Synthonic Offerings

Swan-Cross is pleased to offer this collection of music that has been composed and performed entirely on electro-acoustic instruments (also known loosely as “synthesizers”). These pieces show my strong classical and rock-oriented background and embody my desire to blend the elements of both together, much as George Gershwin did with jazz idioms. They also speak (loudly) of my lifelong love affair with electronic instruments and the exciting possibilities they offer to contemporary composers.

These recordings are currently made available for free download, for a variety of reasons. All I ask is that you copy them only for your own listening pleasure and not copy them for others. Instead, direct your friends and family to this website, where they can check the music out for themselves. If you would like CD-quality recordings, many of the pieces listed below are available on CD.

Of course, making and distributing copies of this music for your own personal gain is a violation of copyright and moral law. Please don't do it.

Title	Description	Order
Kaleidoscopes 5. Metamorphosis 9:07 9.3 Mb 6. Abalica 3:18 3.1 Mb 1. Trinity 4:44 4.5 Mb 2. Humankind 5:24 5.1 Mb 3. trinity 2:36 2.5 Mb 11. Lost, but Not Forsaken 1:40 1.6 Mb 7. Dance of the Great Spheres 7:02 6.6 Mb	In 1987, I was at a logjam as a composer. I sort of had a sense of a new direction I wanted to pursue, but I couldn't quite break through. Then, as a Christmas gift, a close friend of ours gave my new bride and me a wonderful handcrafted stained-glass kaleidoscope. I had never seen anything like it—it was breathtakingly beautiful! And almost instantly, the logjam was broken, as that kaleidoscope became the inspiration for a series of what is (eventually) to be 12 compositions all inspired by the idea of transcribing into aural terms something of what I experienced visually in that gift. The set presented here is available on high-quality CD and includes composition and background notes that talk about how and why each piece was conceived and realized as it was.	You can order this entire set on CD.

Title

Description

Order

Kaleidoscopes

5. Metamorphosis
     9:07        9.3 Mb

6. Abalica
    3:18         3.1 Mb

1. Trinity
    4:44         4.5 Mb

2. Humankind
    5:24         5.1 Mb

3. trinity
    2:36         2.5 Mb

11. Lost, but Not Forsaken
    1:40         1.6 Mb

7. Dance of the Great Spheres
    7:02         6.6 Mb

In 1987, I was at a logjam as a composer. I sort of had a sense of a new direction I wanted to pursue, but I couldn't quite break through.

Then, as a Christmas gift, a close friend of ours gave my new bride and me a wonderful handcrafted stained-glass kaleidoscope. I had never seen anything like it—it was breathtakingly beautiful!

And almost instantly, the logjam was broken, as that kaleidoscope became the inspiration for a series of what is (eventually) to be 12 compositions all inspired by the idea of transcribing into aural terms something of what I experienced visually in that gift.

The set presented here is available on high-quality CD and includes composition and background notes that talk about how and why each piece was conceived and realized as it was.

You can order this entire set
on CD.

Title	Description	Order
May Jesus Christ Be Praised 3:37 3.5 Mb	This piece is the first in what is intended to be a series, a CD-length collection of similar works called I Sing the Hymn Electronique. These will all, like this one, be arrangements of traditional hymns, freely interpreted using the colorful palettes of todays electro-acoustic instruments. Can you tell it was done sometime during the late 80s or early 90s? There is also a piano-organ duet version of this arrangement available.	n/a

Title

Description

Order

May Jesus Christ Be Praised

3:37 3.5 Mb

This piece is the first in what is intended to be a series, a CD-length collection of similar works called I Sing the Hymn Electronique.

These will all, like this one, be arrangements of traditional hymns, freely interpreted using the colorful palettes of todays electro-acoustic instruments. Can you tell it was done sometime during the late 80s or early 90s?

There is also a piano-organ duet version of this arrangement available.

n/a

Title	Description	Order
Epiphany Suite 1. A Piece of Epiphany 6:33 6.2 Mb 2. L2:40 2:25 2.3 Mb 3. Proclamation 0:22 0.3 Mb 4. In the Wilderness 13:00 12.2 Mb 5. March deLion 2:29 2.3 Mb 6. Fanfare 1:06 1.0 Mb 7. Passion's 'our 8. Dawnsong / Sonrise 22:10 20.8 Mb	Epiphany Suite is one of my earliest synthonic works—and despite its sometimes dated sound, it remains one of my favorites, and I think one of my best. It is a programmatic piece, depicting the life of Jesus from beginning to end (well, at least here on earth). A Piece of Epiphany started as a very early attempt to write a Christmas carol. Eventually, I expanded it to include quotes from other Christmas season music, some of which you are likely to recognize. L2:40 — Shorthand for Luke 2:40. Says it all. Proclamation depicts the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. In the Wilderness portrays Jesus's 40 days in the wilderness following his baptism. This is, compositionally, one of the more interesting movements, I think. Among other things, it presages the work I was to later do in the Kaleidoscope series. March deLion illustrates, in a rather light-hearted way, the circus-like atmosphere that must have surrounded much of Jesus's public ministry. Dedicated to my mother because of her love of marches. Fanfare announces the coming of the King into His own city, Jerusalem on the day we now call Palm Sunday. Passion's 'our and Dawnsong / Sonrise, the last two movements, flow as one, as we look at the arrest, trial, conviction, and crucifixion of Jesus. Then, after a long dark night of the soul, the morning dawns and with it, the resurrection of the Lord! Excitement on His victory over death and His return to the Father! This entire piece was written for and performed on a Casio CZ-5000 synthesizer (one of the first fully digital polyphonic synthesizers), a Roland TR-505 drum machine, and an old out-of-tune rented upright piano. It was recorded and mixed on a Tascam 246 Portastudio 4-channel cassette recorder in the spring and summer of 1988, in Kaiserslautern, West Germany. More recently, it was recovered from old cassettes and digitally enhanced for this collection.	You can order this entire suite on CD.

Title

Description

Order

Epiphany Suite

1. A Piece of Epiphany
    6:33         6.2 Mb

2. L2:40
    2:25         2.3 Mb

3. Proclamation
    0:22         0.3 Mb

4. In the Wilderness
    13:00       12.2 Mb

5. March deLion
    2:29         2.3 Mb

6. Fanfare
    1:06         1.0 Mb

7. Passion's 'our
8. Dawnsong / Sonrise
    22:10       20.8 Mb

Epiphany Suite is one of my earliest synthonic works—and despite its sometimes dated sound, it remains one of my favorites, and I think one of my best. It is a programmatic piece, depicting the life of Jesus from beginning to end (well, at least here on earth).

A Piece of Epiphany started as a very early attempt to write a Christmas carol. Eventually, I expanded it to include quotes from other Christmas season music, some of which you are likely to recognize.

L2:40 — Shorthand for Luke 2:40. Says it all.

Proclamation depicts the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.

In the Wilderness portrays Jesus's 40 days in the wilderness following his baptism. This is, compositionally, one of the more interesting movements, I think. Among other things, it presages the work I was to later do in the Kaleidoscope series.

March deLion illustrates, in a rather light-hearted way, the circus-like atmosphere that must have surrounded much of Jesus's public ministry. Dedicated to my mother because of her love of marches.

Fanfare announces the coming of the King into His own city, Jerusalem on the day we now call Palm Sunday.

Passion's 'our and Dawnsong / Sonrise, the last two movements, flow as one, as we look at the arrest, trial, conviction, and crucifixion of Jesus. Then, after a long dark night of the soul, the morning dawns and with it, the resurrection of the Lord! Excitement on His victory over death and His return to the Father!

This entire piece was written for and performed on a Casio CZ-5000 synthesizer (one of the first fully digital polyphonic synthesizers), a Roland TR-505 drum machine, and an old out-of-tune rented upright piano. It was recorded and mixed on a Tascam 246 Portastudio 4-channel cassette recorder in the spring and summer of 1988, in Kaiserslautern, West Germany. More recently, it was recovered from old cassettes and digitally enhanced for this collection.

You can order this entire suite
on CD.