music for the paul bailey ensemble

Requiem for a high homicide enclave, 2008

is a deconstruction of Purcell's Funeral Music for Queen Mary (1694) based on excerpts from the from the LA Times Homicide Report which documents every murder that takes place in Los Angeles County using blog posts, comments, and Google Maps.

Life's Too Short, 2007

is the second piece of the Retrace Our Steps trilogy. Life's Too Short is a lighthearted meditation of life, death, and nihilism based on the writings Friedrich Nietzsche (iconic German philosopher) and John Sinclair ( Los Angeles based writer). libretto

life's too short (092507)

fearless leader, (2006, revised spring 2007)

was partially inspired by a quote from the Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ligeti: “ Now there is no taboo; everything is allowed. But one cannot simply go back to tonality, its just not the way. We must find a way of neither going back nor continuing the avant-garde. I am in a prison: one wall is the avant-garde, the other wall is the past, and I cannot escape.

fearless leader (lacc, 100207)

cheap admiration, 2005

Is loosely based on a harmonic deconstruction of Sonata Ciacona by Johann Pezel (1639-1694) who worked as a musician in Germany and was promoted to town stadtpfeifer (band director) in Leipzig in 1670. Later in his career he applied for and was turned down for the job of Cantor of St. Thomaskirche, a job that J.S. Bach would hold 50 years later.

cheap admiration (lacc, 100207)

Principal of Sufficient Irritation, p. bailey 2002 (11/25/05)

is three sections of five melodic/ostinato gestures that can be performed in endless variety. in rehearsals a unique roadmap and orchestration is decided upon and explored during the performance.

11/25/05 (with real quiet, 102507)

myinnersatan, 2005 ( revised 2006 )

these are early live versions of my new pieces. myinnersatan started as a cross between counterpoint exercise and a contemplation of the soul crushing emptyness of desk work.

Retrace Our Steps p. bailey 2004

is a four act vocal/instrumental spectacle based on texts by gertrude stein, guy debord and jenny bitner. the work explores the relationships between youthful idealism, consumerism and job security.

retrace our steps, act 1

retrace our steps, act 2

retrace our steps, act 3

retrace our steps, act 4

(graphic libretto)

music from summerland p. bailey 2002

explores the juxtoposition of pop song forms and harmonies through post-modern and minimalist gestures. summerland refers to a mythical-emotional place where we escape daily routine by making music; composing, rehearsing and performing. this music lies somewhere between art music (music meant to be contemplated) and pop music (music meant for mass consumption).

overcoming tourism, the palimpsest, boundary violations , tong aesthetics , obsessive love, the obelisk, summerland

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violin machine j.s. bach 1730 l. rodgers 1987

is a recomposition of the accompaniment of the bach double violin concerto, in which the solo violin parts are left unmolested. the composition was originally written for the violinists, joseph goodman and diana halpern of the cartesian reunion memorial orchestra in 1987.

vmachine1, vmachine2, vmachine3

chopping tool(neighborhood church, sean ferguson) adapted pbe 2003

was originally written for string sextet and piano four hands. it reconstitutes the harmonies of the chopin c# minor piano prelude through an agro-minimalist machine. it was originally commissioned for the opening of disney hall, but was promptly rejected when no retrograde inversion tone rows were unearthed.

music by paul bailey

music for strings, 2001 (sam formicola, shalini vijayan, victor funes, victor lawrence), first, second, third, fourth

dance 1-4 for keyboard 2001 (nelson ojeda)