COMPOSITIONS

Compositions

Percussion Music

Alegria – Marimba duet

Alegria was the first piece that I wrote for mallet instruments. Even though I am a percussionist myself, most of my writing up to that time was done for the piano. In Alegria I want to explore the beauty of Brazilian Samba and my own fascination with interlocking rhythms. At the same time I wanted to keep the essence of the music fun and joyous, just as the word means in the Portuguese language. Alegria was commissioned by Romano Dinillo and was premiered at the International Sound Symposium in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador by Romano and myself.

Belo Horizonte - Mallet trio (two marimbas and vibraphone)

In 1991 I traveled to Brazil to spend a month with my friends of the renowned musical group UAKTI. They lived in the city called Belo Horizonte in the mountains of the province Minas Gerais. I would regularly take morning walks with Marco (the artistic leader of the group) in the large city park close to where I was staying. During these jaunts I experienced the park "waking up". Inevitably the walks would start with a meditative beginning of silence or just a slight breeze. The bamboo trunks would softly rub against each other. The birds would then start chirping. Following this the monkeys would start acting up. All these sounds intensified over time until I came out the other end of the park to the quiet streets beyond. This piece is a musical representation of that walk in the park.

Bill Brennan · Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope – Mallet trio (two marimbas and vibraphone)

In 2012 I was asked by percussionist Ed Squires to write a trio for him, Rob Power and me to be premiered at the Sound Symposium that year. I love the colour of mallet instruments. I love Brazilian samba music and I love Stravinsky’s The Firebird. I love how with a change of one note in a chord, you can create a completely different colour and mood. I explore all of this in Kaleidoscope.

El Quitapesares – Mallet Trio (two marimbas and vibraphone)

I shared a house with a great fellow from Chile. His name was Rodrigo Chavez, and he played tons of instruments – charango, guitar, maracas, cajon – you name it, he played it. His knowledge of Latin American folk music was astounding. He turned me onto Venezuelan Joropo and the magic of the harp in this music. El Quitapesares is one of the tunes I loved.

El Diablo Suelto – Mallet Trio (two marimbas and vibraphone)

As mentioned under the song El Quitapesares, Rodrigo’s knowledge of Latin American folk music was astounding. El Diablo Suelto is another one of the tunes he used to play for me. Rodrigo would often talk about the intricacies of the maraca playing in joropa, and especially the magic of Maximo Tepa, a great maraca player and maraca maker.

Piano Music

The Vinyl Café Waltz – Solo Piano

Over the course of a few years (in the late 90s and early 2000s) I was musical director for Stuart McLean’s The Vinyl Café on CBC Radio. I arranged the music for the infamous episode where the spiked eggnog goes to the kids in the basement by mistake. I also was musical director for the show in 2002 from St. John’s where my Dad brought the house down with his version of Among My Souvenirs. Those were very special times for me. I wrote this waltz about 20 years ago, and I named it The Vinyl Café Waltz as a dedication to Stuart and the producer of the show David Amer.

Chamber Music

Temple on the Lake (Pura Ulun Danu Beratan), for solo flute and Sundanese gamelan

I was commissioned by flutist Ellen Waterman to write this work for Sound Symposium XVIII in St. John’s, NL (July 2016). The performers included members of gamelan Sagara Asih (Memorial University), and the Acadia Gamelan Ensemble with special guest Ade Suparman on kacapi. Pura Ulun Danu Beratan is a major Hindu Shaivite Shiva temple located on the shores of Lake Bratan in the mountains near Bedugul., Bali. It is a stunning temple, which I visited while on an intensive gamelan retreat with Ade Suparman in Indonesia. I love rhythmic interplay and this piece features plenty of it, but also an opportunity for the flutist to explore sound and space.

Choral Works

Danny Boy - SSAA/SATB

Danny Boy was the first piece that I arranged for choir. My five sisters (who are all extremely musical and gifted, and who used to sing as an ensemble for many years) asked me to arrange Danny Boy for a music festival performance. It’s a piece I love very much – our Dad used to sing it frequently at family gatherings and public events. This is dedicated to him.

Let Me Fish Off Cape St. Mary’s – SSSAA, SSATBB

Let Me Fish Off Cape St. Mary’s was the second choral piece that I wrote for my sisters. It explores my love of jazz voicings with my love of folk music; lots of clusters, word painting, and colours. Enjoy.

Interactive Music

Hi everyone - I have created mp3s of parts to my pieces in order for people to play along with all the parts. For example, for my trio compositions, I have recorded parts 1 and 2, so that the third player can play along with the other parts. I have recorded Parts 1 and 3 so that player two can play along with the other parts.