Hymntunes III for two flutes and fixed media (1994) Download fixed media accompaniment.
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  1. Hymn to St. Magnus mp3 Download
  2. Annunciation mp3 Download
  3. Vedic Hymn mp3 Download
  4. Anglo-American Hymn mp3 Download
  5. Delphic Hymn mp3 Download

Hymntunes III for flute ensemble with antiphonal flutes (2015).

Version for two flutes and fixed media: Hymntunes III is the third in a series of compositions based on hymntunes. In this composition, religious melodies from many different eras and cultures are used. The texts that accompany these melodies are not discarded. In the first movement, the Latin text of the hymn to St. Magnus is used as a response to the original melody which appears in the tape part. The second movement includes a vocal part from Petrus de Cruce's motet in a "musique concrete" parody. This vocal part was performed and processed to sound like it was recorded long ago in the field using portable equipment. This "field" recording is then used to create a montage. The third movement uses separate syllables form a Hindu word as a percussive accompaniment for a Vedic melody. Movement four is a choral setting with flute descants. The choral style is based on so called "sacred harp" singing once common in the southern United States. In this style of singing the singers are more concerned with individual expression than with ensemble. They never sing exactly together, they often add ornaments individually, and typically improvise canonic passages. The effect of this singing is sometimes perceived as comic, although that is not the intention of this work. The final movement makes use of the text of the ancient Greek Delphic hymn.

Flute choir version: In 2015 I made a new version of Hymntunes III for a performance at the National Flute Association convention in Washington, D.C. I had been wanting to revise the work for some time. The technology available when the piece was originally written was rather crude and that forced to me to make compromises in the quality of the sound and in the number of simultaneous voices. Having the opportunity to perform all of the parts live allowed me to realize the work in a form closer to what I had originally envisioned. The variety of timbre on the original tape was recreated with flutists performing using extended techniques. The 2015 version makes use to finger slides, harmonics and noise effects. The original tape part was in surround sound. This proved problematic in performance. Most concert venues were not, and are still not, equipped with surround sound equipment. It was with some frustration that I mixed the original tape down to stereo. The flute choir version includes a number of antiphonal parts. These parts restored the original surround sound effects. The new version of Hymntunes III was premiered by the Calliope Flute Ensemble, Paul Thompson conducting (see photos below).
 

Hymntunes III (flute choir version), Hymn to St. Magnus, Calliope Flute Ensemble (exceprt).