Premiered by Matthew Quayle, NYU, December 2006. 5 Pieces. 10’
Like Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words, this is not an ordered suite so much as a loose collection of short pieces. The earliest of them (Mélodie) was conceived as far back as 1995. When I first arrived at NYU in 2002, I set about sketching out melodies, trying to reconnect with a certain simplicity and economy of expression. In 2004 some students of mine asked if I had written any pieces of moderate difficulty, so I went back to work and completed five of those sketches. I didn't stay entirely true to my original goal, however: some of the Songs Without Words are easy to play, but others ended up being quite challenging!
I. Mélodie
II. Rain Day
III. Chickadee
IV. Sunrise in the Adirondacks
V. Brooklyn Hoe-Down
