Contemporary
“Amid its myriad flows and fusions, the history of the global occult reveals ‘hidden’ countercurrents of cultural connectivity between the far spaces of a world mysteriously conjoined.”*
Movement one begins with a choral-like texture, leading the ear toward developing rhythmic intricacies as the movement grows into the next. Movement two adventures further into complex harmonies and melodic shape in preparation for the climactic third movement, that fearlessly fights between familiar passages in previous movements and dramatic expansion of intensity. Movement four acts as the consequential lull of a great storm that slows and calms, yet never truly resolves peacefully.
*Green, Nile. “The Global Occult: An Introduction.” History of Religions, vol. 54, no. 4, 2015, pp. 393.
“Restitution” narrates the story of an enslaved nanny who is forced to care for her captors’ five children for twenty hours a day, every day, for two years. The tentative beginning, portrayed by the repeating syncopated rhythms intermixed with long inhales and exhales between the four players, begins this tragedy with a sense of tainted adventure fueled by the hope for a promising new job.
As conditions worsen, the motherly care of the five children influences the piece to stay aloft with bouncing melodies and pizzicato accompaniment. The airiness of the string instruments’ artificial harmonics alludes to the ever-complicating situation the nanny has found herself in. The woodwinds hesitantly play with a rhythmic complexity that tends to pause after developing slightly. Short ideas shift in mood as if arguing between hope and worry, painting the unique picture of a nanny caring for children who may have no idea their parents have enslaved this woman they rely on.
The flute accompanied cello solo halfway through the piece symbolizes the nanny’s understanding that she is not treated fairly. Directly after this slow section of daunting realization, a mischievous sounding pizzicato and minor flute melody illustrate the nanny’s complication of caring for her captor’s innocent children while anxiously devising a potential escape plan.
All four instrumentalists suddenly create four consistent beats that hint at the nanny’s growing heart rate as she quickly calls the National Human Trafficking Resource Center. Melodic and rhythmic material found previously in the piece begin to swirl and break down with melodic counterpoint and mixed meters. Chaos in the nanny’s mind slows for a short section during the lull of the soft straight 8th-notes in the woodwinds, only to suddenly emerge in a transposed variation of the previous chaos.
When the tempo gradually slows, the woodwinds continue a complex rhythmic interplay while the strings double the third of G-major chord, the first major chord in the piece. The nanny’s unique situation begins to come to an end with her successful escape but is still weighed down by the tragic and overwhelming experience, giving reason to the unresolved feeling of the inverted G-major chord.
Pizzicato in the string instruments carry one of the first non-syncopated rhythms, representing a slowed heartbeat, while the woodwinds trail off with the same intervallic material heard throughout the piece. One final breath leads to the final cluster chord at the end, leaving the listener with a completed sense of rhythm paired with a nearly unresolved harmony.
As the Earth changes, so do our shorelines. Our shores slowly erode as water levels continue to rise inevitably changing our coastlines forever. While this is a natural, mostly seasonal change year-to-year, it has recently been changing much faster than previously seen.
“Shoreline Avulsion” illustrates on its very definition, given most accurately by America’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA):
“avulsion – the loss of lands bordering on the seashore by sudden or violent action of the elements, perceptible while in progress.”
Through the ups and downs of this piece, the violin showcases ominous beginnings, sliding and shifting glissandos, quick and aggressive motifs, and simple intervallic ideas that shape the entire piece. The connections throughout this piece represent the connections of our oceans, while the abrupt and complex passages symbolize shoreline avulsion in action.
shared and chaos fills your mind, clouding your judgment.
II. Truth of – You don’t want to believe the “news,” but the “truth” sinks in. The feeling of urgency consumes you as you accept the situation, though slowly, it fades away leaving behind a sense of helplessness.
III. Commitment of – You cannot merely standby as events continue to unfold. Your proud energy grows to anger and leads you to “commit” your life to war.
IV. Days of – “Days” turn to weeks, weeks turn to months. Initial angst wears thin and fatigue takes its place. “Is this the world now?” “Is this, life?”
____
Readaptation of the 1925 silent film, The Lost World. This work is approx. 25:00 min. in length and was performed by Newgate Music & Arts. Written for this specific instrumentation:
Flute & Bb Clarinet
Alto & Tenor Saxophone
Bb Trumpet / C Trumpet / Flugelhorn
Violoncello & Contrabass / Electric Bass
Piano & Drum Kit / Small percussion
Trombone
I. The Walk to Limbo
A man separates himself from the town once a month and no one knows why, except for him. When the full-moon is about to show it’s light, this man walks to the forest outside of town to wait for it to be over.
II. Part Human
As this “human” man turns werewolf, he reminds himself he is still human and can stay sane turning his transformation. He has always stayed strong.
III. Trees Has Eyes
Try as he might to keep this part of his life a secret, he fears someone eventually will find out. The trees surrounding him in the forest seem to stare and hold his secrets.
IV. Only Fog, Only Minutes
As the “human” part of this werewolf controls the beast not to near the town, it does not subdue the fear. The fog rolls down the forest during this night and he keeps reminding himself, “only minutes… only minutes left.”
V. Paper Moon
A werewolf, unknown to the town, fights between sanity and insanity in the outer forest. As the moon begins to disappear, the human-half of the werewolf finds strength to envision the moon made out of paper – crushable, rippable, defeatable. He turns back into a man and walks back to town, only to repeat the inevitable cycle next month.
I. Spark
Travel opens our eyes to new ways of thinking, new ways of living, new customs, traditions, new perspectives; and our senses can be overburdened with the sense of adventure, sprouting self-sufficient energy only released through dance, celebration, and more adventure. Follow the rhythms to a blissful negligence of temporary change amongst people far away from home.
II. Maneuver
Looking outside the box of reality we live in can challenge our ideals and cause the edges of our perceivable existence to tremble. No longer do we see things as black and white – our way is not the only way – people can live with or without necessities – I can’t imagine living with or without them myself.
III. Crystal Air
Memories of home carry the traveler. A single memory of him/her, or them, an image we remember stays with us through our new experiences. That image, unchanged, from what we remember.
IV. Expanse
The world grows ever larger, the farther you walk in one direction. Buildings, people, food and drink – found wherever rest is needed. Everything is changing and nothing is the same, yet similarities and coincidental relationships are commonly unnoticed. How can I dance to what is ever-changing?
“The world is seldom what it seems; to man, who dimly sees, realities appear as dreams, and dreams realities.” – Samuel Johnson
Chase Chandler, tenor vocalist
Hannah Hickey revealed shocking data on population growth after a new study led by the University of Washington and the United Nations, published on September 18, 2014, entitled “World population to keep growing this century, hit 11 billion by 2100.”
Orbis augmentum is written to help spread awareness of the looming overpopulation issue by portraying population statistics through the use of sound and time. Orbis augmentum is roughly translated to “territory increase.”
Movement 1: incrementa
The first movement is named incrementa, or “growth,” and is meant to portray the rapid increase in population that humanity saw starting in the 6th century. The music is based off of data taken from Max Roser’s 2015 project, based and supported by the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School. The data was then separated into key events.
Concerning the accuracy of the data, Max Roser states, “The data for the period before 1900 are taken from the History Database of the Global Environment (HYDE). The series covers the last 12,000 years… the data for the World Population between 1900 and 1940 is taken from the UN publication ‘The World at Six Billion.’… The annual data for the World Population between 1950 and 2010 is taken from the UN’s World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision. It is the series, ‘Total Population – Both Sexes.’” With this data, averages and rounding was utilized to find which dates humanity came across each billion in population. The data for 2015 was retrieved on March 14, 2015 off the online, public display of world population from the United States Census Bureau.
The use of time compared to a specific year of history, can be better understood with the rough equivalent: 60 sec = 1000 yrs. So for every second of this piece, around 17 years (or more precisely 16.67 years) have symbolically passed and therefore an increase in population should be understood.
Movement 2: plus aquae
As human population continues to grow, resources will continue to diminish. Apart from food, water is one of the most valuable resources for life. With less availability comes the likelihood for consumption of any water available, even uncleansed water. According to the non-profit origination “water.org,” a child dies every minute from a water-related disease, based off data from the World Health Organization’s booklet, “Safer Water, Better Health,” published by WHO Press in 2008.
Plus aquae, roughly translates to “more water.” This movement narrates the death of a child by lack of clean water, in the duration of a minute. After the research found, it should be understood that one child will die during the length of this movement.
Movement 3: vita morsque – “Life and Death”
The interesting article by James Hamblin, “A Real-Time Map of Births and Deaths,” published on October 30, 2013, introduces Brad Lyon and Bill Snebold’s simulation of the world’s current birth and death, times and locations. This “eerily omniscient vantage on the world” is based on the 2012 CIA Factbook population data, 2010 population data for “Places” from the US Census, and information from the 2012-13 Maxmind WorldCities database.
After observing this simulation, a rough average can be taken: 4 births every second and 2 death every second. Therefore, at a tempo of 120 bpm, each 16th note in time equals a birth and every 8th note equals a death. So over the course of this roughly 2-minute movement, 480 people will be born and 240 people will die.
Vita morsque, roughly translates to “life and death.” Through the length of the movement itself, the nature of global birth and death rates is portrayed.
Dedicated to the Sunshine International Music Festival of 2015, in an attempt to inspire happiness to those who attended.
Set Me Free is a piece that celebrates the joy of music and the happiness it brings. The original thought-process behind this piece was inspired by Leonard Liu, the President of Sunshine Academy in Irvine, California and the Chairman and founder of Sunshine Culture and Arts Foundation. Mr. Liu suggested, “music brings sunshine to our life, to our children, to our people.” Matias Loyola began writing with Mr. Liu’s idea in mind and completed the text of this piece on June 12, 2015.
The balance between rhythm and melody shifts throughout this piece. Rhythm first takes the listener on a ride through detailed syncopation in the introduction, but as the vocalists begin to enter, melodies begin to swirl above the syncopation. Through the switching between syncopated melodies and flowing homophonic chord progressions, the forward motion of the piece should inspire a sense of momentum toward the final melody. Music is a balance between repetition and new material. Sections of this piece make for a familiar return, only to transition into more material.
Music brings us happiness. Whether that’s from pieces we’ve never heard, or pieces we listen to everyday – music is there to stir up memories, emotions, and inspirations we may not otherwise find. What a gift it is, that music can be listened to everyday. But what a miracle it is, when music is made with other people.
Just as our life source shines upon the trees, and warms the surface of this world with ease, Music truly is the sunshine to our soul… warming our hearts and, making us whole!
Music brings us light, joy and grace,
to our children, our people, the human race. Wherever there is music, sunshine can be found, delivered to us through the sweet vibrations of sound.
What has music done for thee? Music, your voice, has set me free!
Text by Matias Loyola
Commercial
Recent events of 2020 shape this immersive, multi-genre album, where each of the 15 tracks act as heartfelt journal-entries that sway between hope and anxiety. Through the use of pop, folk, jazz/lo-fi, and contemporary composition, Where Things Were encapsulates a creative spirit trapped in the conflict of a quarantine-lifestyle boxed in by the 2020 global pandemic. As a musical project curated throughout by the artist (from conception to composition, recording and producing), a uniquely organic 46-minute musical presentation awaits each listener.
Folky guitar and blues-inspired color tones help tell stories of finding one’s self, finding love, and finding passion for helping others. From a surfer boy in Southern California to an opera composer and award-winning musician, Chase Chandler, M.M., presents this self-made album as a musical journal written throughout his eight-year college career. Upbeat acoustic guitar, charming ukulele, funky electric piano, and ska-style trumpet helps round out this album to include many genres and inspirations.
Background Music
An 8-track album passionately created to enhance reiki healing and meditation, “Once Hidden” is a well-researched, highly-effective tool to enhance reiki healing using properly tailored frequencies and modern, relaxing, acoustically inspired music.
“Piano Steps” is an improvisatory album with a calming and atmospheric mix of solo piano, nature sounds, and contemplative development – perfect for meditation, study, or general relaxation.
0 Comments