I Meant You Have Blue Eyes is a short, fun percussion piece for 2 narrators. Bordering on a theater piece, the text is sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but always rhythmic. A great concert opener for percussion, voice, or any mixed ensemble. Although it is technically a voice piece, it can be performed by either gender or combinations of men and women.

The work consists of four movements: Slow, Fast, Moderate/Fast, and Slow.

All text by Michael Walter, used by permission.
duration: 5:20

Listen to the complete second movement:

Example pages:

Where I Should Look for soprano and piano was commissioned by the Aspen Music Festival and School in 2004. The small amount of text in the piece comes from email conversations with Katie Glover, although the text is largely obscured.

The majority of the music is untexted.

The piece unfolds in 7 unnamed movements.
duration: 12:00

Listen to the complete first and second movements:

Movement 1:

Movement 2:

Example pages:

Perpetual No.2 was commissioned by Andrew Martin and Christine Taylor. The notion of perpetuality in music, that is to say, music that has a constant pulse that never (or only very briefly) deviates is one that is found in the music from the concert hall to the dance hall. In this series of pieces the composers aims to exploit this dichotomy by inviting a concert hall audience to let their heads sway forward and backward.

Although very short, this work requires a fair amount of endurance due to the never-stopping nature of it. The performers should avoid at all costs letting the 16th note pulse slow down. Even to the sacrifice of pitches and rhythms, the pulse is the most essential element of the piece.

Example Pages:






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This download contains one PDF file with the full score and both performance-ready parts.

Dry Cell (for soprano saxophone and electronics) was originally conceived as a narrative: In a future dystopic world absent of humans, only the remains of our technology survive. With energy running out, the “batteries” are left gasping for power. The piece begins in the “old west” of this future age, and as it progresses (and builds in intensity) we move into the remains of our major cities and see the remains of urban sprawl and the batteries clinging to life. The piece is loosely inspired by Alan Weisman’s The World Without Us.

Dry Cell was premiered at the Third Practice Festival, Richmond VA in 2009. performed by Michael Straus.

This piece was made possible by the What are you looking at Commissioning Fund directed by Michael Straus in conjunction with consortium members Erik Rönmark, Jan Berry Baker,  Vicki Purslow, George Weremchuk, Alex Sellers, Matthew McClure, Ryan Lemoine, Griffin Campbell and Joey Trahan.

Sample Pages:

Dry Cell (for soprano saxophone and electronics) was originally conceived as a narrative: In a future dystopic world absent of humans, only the remains of our technology survive. With energy running out, the “batteries” are left gasping for power. The piece begins in the “old west” of this future age, and as it progresses (and builds in intensity) we move into the remains of our major cities and see the remains of urban sprawl and the batteries clinging to life. The piece is loosely inspired by Alan Weisman’s The World Without Us.

Dry Cell was premiered at the Third Practice Festival, Richmond VA in 2009. performed by Michael Straus.

This piece was made possible by the What are you looking at Commissioning Fund directed by Michael Straus in conjunction with consortium members Erik Rönmark, Jan Berry Baker,  Vicki Purslow, George Weremchuk, Alex Sellers, Matthew McClure, Ryan Lemoine, Griffin Campbell and Joey Trahan.

Sample Pages:

Hyperacusis for alto saxophone and tape was commissioned in 2001 for Scott Jones. The piece is in 6 sections, alternating between abrasive/loud textures and ambient/soft gestures. The title refers to a never ending neurological disorder in which every sound (from a passing car to your own feet walking on carpet) is amplified to an intolerable level.
duration: 7:21

You will receive a ZIP file containing two files: The score as a PDF and the tape part as an AIFF file. AIFF files can easily be burned to a CD for performance or played directly from a computer. If you have any problems with the ZIP file, please contact sales@janthonyallen.com and we will send you the individual files directly.

Listen to the complete piece:

Sample Pages:









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Hyperacusis for alto saxophone and tape was commissioned in 2001 for Scott Jones. The piece is in 6 sections, alternating between abrasive/loud textures and ambient/soft gestures. The title refers to a never ending neurological disorder in which every sound (from a passing car to your own feet walking on carpet) is amplified to an intolerable level.
duration: 7:21

Includes bound score and CD with electronic part.

Listen to the complete piece:

Sample Pages:









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Piano Sonata was written in 2002. It is in three movements: Insistent, Reticent, and Exigent.

Listen to an excerpt of Movement 1:

The piece opens with a fast movement, with a single chord being the driving force. The second movement is an expansion of this chord, while exploring subtleties of the piano sostenuto pedal. The third, Exigent, is a fast movement calling back themes from the first movement.

This version of the score includes an extensive appendix of suggested fingerings by Anatoly Larkin.

Sample Pages:

(click the image for a larger view)

Piano Sonata was written in 2002. It is in three movements: Insistent, Reticent, and Exigent.

Listen to an excerpt of Movement 1:

The piece opens with a fast movement, with a single chord being the driving force. The second movement is an expansion of this chord, while exploring subtleties of the piano sostenuto pedal. The third, Exigent, is a fast movement calling back themes from the first movement.

This version of the score includes an extensive appendix of suggested fingerings by Anatoly Larkin.

Sample Pages:

(click the image for a larger view)

Tears of Eros for orchestra (2,2,2,2; 4,3,3,1, hrp, piano, 4 perc, strings), was written in 2003. It was read by the Peabody Symphony Orchestra, and later received the Macht Orchestra Prize. The title refers to the book of the same name by Georges Bataille, in which the history of eroticism is explored as it relates to art throughout history.

Duration: 15:07

Listen to the complete piece:

Peabody Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Erin Freeman, 2003 in honor of this piece winning the 2003 Macht Orchestra Prize.

This piece was written about extensively by Gregory Hall in the 2008 issue of CRS (Contemporary Scores Review) journal.

Excerpt:

"After initial orchestral flourishes utilizing skillfully and colorfully orchestrated modal clusters the texture contracts into a slow dirge for strings, building to a climax where wind textures become a modal blur creating large standing yet coruscating modal tone clusters. A section of ascending and descending tone clusters spaced out in the percussive instruments is permeated with melodic fragments in winds, strings, and brass which highlight the surrounding harmony. Beautiful unto themselves, these fragments; yet by highlighting particularly resonant places in the harmony they work melodically and harmonically with equal effectiveness, a kind of contrapuntal skill prized particularly by composers of the Baroque. This section gives way to its logical outcome: percussion instruments given improvisatory textures over the prevailing harmonies, and strings small canonic statements which, by remaining only short motives, serve to keep the percussion tone clusters in the forefront of the listener's imagination by not calling too much attention to themselves—again a balance of melody and harmony worthy of the Baroque era. "

The complete article can be downloaded here.

Tears of Eros for orchestra (2,2,2,2; 4,3,3,1, hrp, piano, 4 perc, strings), was written in 2003. It was read by the Peabody Symphony Orchestra, and later received the Macht Orchestra Prize. The title refers to the book of the same name by Georges Bataille, in which the history of eroticism is explored as it relates to art throughout history.

Duration: 15:07

Listen to the complete piece:

Peabody Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Erin Freeman, 2003 in honor of this piece winning the 2003 Macht Orchestra Prize.

This piece was written about extensively by Gregory Hall in the 2008 issue of CRS (Contemporary Scores Review) journal.

Excerpt:

"After initial orchestral flourishes utilizing skillfully and colorfully orchestrated modal clusters the texture contracts into a slow dirge for strings, building to a climax where wind textures become a modal blur creating large standing yet coruscating modal tone clusters. A section of ascending and descending tone clusters spaced out in the percussive instruments is permeated with melodic fragments in winds, strings, and brass which highlight the surrounding harmony. Beautiful unto themselves, these fragments; yet by highlighting particularly resonant places in the harmony they work melodically and harmonically with equal effectiveness, a kind of contrapuntal skill prized particularly by composers of the Baroque. This section gives way to its logical outcome: percussion instruments given improvisatory textures over the prevailing harmonies, and strings small canonic statements which, by remaining only short motives, serve to keep the percussion tone clusters in the forefront of the listener's imagination by not calling too much attention to themselves—again a balance of melody and harmony worthy of the Baroque era. "

The complete article can be downloaded here.