Coronation

This opener to Lyraka Volume 1 was a lot of fun for the musicians involved, harkening back to the 70s Rainbow and with an outstanding vocal by Graham Bonnet.

Other, fine musicians involved were Gary Spaulding (Percussion), Andre Maquera (Rhythm Guitars, Co-production), and Thom Carvey (bass guitars, saxophone).

All music and lyrics © 2010 Andrew Neires DiGelsomina. Any infringement upon these rights will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

John Lennon Imagine

I feel, as we near the thirty eighth anniversary since this great composer was taken away from us, that the message of this song, perhaps his non plus ultra, more than deserves being reinforced. From a post I made on this blog in October, 2013:

"To me, with this song John brought out the things that upon reflection make life worth living, those things that are beyond cultural or temporal aesthete in terms of archetypal beauty.

I myself truly believe that John's visions of a brotherhood of man, of everyone working together, feeding and sheltering and not unduly judging others can be made a reality. And if that makes me a hopeless romantic, an insufferable idealist, so be it.

The centuries have proven that man is capable of bringing what's inside out into the real world. The seemingly supernatural advances in technology are a great example of the formidable powers of men and women working together. I think we should all get together and work toward a common goal of no more wars, no more killing people, no more judging.

Reach within, everybody. It all starts with us...and our imaginations.

Adagio for String Ensemble no. 1

Transverberation of the heart.

Donations toward the final production, engineering, and release of Lyraka Volume 2 (or simply my music in general) can be made by Pay Pal to: lyrakametalopera@yahoo.com and thanks for all the amazing belief our patrons have shown over the years, "in our hearts you'll live forevermore!". 

Completed and © February 1st, 2019 Andrew Neires DiGelsomina. All rights reserved, infringers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

The Serial Vignette Approach to Composition

After recently reviewing my work of the past eleven years, I've come to realize that I'd quasi-inadvertently invented a musical form that is the product of what I call Serial Vignette Composition. That type of writing was already evident on Lyraka Volume 1 ("Palace Guard", "Errandia", "Neires"), and since then I have refined its execution a great deal, coming to a strikingly effective...let's say, personality quirk. This form of stream-of-conscious, almost film cue-esque writing has never been as thoroughly explored as in my music.

Please bear with me for a mercifully brief autobiographical aside.

When I was young, my parents were huge movie buffs, and we regularly went to cinemas to indulge. Movies were a big part of my life since I was young, and I came to love them very much. I was a fan of  Coppola, Kubrick, and Scorsese, and during the 90s Quentin Tarantino. In regard to Tarantino, I'll never forget watching the layout of his films ("Pulp Fiction" and "Kill Bill" for just two instances) and feeling as though I'd found a creative soul mate. The way I diverge from his method is by not being as ruled by the movie form as he (understandably) wa$. To elucidate, Tarantino's films led to satisfying conclusions/resolutions, despite the odd internal sequencing, while my music tends to mirror more the internal experience by often leaving conflicts unresolved, or radically resolved to (say), a rare (and/or seemingly random) chord or sudden halt, explosion...MacGuffin. Those last mentioned attributes were especially striking to me when I started studying the films of Alfred Hitchcock and the repertoire of his greatest collaborator, maestro Bernard Herrmann, because such irresolution is part and parcel of their art as well (even more fun: I didn't even discover Vertigo until after I turned 50 lol! It was like I had a couple of artist friends all this time and never knew it! :). Watch the movie, pay close attention to the score, and you'll understand better what I mean.)

This style of composition could be seen as either an oblivious concession to and/or more "artistic" example of of the ADD (i.e. popular) culture we live in, but it originally stems more from my own,  vignette-laden inner experience. To be more specific, I often reflect on experiences in a cinematic way, and this is why much of my music sounds storyboard-ready.
                                                                                                                                             

                                                                             

                                                                     

Symphony no. 1, Mvt. 1

This movement is composed of manifold vignettes in a stream of consciousness way. Think of a conversation between an ensemble of personalities (or more precisely, points of view), each perspective going through the process of delineation, integration, assimilation, and sublation from all the others as its individuality asserts (and, through the process, concurrently affirms) itself. There are interjections, varying degrees of harmony and disharmony, variations within variations, use of aleatoric and randomization techniques, alternatingly stark and enormous layered rhythms, elements of the grotesque, modularity...

Special thanks to my Uncle John Shafer for unfailing support, and I mean from all perspectives, providing the tough love where applicable...I'm crazy aboout you, you're my family. Your belief put wings on my heart.

                                                                
                                                                    

All music © 2015 Andrew Neires DiGelsomina