AlbumS

This time, in an attempt to escape the coldness of the season, I turned to rain-related motifs in pluvia super pluviam (2026)--- "Rain Upon Rain". The album contains three short pieces in the same minimalist tripartite form—the quasi-chiastic structure I have been exploring in my compositions lately. They are more improvisatory than the pieces in the two previous albums.

"Imber procellosa" is a "heavy, tempestuous storm". I used a jagged Dorian motif in 7/8 meter peppered with metrical accents. In the mellow contrasting middle, I explore the same melodic material in duple meter. Like a summer storm, the piece is eventful and short.

"Aqua caelestis", “sky water”, is a calm piece with two melodic motifs used in superposition. I experimented with invertible counterpoint while prioritizing a free, circular, and minimalistic feel. The circularity and recurrence of these motifs recall the cyclic motions of water in the atmosphere.

"Pluvia et sol", "rain and sun”, uses the roundeau technique to intersperse contrasting textures. The piece resembles a Baroque gavotte en roundeau in form (ABACA), meter, and rhythmic incipit (short-short-long rhythm starting at the mid-bar point). The phrase constructions allude to the style of J. S. Bach, especially in section B, where I used imitative counterpoint and canonic treatment. The overall harmony is jazzy, however, with a Brazilian samba in section C featuring off-beat accents in the bass line and generous syncopation throughout.

Grab an umbrella, a good pair of headphones, and have a listen to this new album, which I put together with much love. The icons below are links to the album in the respective streaming platforms.

This season, I have been both cold and inspired. Nix super nivis (2025)---another Latin title that loosely translates to "Snow Upon Snow"---is a small three-piece collection. I have maintained the minimalist chiastic structure I used in my previous album, now describing three types of snow, as it were, as I experience them in freezing Alberta, Canada.

"Pulveris nix", or "dusty snow", is the fine dandruff that incessantly falls on really cold days in the prairies. It seems light and volatile but lays and piles quite fast, covering anything on the ground in a thick blanket of white. The piece is written in quintuple meter and I intended it as a minuet-in-five, describing the staggered dance of the snowflakes.

"Gravibus nix" is the heavy snow that seems serious at first, but makes one think of staying inside and enjoying the coziness of the season. The lively part in the piece's core is written in Brazilian frevo style.

"Nivis pluma" is the most delicate piece in the album. I wrote it thinking of my wife. The other morning, I heard a black-capped chickadee, her favourite bird, brightly singing its descending major second call in -25°C weather. It made me think of the joy my wife brings me even in the coldest seasons of life. I used strictly impressionist motifs, with pentatonic themes. The title, "snowflakes", literally translates to "feathery snow", referring both to the crystallized ice formations that compose snow itself as well as to the chickadee.

I hope you enjoy the album and it brings you some warmth in this gelid season.

Nubes nubibus (2025)---a Latin title which can be loosely translated as "Clouds Upon Clouds"---is a short album featuring representational descriptions of three types of nubilous formations. Each piece was conceived as a brief improvisation and showcases a free, tentative style, rather than an overtly refined performance. Their form is either tripartite—quasi chiastic—or a variation of that structure, featuring a developmental core with contrasting materials.

"Nimbus" refers to fluffy, puffy clouds and I made extensive use of parallelism with a minimalist system of repetitions in this piece—especially with perfect intervals.

"Stratus" reflects solidly overcast skies. Descending chromaticism illustrates my morose impression of cloudy days (especially in the prairies!). I wrote this melody when I was a kid but never really explored it in a lot of detail until now.

"Cumulus" portrays darker, rain-bearing clouds. I focused more on the coziness that rainy weather implies rather than the stormy implications therein. This piece features a “jazzy” style in fusion with Brazilian motives imported from choro and bossa nova.

I hope you enjoy this mini album as much as I did putting it together. For those who are interested, the sheet music for these pieces is forthcoming.