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Paul Novak
เข้าร่วมเมื่อ 5 มี.ค. 2013
The "spellbinding" (Washington Post) music of Chicago-based composer Paul Novak immerses listeners in shimmering and subtly crafted musical worlds full of color, motion, light, and magic. Rejecting grandiose narratives, his work is driven by a love of small things - miniature forms, delicate soundscapes, and condensed ideas - and guided by a sense of empathy for the performers playing his music.
www.paulnovakmusic.com
www.paulnovakmusic.com
anatomies of fragile things (2018) for oboe, violin, and piano
anatomies of fragile things (2018) for oboe, violin, and piano
As I was writing anatomies of fragile things, I was thinking a lot about the complex and colorful patterns on the wings of butterflies, and in the sound world of this piece I wanted to capture their intricacy and fragility. The work opens with a swirl of gently descending runs in the piano and violin, which are interrupted by a plaintive oboe melody. Distant, celestial chords emerge in the top octave of the piano, as the violin and oboe interject with tremolos and fragments of melodies. In the middle section, the falling lines from the beginning are distorted: where before they were fragile constellations of sound, now they’re now jagged and syncopated. The final section returns to the music from the beginning, and the work closes with a long, sustained harmony fading to nothing.anatomies of fragile things was written for oboist Julia Simpson in October 2018.
Performed by Julia Simpson, oboe, Angela Bae, violin, and Wesley Ducote, piano
As I was writing anatomies of fragile things, I was thinking a lot about the complex and colorful patterns on the wings of butterflies, and in the sound world of this piece I wanted to capture their intricacy and fragility. The work opens with a swirl of gently descending runs in the piano and violin, which are interrupted by a plaintive oboe melody. Distant, celestial chords emerge in the top octave of the piano, as the violin and oboe interject with tremolos and fragments of melodies. In the middle section, the falling lines from the beginning are distorted: where before they were fragile constellations of sound, now they’re now jagged and syncopated. The final section returns to the music from the beginning, and the work closes with a long, sustained harmony fading to nothing.anatomies of fragile things was written for oboist Julia Simpson in October 2018.
Performed by Julia Simpson, oboe, Angela Bae, violin, and Wesley Ducote, piano
มุมมอง: 1 252
วีดีโอ
a dance is a kind of wish (2023) for cello and ensemble
มุมมอง 921หลายเดือนก่อน
a dance is a kind of wish was commissioned by the University of Nevada, Reno for the faculty of the School of Music in honor of the University’ s 150th anniversary. It is dedicated, with admiration and gratitude, to Dmitri, Aaron, Joshua, Eric, Natalie, Hyeyeon, Andy, and Reed. It is scored for oboe, clarinet in Bb, bassoon, horn in F, solo cello, piano, and percussion (1 player): vibraphone, c...
dances and prayers in isolation: ii. "flow" for solo piano
มุมมอง 3632 หลายเดือนก่อน
dances and prayers in isolation is a set of short pieces written for and performed remotely from quarantine by friends and colleagues during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Each miniature is scored for a different solo or duo instrumentation, and the work is structured with fast, rhythmic movements alternating with somber, reflective ones. performed by Wesley Ducote, piano
Paul Novak - longing is an aviary (2023) for orchestra
มุมมอง 8102 หลายเดือนก่อน
longing is an aviary (2023) for orchestra longing is an aviary draws its title from Ross Gay’s poem “Because,” which depicts longing with an evocative catalogue of images which are quivering, luminous, and full of motion. I explore this same trembling effect in a series of tightly controlled, virtuosic dances for orchestra which spiral outwards from a single pitch. This music is driven by a kal...
glimmersongs (2019) for quintet
มุมมอง 8022 หลายเดือนก่อน
glimmersongs unfolds in a delicate, dream-like atmosphere, rippling like light reflected on water. From the resonance of the highest range of the piano, the strings emerge like piercing glints of light. From this fused sound, the ensemble begins to crack apart: instruments pass around runs and musical lines in fierce orchestrational games, and a rhythmic, angular music punctuates the ends of ph...
ornithology of desire (2023) for three piccolos and electronics
มุมมอง 1.7K2 หลายเดือนก่อน
ornithology of desire (2023) for three spatialized piccolos and electronics ornithology of desire is a piece about birds and queer desire. In the early pandemic, I spent hours sitting inside in quarantine watching the sparrows and finches at the feeder on my front porch. I had just moved to a city where I knew no one, and I felt as alone as I had ever been. That period was defined for me by ach...
dream catalog (2021) for soprano, mezzo-soprano, and percussion quartet (w/ score)
มุมมอง 5247 หลายเดือนก่อน
dream catalog (2021) for soprano, mezzo-soprano, and percussion quartet In January 2021, I began to keep a dream journal. I dreamt a lot this year about masks and crowds, as many of us did; I also dreamt frequently about my body and my health. Some of my dreams were related to my life and memories, and others had no clear connection. In many of my dreams, familiar things seemed unfamiliar and ...
interlocutor (2021) for piano quartet (w/ score)
มุมมอง 2.3K7 หลายเดือนก่อน
interlocutor (2021) for piano quartet interlocutor is a study in interruption. I love music which draws influence from speech, and just like in an argument, the instruments here are constantly talking over one another. There’s really only one musical idea in the whole piece-the simple melody heard at the very beginning of the piece-but this idea is fragmented and punctuated by all sorts of othe...
Paul Novak - dialogues in black and white (2019) for solo piano (w/ score)
มุมมอง 8967 หลายเดือนก่อน
dialogues in black and white (2019) for solo piano As someone who is fascinated by the transformation of tiny, simple ideas into complex pieces of art, I find the work of Ellsworth Kelly captivating. Kelly, a painter and sculptor known for the minimalist abstraction and geometric austerity of his work, spent much of his career fixated on the endless permutation of certain color palettes and pat...
Paul Novak - ghost story (2023) for soprano, harp, and percussion (w/ score)
มุมมอง 7237 หลายเดือนก่อน
"ghost story" was written in collaboration with poet Victoria Flanagan and choreographer Marc Macaranas as part of "New Music/New Dance," an interdisciplinary performance by the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition and DanceWorks Chicago. music by Paul Novak text by Victoria Flanagan choreography by Marc Macaranas Kristina Bachrach, soprano Ben Melsky, harp John Corkill, percussion Dance...
as the light begins to drift (2019) for sinfonietta (w/ score)
มุมมอง 1.4K8 หลายเดือนก่อน
as the light begins to drift (2019) for sinfonietta As a student at Rice, I became familiar with the unusual and beautiful cloud formations that appear in East Texas skies. as the light begins to drift was inspired by their subtle interplay of light and shadow and their flowing, hazy geometries. The work opens with a burst of swirling texture, with spiraling runs and swells entangling in a chao...
Paul Novak - prisms and mirrors (2021) for pierrot ensemble (w/ score)
มุมมอง 2.8K8 หลายเดือนก่อน
prisms and mirrors (2021) for pierrot sextet I’m fascinated by prismatic musical forms: structures that continuously refract and reflect, kaleidoscopically shifting and evolving but at the same time static and unchanging. I imagine a light shined through a series of crystals and mirrors, shimmering into colorful spectra and bouncing in unexpected directions. Similarly, prisms and mirrors maps a...
Paul Novak - entwining (2021) for clarinet, violin, cello and piano (w/ score)
มุมมอง 6K8 หลายเดือนก่อน
entwining (2021) for clarinet, violin, cello and piano Paul Novak One of the preoccupations of my music in the last several years has been miniature forms. I’m drawn to short, unassuming pieces which contain entire musical worlds, and to tiny structures which are nevertheless immersive and finely detailed. entwining is a set of three interlocking miniatures which are very different but neverthe...
Paul Novak - ghost story (2023) for soprano, harp, and percussion
มุมมอง 381ปีที่แล้ว
"ghost story" was written in collaboration with poet Victoria Flanagan and choreographer Marc Macaranas as part of "New Music/New Dance," an interdisciplinary performance by the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition and DanceWorks Chicago. music by Paul Novak text by Victoria Flanagan choreography by Marc Macaranas Kristina Bachrach, soprano Ben Melsky, harp John Corkill, percussion Dance...
Paul Novak - entwining (2021) for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
มุมมอง 1.4K2 ปีที่แล้ว
entwining (2021) for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano Recorded June 2021 by Music from Copland House Moran Katz, clarinet Pala Garcia, violin Alexis Gerlach, cello Margaret Kampmeier, piano One of the preoccupations of my music in the last several years has been miniature forms. I’m drawn to short, unassuming pieces which contain entire musical worlds, and to tiny structures which are neverth...
Paul Novak - dances and prayers in isolation (2020): ii. prayer no. 1 for solo piano "flow"
มุมมอง 2732 ปีที่แล้ว
Paul Novak - dances and prayers in isolation (2020): ii. prayer no. 1 for solo piano "flow"
Paul Novak - as the light begins to drift (2019) for sinfonietta
มุมมอง 7582 ปีที่แล้ว
Paul Novak - as the light begins to drift (2019) for sinfonietta
Paul Novak - a string quartet is like a flock of birds, for string quartet
มุมมอง 1.5K4 ปีที่แล้ว
Paul Novak - a string quartet is like a flock of birds, for string quartet
Paul Novak - blimunda songs for pierrot ensemble
มุมมอง 7164 ปีที่แล้ว
Paul Novak - blimunda songs for pierrot ensemble
Paul Novak - dialogues in black and white (after ellsworth kelly) for solo piano (2019)
มุมมอง 7134 ปีที่แล้ว
Paul Novak - dialogues in black and white (after ellsworth kelly) for solo piano (2019)
Paul Novak - marking punctuations (2018) for string quartet (excerpts)
มุมมอง 2944 ปีที่แล้ว
Paul Novak - marking punctuations (2018) for string quartet (excerpts)
Paul Novak - 3 Night Pieces (2017) for flute and piano
มุมมอง 7106 ปีที่แล้ว
Paul Novak - 3 Night Pieces (2017) for flute and piano
Wow😱😱😱
What a gorgeous piece of music, Paul! <3
thanks ania! <3
sodelicious.......................................
This is awesome! The electronics are subtle but add so much color
Beautifully textured, dramatic, and compelling music. Great work!
Cool!
Really beautiful, magnificent construction !
So fleeing yet lyrical
Ooh but I really love the groove about halfway through as well
Stunning! 😍
this is brilliant!
The Takemitsu influence is so strong in this! I love the ways your lines interweave!
Прикольдэсно!
Reminds me of Vivier's Paramirabo with the dominant chord-voicings throughout (like the Eb F A D one), maybe some Scriabin? Very lovely!
Love it! Mesmerizing, light, lots of cool textures
so good! it feels Takemitsu-like in some parts, in the best way of course
WOW
Beautiful music
I know this form of time signature notation is a way to keep the players on their toes, but is it the most effective way? I think maybe by communcating with text or describing the feeling during rehersal might be an easier way to achieve the same effect.
Genuinely can't see a single thing in this piece where the time signature is anything other than the most straightforward thing to have put given the groove of the music. Is there a specific thing you think is unnecessary?
I do agree that it's bad for composers to do that, but I don't think that's what's happening here. IMO, it all depends on the players and how well the music fits their vibe. A rhythm that would leave one player barely keeping up might be satisfying for another player to figure out. From experience, I can say that Paul is genuinely compassionate with the performers of his music and would not make things hard just to keep them on their toes.
Very nice and great performance
Love the cleanness and simplicity of this... it still looks quite difficult to play though 😂
absolutely stunning and incredible
Pikolo
Lovely!
Love this! Kind of reminds me of Timo Andres, but it's still very distinct to your voice.
It’s amazing how perfectly this piece, at least the first movement, captures the feeling of being shrunken down and curiously traversing the world around you, now colossal in your eyes
thank you!! i'm obsessed with this description - kind of want to put this in my bio lol
@@paulnovakmusicI wrote a poem about it: And you, with all the world colossal in your eyes The music you heard tintinnabulating in your ears Riding on the sine waves of synapses, you felt it The feeling that had been thought dead, outlawed at the very least Was back, as if it had never left, and just then You, shrunken you, miniature you, you cascaded Into the tiny you shaped hole in my chest
Very vivid and inventive use of layered textures, as well as a melodically brilliant theme
Beautiful music ❤
Reminds me of Andriessen
Very beautiful! Can you tell a bit about the electronics? How did you made them or in which software? Thanks!
thanks so much! the electronics are all fixed - i recorded a bunch of piccolo sounds and then sampled them :)
Great writting! Amazing atmosphere ;)
Beautiful as always!
Excellent!
fastest click of my life, stunning piece ✨
Never a dull moment
This is extremely cool, thank you for sharing. I love the percussive air sounds, especially with the downward glisses on top. - From another queer composer :)
gorgeous!
Wow! This is very cool!
So Awesome and captivating!!!!
This is mindblowing
Definitely fits the title!
niente-forte swell gesture will never die as long as we live (beautiful music as always <3)
Hahaha I love "pierrot ensemble" to keep it short
Stunning!
Magic piece. Magic performance. Loved this!
Amazing as always!
nice 😎
Massive piece I wonder... where did you study? With whom? I really like your music man
Wow this is very beautiful!
Like this piece very much!
Love the rhythmic pulse and pianissimi