On the Way (2023)
Violin, ‘cello, piano. 15’
I. From Fragments
II. Lament
III. Begin Anew
On the Way was composed, mostly, in late 2023, another period of transition in my life and a time of continuing and new wars.
From Fragments is a putting together of fragmentary musical ideas – motives, as they are called. These arose from brief thoughts that popped up in my head, primarily one particular night; these became the rhythmic ideas that propel the piece. Actually, this is a fairly common compositional technique!
Lament is very simply a lament over the brutality of war and the suffering it brings to the innocent: the loss of life, of loved ones, of home, of a future. Will there ever come a time when humankind will cease its inhuman behavior?
Begin Anew begins with a lyrical primary theme, beginning in unison and using a pentatonic mode, something that I had never before used in my instrumental works. A more dissonant, driven conversation emerges but we return to the hopeful first theme, beginning anew.
The first performance was given in June, 2024 by the di.vi.sion piano trio in Riverdale, New York.
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Summer Music (2017)
Flute, oboe, ‘cello. 15’
I. At Quiet Cove
II. Lupine Dance
III. Solstice Chorale
IV. The Stream of Days
Summer Music is a set of reflections on aspects of the beautiful season on the coast of Maine. The work was composed for fellow faculty members of the SummerKeys program in Lubec, Maine: Suzanne Gilchrest (flute), Setsuko Otake (oboe) and Kathleen Collison (‘cello). The first performance was in August, 2018.
Night Songs (2018)
Mezzo-soprano, ‘cello & piano. 18’
Texts by Sara Teasdale
These songs, settings of poems by the great lyric poet, address a variety of emotions: a warm reminiscence of evenings spent in New York’s Riverside Park; the innocence of a child running to her neighbor’s house, accompanied by the moon; a lament that her inner turmoil prevents her from resting in the beauty of the night. Ultimately the night and the stars seem to have become sources of solace and objects of adoration.
Night Songs was composed for, and is dedicated to, the Resinosa Ensemble: Jöelle Morris (mezzo-soprano), Eliza Meyer (‘cello) and Bridget Convey (piano). The first performance was given at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine on February 2, 2019.
I. There Will Be Stars (from Dark of the Moon, 1926)
II. Summer Night, Riverside (from Love Songs, 1917)
III. Spring Night (from Love Songs, 1917)
IV. The Kind Moon (from Helen of Troy and Other Poems, 1911)
V. June Night (from Flame and Shadow, 1920)
VI. Stars (from Flame and Shadow, 1920)
VII. Winter Stars (from Flame & Shadow, 1920)
Fantasy (2016)
Viola, violoncello, piano. 12’
I. Rough Start
II. Interlude
III. An Ending, Perhaps
Fantasy was composed for my good friends Ina Litera (viola) and Matthew Goeke (‘cello). Its first performance, with me at the piano, took place in June of that year on the opening faculty concert of the SummerKeys program in Lubec, Maine.
Song of Compassion (2003 rev. 2016)
Two violas, digital keyboard, percussion. 15’
This one-movement work was inspired by the traditions of the bodhisattva
Avalokiteshvara, who is the embodiment of the compassion of all the buddhas. His mantra, one of the best known in the Buddhist tradition, is Om Mani Padme Hum, often called the “mantra of compassion.” The work includes two versions of the mantra that I had composed a few years earlier (see my Devotional Chants & Mantras [insert link to that work]).
Video
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In Autumn (2013)
Violin, piano. 12’
I. Recitative
II. Arabesque in Blue
III. Play
An improvisatory recitative is followed by a plaintive arabesque and a final movement inspired by several of my piano students, featuring a continual interplay between brusque and lyrical gestures… a play? child’s play, just play? The work’s first performance was in March, 2016, with Alice St. Clair (violin) and myself (piano).
On Impermanence (2012/2020)
Flute, viola, violoncello. 7’
I. A Coming Together (2020)
II. …and nothing remains the same. (2012)
A pair of musical essays on the ephemeral nature of our world. Composed for the ensemble Eight Strings & a Whistle: Suzanne Gilchrest (flute), Ina Litera (vla), and Matthew Goeke (‘cello). In a review of the ensemble’s CD (And Nothing Remains the Same), it was noted: “the dissonant and challenging title track was born out of the mind of American contemporary composer Newell, and is a glorious standout on this thought provoking, brilliantly conceived and thrillingly performed recording.” – Takeeffectreviews.com (March 2, 2022)
A Day’s Journey (2008)
Two violins, viola, violoncello. 28’
I. Thoughts at dawn…
II. through heat and grit…
III. become a canticle…
IV. seeking in faith the light.
This work is a series of reflections on one day’s journey, or one life’s journey. (Life does indeed seem to be a long and winding road. It also at times seems to be but a day.) The titles of the four movements can almost be read as one sentence: “Thoughts at dawn… through heat and grit… become a canticle… seeking in faith the light.”
Especially in the springtime I often awake with thoughts filling my head – ideas, desires, fears, plans – seemingly unconnected and not cohering into a logical argument. Through the tensions and conflicts of our days, our thoughts and emotions can become refined and perhaps transformed into a song (thus the very consonant and melodic third movement). The final movement attempts to express the overriding aspiration of the journey.
Sequoia Quintet (2006)
Flute (picc.), oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon. 16’
I. Toybox Symphony
II. From Away
III. I was a serious young man.
I composed the quintet for the faculty wind ensemble of the Sequoia Chamber Music Workshop, held at Humbolt State University in Arcata, California. It received its first performance there in June 2006.
The first movement involves two ideas: I greatly enjoyed playing with Legos with my son. It was so much fun taking apart what we had just built and starting over, re-using and re-arranging the blocks to build another version of, say, the castle, or something entirely different. Of Beethoven’s nine symphonies, the fourth is one of my favorites. Why not take apart the first movement and use some of the pieces in the “toybox” to build something else?
You may have heard the old Maine expression, “he’s from away.” The meaning is obvious and perhaps most of us have found ourselves in places or situations where we have felt this way. And then there is the question: “where am I really from?”
What if I had been tempted as a young man to compose in a jazz-inspired style? The third movement may have been the result.
Sky Music (2004)
Flute, clarinet, harp. 28’
I. River of Clouds
II. The Winds
III. Starry Night
IV. December full Moon Rising
V. Song of the Mountains and the Sky
Sky Music was composed for my friend Armand Ambrosini, a wonderful clarinet player. He chose the instrumentation, and the first performance took place in Oklahoma City, performed by Armand, Valerie Watts (flute), Gaye LeBlanc (harp). It is obvious that I love the sky.
Lavender Axes (1981)
Flute/piccolo, clarinet, oboe/English horn, bassoon, percussion solo, piano. 13’
A one-movement work commissioned and first performed by the Bowery Ensemble (New York City), directed by Nils Vigeland.
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Heterophony (1978)
Alto voices, violin, viola, English horn. 12’
A somewhat minimalist one-movement work. The first performance took place at Baird Hall, SUNY at Buffalo.
“A peculiar, haunting timbre… The odds are you’ve never heard this sound before.”
– Buffalo Evening News
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Rondos (1977)
Eb clarinet, trumpet, trombone, tuba, percussion solo. 9’
A one-movement work first performed at Baird Hall, SUNY at Buffalo.
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Text (1973)
Soprano, violin, flute, clarinet, guitar, percussion solo. 10’
A work for singer and instrumental ensemble with no lyrics for the singer, only vocal sounds from various languages which I organized into a text. The first performance took place at California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California.
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Image, Song, Vision (1972)
Flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello. 12’
My first work for instrumental ensemble. The first performance took place at at
California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California.
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