My Latest Pieces Here are .mp3s of my latest pieces. I hope you enjoy listening. If you are interested in performing anything listed, or in commissioning a new work, please email me at eabridge@lycos.com. Change (2005)      For Baritone and Chamber ensemble. Text with permission of Stanley Kunitz, from Intellectual Things (1930). DeAndre Simmons, Baritone. Bianca Garcia, Flute. Alexandra Lambertson, Oboe. Rob Patterson, Clarinet. Lily Francis, Violin. Tim Ribchester, Piano. Efstratios Minakakis, Conductor. Sometimes it seems that the world, the reality around us, is spinning out of control. We face sickness, aging and death. As Stanley Kunitz so expertly articulates, “Years ago I came to the realization that the most poignant of all lyric tensions stems from the awareness that we are living and dying at once. To embrace such knowledge and yet to remain compassionate and whole – that is the consummation of the endeavor of art. ---'Reflections,' from Stanley Kunitz: the Collected Poems.” This piece reflects an emotional exploration into the deepest fears and hopes of humanity, into the darkness of death and the hope of eternity. The baritone line has a foundational role in the architecture of the piece. I imagine the baritone as the character in the poem and the instruments as the world around him, the things outside himself which he observes with different emotions. Thus in the music the baritone line is the central thread, sometimes supported by the cello or the piano, with the rest of the music winding around that line, emanating in different directions. The first two thirds of the piece have an agitated, anxious quality, illustrative of the human feelings that stem from the foreknowledge of the end that awaits us all, that sense of impermanence that Kunitz describes. It also expresses our desperate grasping for something eternal in life, something we can count on not to change. The texture shifts dramatically at the last section of the piece where the text focuses on the eternal nature of the human spirit, or at least the struggle to believe in that eternity. The instruments play homophonic chords that seem to change with no particular meter, manipulating our sense of time. The baritone line floats through this new texture, still at its core, but the effect is different because the texture is much more unified, stronger, slower. Having faced his fears, the narrator, though still reeling inside from the darkness he has just depicted, seems to be consoled with some type of peace – a letting go, perhaps, of his own control. The chordal texture seems to push his line along, drifting into the end of the piece. The harmonies are never quite resolved, still carrying the sense of awe from the beginning of the piece, awe at the terrible greatness of life around us, awe at the hidden truths within us, awe at the things that do not change. Shifting Towers, Dunes of Stars: Mirage for String Nonet (2004)      Piece for 4 violins, 2 violas, 2 celli, and double bass. This recording (.mp3) is an augmented version (3 players per part) for string orchestra played by members of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sarah Hicks. Although it loses a bit of its intended intimacy in this larger configuration, Shifting Towers gains melodic strength and clarity as well as harmonic solidity. The piece is full of desert imagery, hence the titles. There are wide, open places in this piece as well as violent sandstorm-like sections. All in all it is about perspective, about texture, about the polarity that exists between light and dark, clear and opaque, and the space occupying the distance between those extremes. Oconee Bells (2004)      For solo piano. This recording (.mp3) was made at a Penn Composers' Guild concert in the fall of 2004. It was played by acclaimed Philadelphia pianist Tim Ribchester. The Oconee Bell is a rare flower that blooms in very early spring amidst the snows of scattered mountain regions of the southern Appalachians. It is a legendary symbol of courage and strength in the face of the winter's cruel and harsh environment. Thus, I used it as the title of a piece inspired by spring's victory over winter, love's conquering of death. All Things Bright and Beautiful (2003)      A piece for Women's SSAA choir. This piece was performed at a Penn Composers' Guild Concert in the Spring of 2005. The performers were: Rebecca Siler (sop I), Veronica Chapman-Smith (Sop I), Sarah Kerman (Sop II), Leslie Sudock (Sop II), Elaine Allard (Alto I), Erin Jeanette (Alto I), Julietta Bekker (Alto II), Krista Novkovic (Alto II). It was conducted by the composer. |Home| |About| |Downloads| |List of Works| |In Progress| |Related Links|