This post’s title may seem a little odd, if not alarming… It was a bit of a stretch for me to create anything approaching a clever parody of Fleetwood Mac’s (copyright, 1972) “Bare Trees” album art. I created the bare trees that are intended to invoke the spirit of the ones on the Fleetwood Mac album cover, using the “Bryce” 3D modeling app. And, (not by coincidence) my colleague, Jason Pike and I both use (Apple) Macs for our musical work.
The Danny Kirwan composition, Sunny Side Of Heaven was next-up from my bucket-list of songs and pieces that I intended to eventually record. Like Keith Jarrett’s “Pastel Morning,” this is one that I planned to record for more than thirty years. When I was unable to find a recording of this piece online, I ordered the CD from Amazon and transcribed the piece from recordings of my purchased CD.
Jason Pike channeled the spirit of Mick Fleetwood’s stylized, lyrical drumming while I attempted to channel the spirit of Danny Kirwan’s guitar solo to record tracks that were synchronized to the same audio track (and, therefore synchronized together). Unlike our previous collaborations, this project was the first where Jason provided me with MIDI drum parts rather than audio drum recordings. For our performances, each of us (separately) played along with the Fleetwood Mac recording as a guide to record our parts. Our rendition uses three electric guitars, acoustic guitar, Mr. Tramp (Wurlitzer electric-piano emulation), Synthogy Ivory grand-piano, electric-bass, and Jason’s MIDI drums.
For future projects, Jason provided me with recordings of each of his drums. We plan to use his (future) MIDI percussion performance to trigger audio samples of his actual drums that were extracted from his recordings, and that have been carefully staged for our evolving, recording-workflow. In this recording, the MIDI notes that Jason played are played by sound-programs on my Kurzweil PC3K8.
Special thanks to the departed Danny Kirwan for composing this song—and, to Jason for his always-excellent performance. We hope that you enjoy listening to our version.
The first first time I remember hearing Richard Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” (composed, 1896) was as the theme of the award-winning movie: “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968). Since first hearing this composition, I have wished to eventually perform it.
For a long time I have been in possession of a piano-solo, sheet-music version of “Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)” that was published by Screen Gems—Columbia Publications (copyright, 1973). That published piano arrangement credits having been based on the then-well-known arrangement by Eumir Deodato. My arrangement is derived from the sheet-music version, the movie version, and Deodato’s arrangement.
The existence of this project is testament to the role and value of persistence (stubbornness?). 40+ years later, I have finally been able to achieve that goal and to share this work with you.
The Music
Since my previous collaboration with percussionist, friend and colleague, Jason Pike, several significant and positive life-events necessitated him to temporary suspend our musical collaborations. I was enthused when, sometime in the first quarter of 2010, Jason reported that he was ready, willing, and able to resume our project-work. I knew immediately that the “2001 Theme” should be our next project. So, in April (2010) I gave him a set of keyboard recordings for his use (listening) to record and synchronize (his) percussion parts. The original keyboards recorded were the MOTU MX4 (bass), Mr. Ray (Fender Rhodes emulation), Alesis Ion (bass), and Synful Orchestra for strings and brass (including the French-Horns heard near the end of the arrangement).
Life has its way of intruding on our preferred activities (music-making, for instance). I reassured Jason during the intervening months that, though I didn’t wish to rush him, I also wished to propel our project forward. Jason completed the first version of his percussion performance in late October, 2010. Because of the monumental stature of this composition (in my mind, at least…), I was determined to achieve a blend/mix of instrumentation that was agreeable to both of us. The resultant “mix, share, listen, comment, fix, and re-mix” phase continued through several iterations and weeks until, believing that I understood the spirit of Jason’s commentary, I made several more versions of the audio before settling on what is essentially the version heard in this presentation, in late January, 2011.
The Animation
Again, because of the epic stature of the Strauss work, I believed that it deserved a “worthy” animated visual accompaniment. I initially hoped to avoid the effort required to produce my previous Blender animations (Johnny’s Tune, Oscar Peterson’s Etudes and Pieces, Billy Mayerl—Jazz Master, and Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings). So, I attempted to use the iTunes visualizer, record the screen, and then add opening credits and end titling. Though I hesitate to call that exercise a waste of time, the two videos that I made were jerky, and the three Mac screen-recording applications that I tested (including Apple’s QuckTime X screen-recording) were inadequate for the task of recording smooth and fluid movement.
I had sincerely wished to avoid the steep learning-curve associated with significant changes in version 2.5 of Blender (I was previously using version 2.49). Learning Blender has been a substantial task for me, and I was unsure how long it would take me to merely find each needed, but relocated command in the new version. Surprisingly, I have found the 2.5 version logical and quickly relearned what was necessary to use needed features.
The photographs used as this animation’s content are ones taken by the Hubble telescope. You can find these photos and many more at HubbleSite.org.
And, The Music, Again…
In the past, I have characterized my music as being “piano-based.” After producing both the music and the animation, I felt something still was missing and so, I added the acoustic piano part in late June, 2011. The audio portion of the animation includes that acoustic piano part and is the first time that I recorded my Kurzweil PC3K8.
Special thanks to Jason Pike for his outstanding percussion artistry. I hope that you enjoy this presentation of our performance. As always, I welcome your comments.
Tchaikovsky selected the eight pieces that now comprise the Nutcracker Suite from the not-then-yet-performed Nutcracker, the ballet. Tchaikovsky performed the Suite in March of 1892, nine months before the first performance of the Ballet in December of the same year (1892) in St. Petersburg (RU, not FL). For many years, the Suite was performed more frequently than the Ballet. My recorded arrangement of the Nutcracker Suite for Electronic Orchestra is approximately twenty-one minutes in length. The two-act Nutcracker Ballet, although shorter than many other ballets, at eighty-five minutes, or more—is considerably longer than the Suite. The Nutcracker prominentely features several percussion instruments: harp, timpani, triangle, and chimes. During his travels, Tchaikovsky had become aware of the celesta, and was excited to introduce the instrument to the Russian audience in the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
It was sometime in 2003 when I first embraced the goal to arrange/orchestrate and to record all the pieces of the Nutcracker Suite. After arranging and recording the first piece, the Overture, I realized that my goal to arrange/orchestrate and record the entire Suite would not be accomplished by me in a single year. So, I finished that year’s project by recording the majority of the Nicholas Economou (two-pianos/two-performers) version of the Suite.
Several years elapsed before I resumed work on the Suite.
In 2007, I recorded Dance Of The Reed Flutes. That project featured my first use of the orchestral software: “Synful Orchestra.”
The 2008 project included several additional original Nutcracker synthesized orchestrations: March and Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy. That project also included the single Nicholas Economou Nutcracker piano duet that I had not previously recorded in 2003, the Overture.
2009’s project added Waltz Of The Flowers.
The (2010) project features my final installment of original, synthesized Nutcracker orchestrations: Russian Dance, Arabian Dance, and Chinese Dance. Additionally, this version of the Nutcracker Suite re-records several previously recorded pieces—one work, rearranged to use current instruments (Overture), and four arrangements from previous years’ projects that I have revised and re-recorded this year to ensure consistent instrumentation and acoustic space. The electronic orchestra model that I employed is a medium-large one, and is detailed–with each instrumental section placed and spaced in both breadth and depth in the sound-stage. The auditorium’s acoustic signature was derived from the Grand Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic. The nutcrackers featured in the accompanying, original 3D-modeled collage are photographs of a friend’s and my nutcrackers.
The music of the Nutcracker Suite contains extreme orchestral dynamics—from very, very soft (pp and ppp) to the loudest loud (fff) dynamics. As a compromise to the recording, during mastering of the audio, I made the decision to raise the volume of the softest sections in relation to the volume of the loudest sections. By doing so, I have attempted to create a musical program that still has exciting contrasts—but, with consistent-enough volume that you as listener can (hopefully) set the volume level without having to adjust it habitually while listening to the program.
I have been significantly rewarded by my study of Tchaikovsky’s wonderful orchestral score during these past years’ projects. I hope that you are enriched by listening.
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