chamber music

"...amid the cannon's roar,"

Program Note:
We've heard about your trouble, Tom,
In rousting out the Boer;
You shall not fight out there alone
Amid the cannon's roar,
The blood that stirred our noble sires
To build up England's Fame,
Re-kindles in Colonial sons
Their prestige to maintain. For-

We are the boys of the Southern Cross
Our stars shine on our flags-
Emblazoned with the Union Jack,
To show we're Empire lads.

From storm-torn hills where tussocks wave,
And dells where tree-ferns grow;
From snow-capp'd peaks, and rock-bound coast,
We come,-to strike the blow.
Rest, British sons, till South-cross boys
Canadian brothers meet-
Then on we'll press, an Empire's strength,
And make the foe retreat. For-
...

excerpted from Boys of the Southern Cross

"...we'll do deeds to follow on our words..."

welldodeedstofollowonourwords_soloharpsichord.png

program note:

Now we're rous'd we've buckled on our swords, 
We've done with diplomatic lingo, 
We'll do deeds to follow on our words, 
We'll show we're something more than "jingo."
And though Old England's laws do not her sons compel To military duties do,
We'll play them at their game, and show them all the same, 
An Englishman can be a soldier too, 
An Englishman can be a soldier too. 
So when we say that England's master,
Remember who has made her so.

- Soldiers of the King written and composed by Leslie Stuart.

Performed by Wesley Shen at the Chalmers House Canadian Music Centre on August 17, 2017.

"long to reign over us"

program note:

“The fairies, besides being vengeful, are also very arrogant, and allow no interference with their old-established rights”
― Lady Francesca Speranza Wilde

"Long to Reign Over Us"
from "...amid the cannon's roar,", released June 2, 2018

performed by Amahl Arulanandam (cello) Sara Constant (flute), Wesley Shen (piano), Aysel Taghi-Zada (violin)

Recorded by Paul Talbott at the Glenn Gould Studio with assistant engineer Pouya Hamid.

Mastered by Sage Kim at Lacquer Channel.

our lovèd dominion bless

 

for piano six-hands (and slight live analogue electronic processing), commissioned and performed by the junctQin keyboard collective. recorded/mixed/mastered by Paul Talbott. recorded at the Canadian Music Centre's Chalmers House. Premiered May 3rd, 2015 by the junctQin keyboard collective.

red ensign

Commissioned and performed by Continuum Contemporary Music. World Premiere Performers: Anne Thompson (flute), Anthony Thompson (clarinet), Carol Lynn Fujino (violin), Bryan Holt (cello), Laurent Philippe (piano), Ryan Scott (percussion), Gregory Oh (conductor) Recorded March 8, 2015 as part of Continuum's concert 30 More! at the Music Gallery, Toronto.

program note: Red Ensign is a whisper on a frayed thread that hangs from a canopy in much the same manner a brick doesn't - or can't. These sounds aren't echoes and they certainly do not wave in the wind, not in one manner nor another. Instead the hums, crackles, pitches, and buzzes slowly wobble into/through/beside, and around one another as they cover, as they smother, as they conceal, as they lay draped across the fractures and fissures of long-ruined forms.

casualties

for solo guitar performed by Rob Macdonald and recorded in studio by Paul Talbott.

written/performed with support from the 2014 CMC Toronto Emerging Composer Award. The Canadian Music Centre Toronto Emerging Composer Award made possible by the generous support of Roger D. Moore and Michael Koerner. this piece was premiered November 15th 2014 by Rob Macdonald at the Canadian Music Centre (Chalmers House).

warheads

performed by the Toy Piano Composers ensemble for TBA2. premiered at the Heliconian Club on February 8th, 2014. Katherine Watson (flute), Anthony Thompson (clarinet), Wesley Shen (piano), Adam Campbell (percussion), Sharon Lee(violin/ e-violin), Adam Scime (double bass).

program note: awkward. confused. dismantled. delicate. diffused. dim. tenuous. vague.

reviews:

"@Jason_Doell's WARHEADS—A skewed topology—a ruined landscape populated by vestiges of signifying entities—an utterly disorienting paysage." Marc Couroux on twitter (@xenopraxis)

and new music toronto

delicate triangles

site specific piece for mobile performers and mobile audience at the Gladstone hotel Toronto. performed by Brent O'toole (bass), Cory Latkovitch (cello), Gabrielle Charron-Merrit (guitar), Germaine Liu (percussion), Hillary Thomson (conductor), Jay Hay (tenor sax/ clarinet), Lendl Barcelos (conductor), Ruhee Dewji (tenor sax), Sebastian Shinwell (guitar), Vira Burmenko (violin). premiered on june 6th, 2012 and reperformed on June 8th 2012.

austerity measures and collective actions

Performed by the Pierrot Ensemble (Anya Alexeyev - piano, Jeremy Bell -violin, Amy Hamilton - flute, Beverley Johnston - percussion, Paul Pulford - cello, Peter Shackleton - clarinet).

program notes: Written in November of 2011, I interpreted some of the keywords used in popular culture and news media for the creation of this piece.
Austerity - two themes from which all the material is derived within a reduced structural form (sonatina).
Collective action - written into the score is a juxtaposition of different forms of group activities from strictly prescribed parts to loosely guided improvisation.
Occupy - this score is open, and free for any group of musicians who wish to play it.