air
For piano 4’ (2022)
Score available at Universal Edition
[a]new
Clarinet 5’ (2018)
Score available at Universal Edition.
Program Note
Composed as a study for solo clarinet, [a]new translates Gertrude Stein's poem new to music. By systematically mapping the ASCII letter characters from every word in the verse to musical structure, every line becomes a phrase, resulting in modal and metric forms that emerge from the text itself.
Angelus
For organ 10’ (2017)
Released on PARMA Recordings.
Score available at Universal Edition.
Program Note
Composed in three sections, Angelus gradually unfolds a simple phrase schema consisting of a few chords that, albeit similar in construction, create a transformative musical space. In a vocalized-like manner, the resulting melodies further support this harmonic design, conveying a sense of mystery.
"Angelus is a quiet and atmospheric piece with overt minimalist influences. The Angelus is one of the significant Catholic devotions, and traditionally this call to prayer would be evoked by the ringing of a bell. In the music, one can hear the gently tolling, repeating patterns change gradually throughout." Carson Cooman - PARMA Recordings CD Liner Notes
Litanies of the Soul
Five movements for organ 18’
Published by Paraclete Press.
Released on PARMA Recordings.
Program Note
An attractive and useful suite of brief pieces for organ in 20th century styles. The first and last are exciting toccatas with rapid alternating notes while the central three pieces are introspective with much imitation and plaintive melodies.
Prayer
For organ 7’
Published by Paraclete Press.
Released on PARMA Recordings.
Program Note
Ethereal in spirit, this features slowly changing harmonies with a haunting melody that fades in and out.
"'Prayer' is a short work inspired by Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” It is a musical exploration of some of the same musical material that is revisited at greater length in the latter work, 'Preludes for a Prayer.''" Carson Cooman - PARMA Recordings CD Liner Notes
Sei Solo
Violin 8’
Performances
- July - David Felberg, violin (West coast premiere). Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium, The University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
- March 2017 - Tobias Chisnall, violin (premiere). Faculty Presents Recital, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA
Ricercar dell’affinità
Flute 8’
Program Note
Characterized by a fantasy-like, rhapsodic narrative, Ricercar dell'affinità employs several compositional techniques derived from the composer’s exploration of the perceptual affinity of tones. The processual musical objects are distinguished by unique timbres and textures, in turn suggesting a musical and procedural affinity produced by gradual transformations of the tonal and metric structure. Following a short, improvisatory prologue, the piece unfolds in two contrasting sections, with the first one featuring a two-part, systematically permutative cyclical counterpoint of rapid florid gestures, and the second displaying more melodically and harmonically linear material.
Performances
- May 2016 - Tommaso Bisiak, flute. Risuonanze Festival, Auditorium dell Casa della Musica, Trieste, Italy
Verset
Organ 4’
Published by Paraclete Press
Vocalise
Organ 5’
Published by Paraclete Press
Two Canons
Canon I “Inner Self”
Canon II “Carmen Perpetuum”
Two movements for piano or organ 10’
Published by Paraclete Press
Released on PARMA Recordings
Program Note
The Two Canons—“Inner Self” (2007, rev. 2010) and “Carmen Perpetuum” (Perpetual Song) (2007, rev. 2017)—explore basic canonic principles in service of building something that is rather more complex than straightforward imitation. “Inner Self” is a trio in three different registers. In “Carmen Perpetuum,” the voices sustain and are blurred into thick harmonies in the manuals; the theme in the pedals moves below it at a slower pace. (Notes by Carson Cooman, PARMA Recordings)
Performances
- October 2008 - Zvonimir Nagy, organ (Canon I “Inner Self”). St. Austin Church, Austin, TX
- March 2007 - Mabel Kwan, piano (Canon I “Inner Self”). Lutkin Hall, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Lake Etudes
Three studies for piano 18’
Released on MSR Classics
Program Note
These three etudes were inspired by the composer's walks by the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago's Rogers Park. Here Nagy derives harmonic configurations from his "sonance modes," a carefully mapped-out hierarchy of pitch constructs based on cognitive research into the perceptual affinity to tones. of the lake I (2007, rev. 2014) begins with a single musical line, a series of rising fifths. Just as the pattern seems to become predictable, another line enters the music, rubbing dissonantly against the first - a raindrop of the lake, perhaps, whose ripples now expand in a new direction, responding to new raindrops, forming new ripples. A consistent rhythmic pattern materializes from the intersecting lines, seducing the listener into the sensation of some sort of postminimalist groove, but only temporarily - soon those expectations evaporate, and other grooves fade in, just as in the movement of nature we cannot help but perceive a reflection of our own psychological habits and tendencies. The music's objectivity initially turns us back on ourselves, but if we continue to listen closely, we will find ourselves encouraged to return to the sounds themselves, and the underlying peace behind all of the movement may reval itself to us. The first etude ends on its way out, Ligeti-like, pointing toward the infinite expansion of the pattern beyond the edge of the keyboard. The sonance series is used to similar effect in the the etude's two sequels: in of the lake II (2011), it produces a glittering surface of light, dancing waves, while of the lake III (2014) throws us immediately into a strong undertow and gradually brings us back to the shore. (Notes by Benjamin Binder, MSR Classics)
Performances
- July 2011 - Geoffrey Burleson, piano (of the lake II). Composers Recording Institute. Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH
- May 2007 - David Kalhous, piano (of the lake I, version 1). Lutkin Hall, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Vestiges
Piano 21’
Released on MSR Classics
Published by Musik Fabrik
Program Note
In Vestiges, a work based on an untitled poem by the composer, Nagy uses spectral compositional techniques in earnest, applying a computer-generated series of compression and expansion procedures to the constituent intervals of the harmonic series on B-flat. (Notes by Benjamin Binder, MSR Classics)
vanished dreams
in me
vestiges
with silent colors woven
concealed
in light
Performances
- October 2003 - Zvonimir Nagy, piano. Croatian Music Institute Hall, Zagreb, Croatia