The Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti taught that “truth is a pathless land,” a saying intended to caution the listener against following gods and gurus. While composing this piece, I entered my own kind of pathless land. As in many of my recent works, I derived the piece’s materials from the names of the performers for… Continue reading Mercy in a Pathless Land
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What’s in a Name?
Most of my recent compositions have been composed using the names of the performers for whom the piece was written as seeds for the basic materials. While composing What’s in a Name? I was reflecting on the fact that all of the “name compositions” before this piece are solo works. I found that working with… Continue reading What’s in a Name?
Movements (for Clarinet and Live Electronics)
Lately, it seems that every third piece I compose feels like pulling teeth. For reasons that (mostly) have nothing to do with the work itself, Movements (for Clarinet and Live Electronics) is one of those pieces. Whatever dramas may have unfolded between April and May, I will give some dry information about the piece. Movements… Continue reading Movements (for Clarinet and Live Electronics)
Electric Dreamscape no. 3
In this piece I am beginning to explore generative musical forms. I wrote 25 fragments of music using a five note pitch-class set derived from the name Matt Mason, the performer for whom this work is composed. (The set is [0 1 2 6 7]). These 25 fragments are separated into five “primary moment groups”.… Continue reading Electric Dreamscape no. 3
Dialogues (an Interactive Sound Installation for Disklavier Piano)
Dialogues is an interactive sound installation centered around a Yamaha Diskalvier piano that is controlled by Max/MSP. During an installation, users are allowed to play the Disklavier. A computer, connected to the Diskalvier with a MIDI to USB converter, analyzes the performance and then plays along using the data collected from the preceding user interaction.… Continue reading Dialogues (an Interactive Sound Installation for Disklavier Piano)
7X7 (1 to 85,766,121)
7X7 (1 to 85,766,121) is an 8-channel fixed media composition created in Max/MSP. The versions presented here are stereo mixes for the purpose of accessibility. However, the premiere performance in the Voxman Concert Hall at University of Iowa used an 8.1 surround sound setup. It was this 8 channel setup for which I composed the… Continue reading 7X7 (1 to 85,766,121)
Fanfare • Phantom • Architect
I originally intended for this piece to be a trio for Horn, Cello, and Piano (essentially a horn trio with cello instead of violin). In studying some of the standard horn trios I became enamored with a brief passage in the third movement of Brahm’s Horn Trio in E-Flat Major. Having studied the Bach library… Continue reading Fanfare • Phantom • Architect
Presence
An article in the Appeal Democrat about the public premiere of presence on June 11, 2022. Presence is a flexible, generative, and immersive sound installation environment. The piece is powered by a computer algorithm that analyzes data in real time about the date, time, and weather of the location in which the piece is performed.… Continue reading Presence
Fractured Memories no. 1
The following address was given at the premiere showing of the work: “Hello, my name is Kevin Swenson, and I am the composer of Fractured Memories no. 1, the audio/visual piece that you are about to experience. The work unfolds in three distinct sections: the first is comprised of a driving scene from Marysville. over… Continue reading Fractured Memories no. 1
Tears – A setting of Text by Allen Ginsberg
When I was a teenager my father, perhaps to his regret, introduced me to the writings of the so-called “beat generation” authors. I quickly developed a fascination and admiration for their work. The text for this piece, Tears, is a 1956 poem by Allen Ginsberg. I found the poem to be extremely evocative for a… Continue reading Tears – A setting of Text by Allen Ginsberg