New Album on Neuma Records ,’Transmutation of Things’ feat. Vocals/Lizzie Lyon Albany Records, ’Saturation Velocity’ feat. Keith Kirchoff/Piano, Bryan Holt/Cello

M C Maguire

Composer / Producer

416-669-5720
mcmaguire@rogers.com
  • New Works
    • A Lucid Dream (2023)
    • Yummy World (2023)
    • Shadow of Wings (2021)
  • CDs
    • Transmutation of Things (2022)
    • Saturation Velocity (2020)
    • Nothing Left to Destroy (2011)
    • Trash of Civilizations (2009)
    • Meta-Conspiracy (2007)

Shadow of Wings (2021)

 

Track 1:

Shadow of Wings (2021)

for CPU and piano 2020 (48 mins)

 

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30dJIDAT-TE

Program notes

SOW is a 48 min. piece for electronics and piano. The form of the piece is basically a 12 movement variation on a theme. These twelve movements sit in a grid of a gradually expanding harmonic progression (a M3/m3 key progression that unfolds in either direction) until eventually by the last movement the piece moves through all 24 keys in a nonstop, continuous loop.       

Concurrently, the rhythmic tempo structure circles around the tonic tempo 81 and it’s very slow (40.5), fast (162) and very fast (324) siblings. These 4 themes become increasingly shortened and blurred together whenever there is a rondo-like return to the tempo tonic. 

The departures from the tonic tempo movements consist of a dotted note metric modulation that moves to 4 other movement siblings, while the triplet metric modulations steers to 4 others. Meanwhile, a gamelan + clock ensemble smooths/blurs the tempo seams between the tonic tempo and the dotted note/triplet offshoots. When these dotted note and tripped tempos transition between their sibling tempos to get back to the tonic, there is a steeplechase of an ever narrowing meter grid. This grid is recapitulated in the finale itself to fully integrate the affect into the finale. 

The melodic structure consists of a theme variation and it’s repetition in each movement. All the eight movements not in the tonic tempo are also characterize by a single note, four note, piano melody that recurs throughout the piece.

The title refers to the protection of angels during a pandemic.

  • New Works
    • A Lucid Dream (2023)
    • Yummy World (2023)
    • Shadow of Wings (2021)
  • CDs
    • Transmutation of Things (2022)
    • Saturation Velocity (2020)
    • Nothing Left to Destroy (2011)
    • Trash of Civilizations (2009)
    • Meta-Conspiracy (2007)
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