- Snareway to Heaven (1989)
-
Patricia Ann Repar
for two snare drums
ca. 6'14"
Click here to view a performance (YouTube).
- Red Mountain Note (2004)
-
Patricia Ann Repar
flute/piccolo, B-flat clarinet, voice, violin, violoncello, contrabass, and tape
ca. 11'00"
Note to performers and listeners: written in celebration of my cousin Jerry Leon who made the last of his many adventures on earth while skiing in February of 2004.
Note to self: Find the Hawaiian chant secretly embedded on the ‘Ulalena’ CD; And on ‘The Master Chanters of Hawaii’ use “e ulu, e ulu, kini o ke akua” (Inspire us, inspire us, O gods).
Note to Jerry: whispers of other times and places
both mythic and real
souls and gypsies
long passed and yet to come
but I see you
bright, strong, and clear
like water
atop, within, above, and beyond
Red Mountain.
Click here to view the score and listen to the recording.
- Re-Imagining (1995)
-
Patricia Ann Repar
for flute, violin, cello, percussion, and piano
ca. 9'15"
"In the pampas, down a tree lined lane, live three people who once saw the names of loved ones and strangers burned out life, yet they keep those names alive in memory. They give the names of those who vanished to birds so that the sky above their estancia is always alive with flying names."
--Lawrence Thornton
Imagination, memory, and breathing, all tend to be illusive in our lives–that is–until a moment of crisis when they become more real than all the Wheels of Fortune spinning us round about in our oh-so-busy lives. In Imagining Argentina Lawrence Thornton describes one of those critical moments and how the power of memory, imagination, and human breath, recreated and transformed it–ultimately dismembering the military dictatorship of Argentina. The performers and myself offer this piece in honor of Thornton–in honor of those many Argentinians who adamantly and courageously refuse to forget their own dreams and desires for beauty–in honor of you, may you hear the birdsong, remember the names, and re-imagine the moments of your lives.
- I Duo/I Duo Not (1991)
-
Patricia Ann Repar
for bass marimba and piano
The percussionist is performing a character who is wholly engaged by and delighted in the sound of his or her instrument. The character seems unreachable at times, almost unreasonable – uninterested in extremes with regard to speed, volume, and various other forms of complexity. Entirely committed to every sound s/he makes, no matter how simple, his/her physical gestures may change tempo but are never dramatic or flamboyant or employ more energy than required. The pianist-percussionist is performing a character who fluctuates rapidly in feelings and behavior.
Click here to view a performance (YouTube).
- Color Prayer (1998)
-
Patricia Ann Repar
for B-flat clarinet, piano, and voice
ca. 7'15"
The text of Color Prayer is comprised of excerpts from the following sources: Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman, the Islamic Call to Prayer, Mexican folk songs as sung by Linda Ronstadt, the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Mass, and Memoirs from the Women's Prison by Nawal El Saadawi.
The body was now a broken, twisted piece of meat. Carrion, birds, rodents, insects, and worms came to feed on the decomposing flesh [Allahu akbar] that I had once imagined to be me. Time passed faster [Mata me cielo] and faster and the days flashed by and the sky became a rapid blinking, an alternation of light and darkness [A donde estas?] flickering faster and faster into a blur. The seasons changed and the remains of the [Hablan me montes y valles] body began to dissolve into the soil enriching it. The frozen snows of winter preserved my [Christe eleison] bones for a [Speak to me valleys and mountains] moment in time but as the seasons flashed by in evermore rapid cycles even the bones became dust. From the nourishment [Donde?] of my body [Lord have mercy. Gritenme piedras del campo] flowers and trees grew and died in that [A donde?] meadow. Finally even the meadow disappeared. I had become part of the carrion birds that had feasted on my flesh, part of the insects [Kyrie eleison] and rodents, and part of their predators in a great cycle of life and death. I became their ancestor—
Hablan me montes y valles. Speak to me. Gritenme piedras del campo. Allahu Akbar. Christo. A donde? Christo. Traga me tierra. Donde? Donde? Traga me tierra. Christo.
Every morning I wait for him and I hear him. I raise my head towards the piece of shy visible through he bars. Can't see the curlew. I'm satisfied just to hear him without seeing him. Enough that I hear and that I can move my arms and legs and jump up and down on the floor of the cell, that my heart beats, the sweat pours, my body goes under and shower and the thick water falls, and that I dry my hair and light the gas..."
Click here to view the score and listen to a recording.
- (out) (in) . . . the OPEN (1992)
-
Patricia Ann Repar
for flute, oboe, alto saxophone, vibraphone, violoncello
ca. 10'15"
(out)(in)...the OPEN is written in honor of the legendary jazz singer/songwriter Billie Holiday. On the liner notes of Billie's 1956 recording The Essential Billie Holliday–Carnegie Hall Concert, Gilbert Millstein wrote that "Billie was the victim of a world which really could not have cared much less–either for her or for any artist whose talent might be grudgingly acknowledged or eagerly exploited, but who made society uncomfortable or uneasy." Billie's way of singing defiantly exposed herself and her listeners–an experience they yearned for and resented all at the same time. As a way of highlighting Billie's courage to be open, to say it and sing it how it is (not how we might want to hear it), (out)(in)...the OPEN is structured entirely around breath sounds. It is hoped that concentration on breath, by both performers and audience, will evoke some of this vulnerability that Billie and her listeners longed to experience.
- Turbolenze del Blu (2014)
-
Caterina Calderoni
for violin, cello, and piano
I happen to visualize sounds as a color spread by means of broad brushstrokes over the timeline. Its shade, although apparently even, discloses ripplings, thickenings, and nuances that make it restless and sometimes violent, like the blue of deep waters or moonless nights.
- Murex (2010)
-
Caterina Calderoni
for flute, B-flat clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
ca. 8'00"
The formal structure of this work follows a spiral scheme based on a sequence of four sonic states (A: resonance – B: thickening – C: shattering – D: echo) that recurs four times, each time in a wider span of time. Moments of suspension (Tempo sospeso) frame and break in this cyclic process in order to reveal the sonic substance from which the spiral originates. Just like the shape of a shell (murex), the spiral suggests an endless process “towards infinity.”
Click here to view the score and listen to the recording.
- Pendulum Clocks (2014)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for soprano, baritone, percussion, bass clarinet, and clarinet in A, Bb, and Eb
ca. 56'16"
A kitchen lives by its own life even when nobody is home. It breathes, smells, yawns, flinches, claps, and snaps...and listens to... If only you are in your kitchen you are not alone. Your kitchen always has an encrypted dialog with you. If only two of you in the kitchen you are three of you, not two because your kitchen accompanies all your conversations. And keep in mind that your kitchen, where you usually have all your vitally important discussions is not your friend at some point. The kitchen likes a justice. If you are going to tell something to somebody start your conversation from far away. Choose any topic that would not relates to a subject of your previously planned conversation. For example, a long analysis about the history of the evolution of clocks... pendulum clocks! Magnetize! Make a magic! Win! Note that at 40.30 - 41.50 the stage suddenly darkened. Unfortunately the video cannot gives the real sparkling motions that accompany this scene on the stage during live performance.
Opera for two performers, Pendulum Clocks was premiered at the UMBC festival of contemporary music LIVEWIRE-10 on October 26, 2019.
Libretto by Rahilia Hasanova
Performers: Susan Botti, soprano and Gleb Kanasevich, clarinets
Recording engineer: Alan Wonneberger
Click here to watch to a video of the performance on YouTube.
Click here to view the libretto.
- Yallivari (1975, rev. 2017)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for string quartet
ca. 8'15"
"Yalli" is an ancient Azerbaijani-Turkish collective dance that is a demonstration of the unit, solidarity, and friendship. Participants can be both women and/or men. Keeping each other by the hands and performing rhythmically coordinated step elements, dancers follow a leader who makes circle-like movements. Yalli is an expression of love to Nature and indefinite Life. "Yallivari" means yalli-like rhythmical beats.
- The Sea (1997)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for two pianos and saxophones
ca. 14'00"
Deniz (the Sea) originally was written for two pianos and two Saxophones. A year later I made the second version and revised this composition for two pianos and bass clarinet that was recorded in 1998. This composition is dedicated to the most mysterious sea in the world - the Caspian Sea.
Performers:
Farida Ahmadbayova, piano
Maya Sadigzade, piano
Nizami Zeynalov, bass clarinet
Click here to hear a recording of the version for pianos and bass clarinet on SoundCloud.
- Zilli (2013)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for woodwind reed quintet
ca. 8'28"
- The Rhythmical Streams (2009)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for flute and piano
ca. 10'00"
- Vernee (2010)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for chamber orchestra
ca. 15'50"
- The Mooghfil (2001)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for 8 cellos and 4 double basses
ca. 22'00"
This piece was also entitled "Mughfil."
- String Quartet III, Tetraksis (1995)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for string quartet
ca. 25'00"
String Quartet #3 was named Tetraxis and dedicated to the tragic history of Azerbaijan. Today the smock-faced devil is continuing to hover over the Earth. Tetraxis was premiered in Baku in 2004 and then premiered and recorded in Kohl, Germany in 2004 by the Minguet quartet.
Ulrich Istform, violin I
Annette Reisinger, violin II
Irene Schwalb, viola
Matthias Diener, violoncello
Audio recording made by Gideon Boss at the Deutschland Radio.
Click here to listen to the recording.
- String Quartet I (1974, rev. 2017)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for string quartet
ca. 15'00"
- String Quartet II (1982)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for string quartet
ca. 20'39"
Audio was recorded in 2004 by Deutschlandradio, Kohln by the Minguet Quartet, Germany.
Ulrich Isfort, Violin I
Annette Reisinger, Violin II
Irene Schwalb, Viola
Matthias Diener, Violoncello
Audio engeener: Gideon Boss
Click here to listen to the recording.
- Amorousness (1973, rev. 2023)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for flute and piano duo
ca. 11'12"
The original title of this piece, composed in 1973, was Sonatina/Sonata for flute and piano.
- Solar Winds (2016)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for woodwind quintet
ca. 14'00"