Music and Editions by Dean Crocker

Click on a title to audition the music.

2012

Compositions:

Arion Rides the Dolphin: Electronic 4′; A dolphin carried a poet from Lesbos safely back to shore.

2011

Compositions:

Coruscating Ephemerons: Fl, ob, cl, bs cl, bsn, 2 hn, C tpt, trb. 11′; A flash in the pan? (Look—something shiny!)

Elucubration—Élucubrations: Electronic. 6′; An elaborately wrought fantasia; or mayhap, studious rantings.

Palimpsest: Electronic. 4½′; A setting of LE DORMEUR DU VAL by Arthur Rimbaud.

New Editions:

Josquin—Absolon fili mi: Mixed chorus (SATB). 3′; A classic. A masterpiece. Probably not written by Josquin after all.

Lack—Le chant du ruisseau, Op. 92: Piano solo. 2′; A lovely piece of fluffery I learned in the 6th grade.

Paderewski—Humoresques de Concert, Op. 14: Piano solo. 17′; Six virtuosic showpieces, including the once-ubiquitous Minuet in G.

Raff—String octet, Op. 176: 4 violins, 2 violas, 2 celli. 23′; A delightful work that should be better known. Also playable by a string orchestra, I suppose.

2010

Compositions:

Quartets vignettes: Saxophone quartet. 19′; A “reimagining” of my 2003 string quartet.

New Editions:

Cramer—Quintet, Op. 69: Violin, viola, cello, bass and piano. 30′; New edition from an 1827 publication.

2009

Compositions:

Poscimur: Mixed chorus (SATB) with piano—Latin. 3½′; Choral setting of Horace’s Ode I:32.

New Editions:

Costa—Damascus [Triumphal March from Naaman]: Mixed chorus (SSATTB) and Piano—English. 6¾′; New edition of a chorus from an 1864 oratorio

Hummel—Piano Trio no. 2 in E-flat, Op. 12: Piano, Violin & Violoncello. 18–20′; New edition of an 1803 composition

Hummel—Piano Trio no. 6 in E, Op. 83: Piano, Violin & Violoncello. 25–30′; New edition of an 1819 publication

Palestrina—Sitivit anima mea: Mixed chorus (SATB), a cappella—Latin. 2½′; The rarely heard ’Part 2’ of the popular 16^th century masterpiece, Sicut cervus

Raff—Grand Quintet, Op. 107: Piano and String Quartet. 35–40′; New edition of an 1862 publication

2008

Compositions:

Collective Effervescence: Electronic. 4′; The energy of the people creates the beliefs of the people?

Cognitive Dissonance: Electronic. 3½′; Dick Cheney was never impeached.

Cultural Dissonance: Electronic. 2¾′; Sometimes things just don’t seem to make sense anymore (see above).

Whispering Hope: Solo voice (or unison chorus) with string quartet, oboe and piano—English. 3¼′; A fresh look at the popular 1868 hit by Alice Hawthorne, who was actually a man named Septimus Winner.

New Editions:

Barnby—Voice of the Western Wind: Treble choir (SSA) & Piano—English. 3¼′; New edition of an 1887 publication.

Bullard—The Pigtail: Mixed (SATB) chorus & Piano—English. 2½′; New edition of a 1901 publication. (Yes. The pigtail fell behind him…)

Lacome—Estudiantina: Mixed (SATB) chorus & Piano—English. 4½′; New edition of an 1887 arrangement of a well-known tune first made popular by Emile Waldteufel. Some Americans of a certain age think the lyrics begin with “My beer is Rheingold, the dry beer.”

Miessner—Our High School: Treble choir (SSA) & Piano—English. 2¾′; New edition of an 1905 publication. A generic ’fight song’ that is oh, so very much of its time.

Raff—Cachoucha Caprice, Op. 79: Piano. 5¼′; New edition of a very energetic, virtuoso showpiece from 1858.

Rubinstein—Etude, Op 23 no 2: Piano. 3¾′; New edition of a firey, virtuoso extravaganza from one of the great lions of the piano.

Thalberg—Andante, Op. 32: Piano. 4½′; New edition of an 1856 publication. A typical virtuoso-turn by a great, undeservably forgotten pianist.

2007

Compositions:

Chasing the Horizon: Electronic. 26½′; Inspired partly by Stephen Crane’s poem I saw a man pursuing the horizon and partly by some very particular horizon-chasing by friends, this piece could use a good choreographer. Anyone interested?

Suite Nothings: Electronic. 10¾′; Perhaps you would like a little after-dinner suite?

New Editions:

Chaminade—The Flatterer (La Lisonjera), Op. 50: Piano. 2¼′; New edition of an 1897 publication, once seemly ubiquitous in parlor-music collections.

Lange—Pure As Snow, Op. 34: Piano. 3¼′; New edition of a charming piece of 19^th-century parlor-music.

MacDowell—March Wind, Op. 46 no. 10: Piano. 1¾′; New edition of an 1894 piece by one of the most influential, yet almost-forgotten American composers.

Pennington—Japanese Dance, Op. 12 no. 2: Piano. 3′; New edition of an 1910 publication, possibly influenced by Madame Butterfly, but not very well.

Popper—Gavotte: Piano. 4′; New edition of a short piece by the famous cellist.

Raff—La fileuse (The Spinner), Op. 157 no. 2: Piano. 3½′; New edition of an 1871 publication.

Schütt—A la bien aimeé, Op. 59 no. 2: Piano. 4¾′; New edition of an 1900 publication.

Stcherbatcheff—Clair de lune, Op. 25: Piano. 4¾′; New edition of an 1900 publication.

Stcherbatcheff—Orientale, Op. 15: Piano. 4¾′; New edition of an 1900 publication.

2005

Compositions:

The Walrus and the Carpenter: Mixed chorus (SATB) with woodwind quintet and piano—English. 9½′; A jolly (yet dramatic!) setting of Lewis Carroll’s famous poem.

from Hamlet: Mixed chorus (SATB) with flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and piano—English. 4′; Originally written in 1976; greatly revised in 2005 to provide an interesting counterpart to The Walrus and the Carpenter. Rhythmically challenging. Performable by a high school choir (if they are very, very good).

2003

Quartet vignettes: String quartet. 18¾′; Subtitled “Daughters of Mnemosyne,” this is a suite with one movement for each of the Muses.

2001

Symphony no. 1 by Gustav Mahler

Arrangement for small concert band or wind ensemble in four movements

Slow. Dragging. Like a sound of nature. 15½′
Robust, animated. 7′
Solemn and measured [funeral march]. 10¼′
Turbulent, agitated. 18′

(Well, I guess someone had to do it.) Available as separate movements. Technically fairly difficult, musically more so: should be playable by a very good, if underpopulated, college band. Perform this at your high school contest and your colleagues won’t speak to you for years!

1995

Macnamara’s Band: Treble chorus (SSA) and piano—English. 1½′; Stamford & O’Conner’s 1917 hit arranged in the style of a 1930s female chorus. There actually was a good reason for doing this, hard though that may be to believe.

1993

A Rare and Curious Phenomenon: Electronic. 10½′; Put together with Finale® and a Roland Sound Canvas, this piece came dangerously close to being orchestral.

Triode: Trio for B-flat clarinet, violoncello, and piano. 4½′; Traditional, middle-of-the-road 20th century lyricism.

1990

Sonnet XII: Mixed Chorus (SATB) and piano—English. 3½′; Piano vs. choir in tight harmony. Shakespeare. Difficult. What more could you ask for?

Sonnet XCVII: Mixed Chorus (SATB) a cappella—English. 1½′; Almost tonal chromaticism. Not easy, but far from impossible.

1989

Harvest Home: Men’s Chorus (TTBB) and strings—English. 2½′; Based on Henry Purcell’s Your Hay It Is Mow’d, this piece is well suited for Thanksgiving or harvest-time. Very traditional, rousing male glee club number.

1988

’Hallelujah’ from Beethoven’s Christ on the Mount of Olives: Orchestration for 10-piece ensemble [Fl, Ob, Cl, Bsn, Hn, Tpt, String quartet]. 6′; Useful for festive church performances on a budget, this arrangement is to be used with the normal chorus editions: no choral scores are provided.

1987

9/4 Ground: Electronic. 4¾′; Improvisation over a bass line.

Brooklyn Rain: Electronic. 23′; A slow rain in Brooklyn provides a lesson in English bell-ringing.

3 Hansenlieder: Solo voice and piano—English. 5½′; Settings of three slightly surreal poems by David C. Hansen. Fairly easy.

Slow Spring Sprung: Electronic. 2¼′; Quick little number with no particular purpose.

Study (1987): Electronic. 3½′; A little number exploring the many possibilities of a Casio CZ-5000, if you can believe that!

1986

Raoul 1986: Electronic. 22¾′; This was an attempt to write “New Age Music.” I was told it was too interesting…

Synthesizer Madness: Electronic. 4½′; Some people hate synthesizers. Could this be why?

1985

Goodbye My Friend: Solo voice (or unison chorus) and piano—English. 3¾′; Christmas ballad, originally written for a musical for children.

1980

As the Living Father Sent Me: Mixed Chorus (SATB) and organ—English. 2¼′; Communion meditation or anthem for church use. Fairly easy.

1978

Magnum nomen Domini: 2-part mixed chorus and organ—Latin. 1½′; Arrangement of a 14^th century Christmas carol. Very easy.

1977

Raoul 1977: Electronic. 6½′; Ah, the Mighty Moog… ☺

1976

Drinking Music: Electronic. 9¼′; Three cheers for that big, old Moog sequencer! Some said it could only do eight notes in a row….

Theme for 4 Clarinets: Quartet for clarinets. 4′; Quite lovely. I personally think it should be played on four alto clarinets (or even better, four basset horns) but sometimes I’m a bit less practical than others.

1975

Music Film: Electronic. 4′; A disturbing student score for a disturbing student film.

Raoul 1975a: Electronic. 1¼′; Bleeps, bloops and blops quickly move from one speaker to another!

Raoul 1975b: Electronic. 3¼′; I have always found this little piece to be suprisingly relaxing. Maybe you will too.

1974

The Way Lies Before Us: Trio for flute/piccolo, acoustic guitar, and prepared piano. 8½′; A very quiet piece for a very live room.

1973

Thus spake Arjuna…: Solo organ. 5–6′; Very spacious piece which makes use of the organ’s ability to hold notes forever, its tendency to be slightly out of tune and its affinity for large, reverberant halls.

1972

Dance for Cathy: Flute, alto sax, trumpet in C, horn, trombone, vibraphone, piano. 4¼′; Very slow and serene with little implied movement.

1970

Dichtung und Wahrheit: Tenor voice and flute—German. 6¼′; Setting of four short poems by Goethe. Difficult.

Ornamenta Rationalia: Duet for oboe and piano. 3′; Basic mid-20th century, lyrical, student serialism, originally titled Apple Pie, Motherhood, and the American Flag for reasons long forgotten.

1969

Prepostronomics: French horn, percussion, piano. 6½′; A little bit Hindemith; a little bit rock’n’roll. Difficult, showy horn part. Percussionist plays everything but the proverbial sink. Pianist tries to hold everything together. Revised and sanity-checked in 2002.

Copyright © 2012 Dean Crocker d/b/a CROCKER MUSIC
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Last modified: Tue Jan 3, 11:48 CST 2012