tenor sax, and
For
saxophone quartet: soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxes.
Brash and straight-ahead! The
voices gradually drop out, till you hear a duet between the alto and tenor saxes.
A
taste of my arrangements on these well-known jazz standards.
Prelude to a Kiss, by Duke Ellington, arr. by Kimi Reith (2007): 0:32
Just
the first 8 bars of the head, for two alto saxophones and two tenor saxes.
When I Fall in Love, by Heyman/Young, arr. by Kimi Reith (2007): 2:09
For orchestral strings.
When I Fall in Love, by Heyman/Young, arr. by Kimi Reith (2007): 2:00
For piano. The sketch from which I built the strings version.
The first 8 bars of the head, for two alto saxophones and two tenor saxes.
I used a Roland JV-1010 for most of the midi tracks. The realization for my bass & viola composition Porch Swing was put together for me by Jamie Robertson, using Garritan sounds.
p y g m y g o d AT k i m r e i t h DOT c o m
***Special
thanks to Mark Lewis, who converted the midi files to audio for me***
| K i m R e i t h home compositions Bail! (CD) compositional notes on "Bail!" order reviews bio links contact résumé edmund j wood |