Tracks from this CD have had radio
play on WXPN's "Star's End"
(Philadelphia); Contemporary Classical Internet Radio - website;
WORT-FM's "RTQE"
(Madison, WI); WPRB (Princeton, NJ); WQED (Pittsburgh, PA); WXPH
(Harrisburg, PA); WKHS (Baltimore, MD); 104.9 FM (Allentown and
Bethlehem, PA); KGNU 88.5FM (Boulder, CO); KGNU 1390AM (Denver,
CO); WMUH's "The AM/FM
Show" (Allentown, PA); KLCC's "New Dreamers"
(Eugene, OR); WCMU (NPR Michigan); WPRB (Princeton, NJ); WHUS-FM's
"Pushing the Envelope" (Storrs, CT)
Composer Steve Kornicki’s
extensive professional experience and creative inventiveness
enable him to compose accessible music based on original musical
processes and formulas. He integrates diverse sonic elements
into a unique and personal vision while drawing inspiration from
the natural sciences, the vast expanses of the American Southwest,
and conceptual music theory. His music is intellectual and compelling
and has been described as colorful and evocative with a profound
emotional impact.
Notes
by Steve Kornicki
ORCHESTRAL, CONCEPTUAL AND ENSEMBLE MUSIC is a 79-minute CD anthology
of pieces dating from 2001-2005. The order of the pieces was selected
to create a cohesive listening experience. The title of the compact
disc reflects the content and nature of the music and is a general
statement regarding my pure vision and intent regarding the music.
Morning Star Rising is the only programmatic composition on
the program with the remaining titles relating to the purity of
sound. My intention is to exclude political, religious or social
concerns in the pieces. They exist as “audio art” for
the listener and hopefully will allow the individual to become
a
participant in the cerebral process of music appreciation for its
own sake as a pure sonic experience.
Of the eight compositions on this CD, three are instrumental performances
(tracks 1, 7, 8) while the remaining five were constructed in my
recording studio and thus can be considered "electro-acoustic" pieces.
This group of music utilizes the recording of live instruments
as their source material with those sounds manipulated, transformed
and processed through electronic means. There are no sounds of
electronic origin (i.e. sounds generated
by synthesizers) on this CD compilation. Because of the organic
nature of these five pre-recorded compositions, I consider them
ensemble and orchestral music as
well as conceptual.
Conceptual Music
My vision of conceptual music utilizes and encompasses systematic
processes, randomness, electronic transformation or manipulation,
improvisation, and predetermined musical systems to create mesmerizing
sonic environments. Tracks 2 through 6 are pieces for recorded
media and each consist of various instruments that have been
recorded, electronically transformed and randomly layered to
produce dense, textural webs of sound. Track 7 is an ensemble
performance piece that follows a conceptual scheme of pre-determined
pitch and rhythmic systems.
MORNING STAR RISING (SYMPHONY #1) - (2002)
(15:37) Download MP3 Excerpt
Kiev Philharmonic
Robert Ian Winstin, conductor
Morning Star Rising is an impressionistic, symphonic narrative
in six sections for orchestra, recorded by the Kiev Philharmonic
and inspired by the book "Conversing with the Planets"
by astronomer and anthropologist Anthony Aveni. The book's subject
is ancient people's "celestial mythology" and how their
rituals, beliefs and practices shaped their understanding of the
natural world. The piece is a culmination of orchestral ideas and
concepts that I was developing from the early 1990s to the
composition’s completion in 2002. The compositional process
and orchestration of the piece unfolded in an organic manner with
the progression of musical elements presenting themselves in a developmental
fashion. Thus, it seemed appropriate to make it my first symphony,
although I don’t relate it to the traditional concept of the
symphony. The germinal ideas and thematic construction (especially
the Lamentation and Procession and Prayer to the Sacred
Star sections) for Morning Star Rising evolved from a piece
written in 2000 with the same title for wordless women’s chorus,
percussion and electronic sounds. For detailed program notes, visit:
www.morningstarrising.com.
TONAL SHIFT - (2005)
(10:41) Download MP3 Excerpt
Abraham Canamar, flute and piccolo samples
Derek Venlet, horn samples
John Cross, trumpet samples
Katie Adams, violin samples
Peter Jacobson, cello samples
Tonal Shift uses 45 recorded samples of piccolo, flute,
trumpet, violin and cello that were electronically transformed
(reverberation,
digital delay, equalization) and randomly layered. The harmonic
makeup of the samples is very tonal and utilizes 5 or 6 pitches
of the diatonic scale. The samples were fed into a digital mixer
and split into 4 stereo mixes. Two of the stereo mixes were pitch-shifted
a half step lower then the originals. The final mix of the piece
consisted of a performance by myself on the faders,
creating
the “shifts” in real time. The resulting sound is of
the tonal, 5 or 6 note harmonies colliding with each other and
dense
atonal clusters occurring at the shift points as a direct result
of the pitch-shifted files merging with the original files.
25 X 8 - (2005)
(9:11) Download MP3 Excerpt
Abraham Canamar, flute and piccolo samples
Derek Venlet, horn samples
John Cross, trumpet samples
25 X 8 consists of 25 pre-recorded, stereo samples of
single tones and intervals from flute, piccolo, trumpet and horn.
Initially,
the sample’s attacks were removed so as to produce a smooth,
wave-like sound from the instruments and were then electronically
looped. The samples were archived onto a single compact disc with
the final version of the music consisting of 8 copies of the CD
played on 8 CD players set on shuffle mode and started in sequenced
succession of one another. Thus, the 25 fragments are each heard
8 times throughout the piece, in random order, producing various
textures and combinations. In this setting, the machines (CD players)
determine the order and outcome of the layered sounds. There can
also be a studio version assembled by an audio engineer in which
the single CD is layered in the same manner in a multi-track recorder/mixer.
The studio version is heard on this recording.
The pitch materials of the instrument samples all reside within
6 notes of a diatonic scale, giving the piece a static harmonic
surface. The sampled loops were deliberately created to produce
periodic sustained tones that when combined, produce a wave-like,
shifting motion. The bass tones heard in this piece are single
notes of the flute that have been pitch-shifted several octaves
below the original tones.
ALTERED ORCHESTRA #2 - (2005)
(8:50) Download MP3 Excerpt
Kiev Philharmonic, orchestra samples
The process for Altered Orchestra #2 consisted of sampling
excerpts from the Kiev Philharmonic recording of my orchestral
piece,
Morning Star Rising. These samples were looped and processed
with reverberation and digital delay effects. Nineteen samples
were archived
on a compact disc and layered 5 times to produce a dense textural
sound. Some manual manipulation was applied to create various
musical
and dramatic effects through mixing processes such as the addition
and placement of extra samples and fader manipulations. After
this
material was mixed to a stereo version, the 2-track mix was further
altered by pitch-shifting the entire file a whole step lower
than
the original, thus transposing the music from a g minor tonality
to f minor. The final alteration consisted of digitally moving
one
of the two channels several milliseconds ahead of the other
producing a staggered effect. The individual samples,
at
times,
consist of a dense block of pitches that, when combined, produce
overlapping clusters of tones creating an atmospheric sound.
22 X 5 - (2005)
(5:23) Download MP3 Excerpt
Steve Kornicki, electric guitar samples
This piece consists of 22 pre-recorded, stereo samples of single
tones and chords from electric guitar. Initially, the sample’s
attacks were removed so as to produce a smooth, wave-like sound
from
the guitar. These samples were then electronically looped.
The individual fragments also make use of wide stereo separation
by
digitally
moving the
left or right channel of the sound wave by several milliseconds
ahead of the other. The samples were archived onto a single compact
disc with the performance version of the music consisting of 5
copies of the CD played on 5 CD players set on shuffle mode and
started
in sequenced succession of one another. Thus, the 22 fragments
are each heard 5 times throughout the piece, in random order,
producing
various textures and combinations. In this setting, the machines
(CD players) determine the order and outcome of the layered sounds.
There can also be a studio version assembled by an audio engineer
in which the CD is layered in the same manner in a multi-track
recorder/mixer.
The studio version is heard on this recording.
The pitch materials of the guitar samples all reside within 6
notes of a diatonic scale, giving the piece a static harmonic surface.
The sampled loops were deliberately created to produce precise
and periodic rhythms that when combined, produce continuously evolving
contrapuntal and rhythmic structures. The wide stereo separation
of the samples creates the illusion of the sounds spinning in space.
29 X 7 - (2005)
(11:40) Download MP3 Excerpt
William Peters, classical guitar samples
29 X 7 consists of 29 pre-recorded, stereo samples and
fragments of classical guitar from a recording of “Music for
Solo Guitar” composed by myself in 1991. These samples were
electronically altered, modified, transformed and looped through
the use of layered digital effects. The samples were then archived
onto a single compact disc. The performance version of the music
consists of 7 copies of the CD played on 7 CD players set on shuffle
mode and started in sequenced succession of one another. Thus, the
29 fragments are each heard 7 times throughout the piece, in random
order, producing various textures and combinations. In this setting,
the machines (CD players) determine the order and outcome of the
layered sounds. There can also be a studio version assembled by
an audio engineer in which the CD is layered in the same manner
in a multi-track recorder/mixer. The studio version is heard on
this recording.
The pitch material of the guitar samples all reside within the
7 notes of a diatonic scale, giving the piece a static harmonic
surface. The sampled loops were deliberately created to produce
precise and periodic rhythms that when combined, produce a dense,
collage-like, textural web of sound.
HORIZONTAL COLOR FORMS #9 - (2005)
(6:57) Download MP3 Excerpt
Steve Kornicki, classical guitars, shaker
Rob Grano, congas, brush conga
Recorded in Steve’s home studio, Summer 2005
Horizontal Color Forms #9 for 5 classical guitars and
percussion is the ninth in an ongoing series of conceptual studies
that deal
with various musical systems and numerical formulas. Harmonic and
rhythmic interplay is the focus of these pieces with melody, at
times, being a subsequent result. The “Horizontal Color Forms”
series uses a pitch system based on 12-tone rows that are stretched
out over long durations through sustained tones and/or repetition
and are configured to produce harmonious and tonal results. For
more information regarding the processes and concepts involved
in
these compositions, please visit my Horizontal
Color Forms page.
ECHOES OF EMERGENCE - (2001)
(10:22) Download MP3 Excerpt
California State University Long Beach Percussion Ensemble
Dave Gerhart, conductor
Live concert recording, Daniel Recital Hall, CSULB – Fall 2001
Echoes of Emergence was composed while I lived in Los
Angeles and was written for the percussion ensemble at California
State University Long Beach whose live performance is featured on
this recording. The music is in three contrasting and dynamic sections
separated by tempo - medium, slow and fast. The intention of this
composition is to combine and reconcile the worlds of serious art
music with popular and world music forms. Dynamics are an essential
aspect to the composition with the juxtaposition of loud and soft
sounds occurring throughout. I would like to extend my thanks to
Dave Gerhart who guided me through the composition process in writing
for percussion ensemble.
I would like to acknowledge the following composers for their
influence and inspiration for my work on this recording:
1. Morning Star Rising (Symphony No. 1) – Gustav
Holst, Steve Reich, Arvo Part, Alan Hovhaness
2. Tonal Shift – Gyorgy Ligeti, David Behrman
3. 25 x 8 – Brian Eno, Christian Wolff, Larry Kucharz,
Morton Feldman
4. Altered Orchestra # 2 – John Cage, Brian Eno,
Charlemagne Palestine
5. 22 x 5 – Paul Dresher, Glenn Branca
6. 29 x 7 – John Cage, Michael Hedges
7. Horizontal Color Forms, #9 – Philip Glass, Terry
Riley, Jaco Pastorius, Jeffrey Mumford
8. Echoes of Emergence – Lou Harrison, Frank Zappa,
Steve Reich
All text, concepts, and music ©2005 Steve Kornicki. All rights
reserved.
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