Jody Rockmaker

AFTER THE DAZZLE OF DAY

CHATTERBOXES for Wind Ensemble

CHILD'S PLAY for string quartet

Child’s Play for string quartet was completed in January 2006, after a year and a half of work. The piece may well be subtitled, “The Disney in my life,” since the underlying programs of each of the three movements involve my daughter’s interactions with some Disney product. The first movement, Why Can’t the Sky be Pink? depicts the frustration that Rebecca, age 3, felt while playing a Winnie the Pooh computer game. She was told to help Piglet finish his paintings by matching colors, seen in a small sketch, to the larger canvas. My daughter disagreed with Piglet’s choice of background color. The music describes the irritation and ensuing tantrum after each mouse click was followed by Pooh-bear’s soothing comment, “I think there might be a better choice.” Rebecca Sings Like a Ballerina was a comment overheard after seeing the stage production of The Lion King. Rebecca and her best friend Matt were very excited by the spectacle and imagined how wonderful it would be to perform in front of such a great audience, Matt on violin and Rebecca singing and dancing. The title of the last movement is simply a corruption of that now classic movie, Country Bears. I guess Crunchy Bears make more sense to a two-and-a-half year old. The name has stuck ever since.

DER HEYSER BULGER for Klezmer Band

EQUAL PARTNERS

Eyes of an Abinhaya Dancer, The

FOUR SQUARE

FRANTIC ANTICS for guitar and violin

GIZMO

Interchangeable Parts

Kokopelli Dreams

LIFE IS FINE

MAGICAL PLACE OF MY DREAMS

MARSYAS

Mood Swing

Multiplicities

PASSION STRINGS

Quarter for Twelve

ROTHKO LANDSCAPES

"Rothko Landscapes" was composed after the success of two earlier works, "Multiplicities" for solo clarinet and "Magical Place of My Dreams" for two clarinets. Both works, written for the clarinetist Richard Nunemaker, use extended techniques for the instruments, most notably multiphonics. Dick wondered about the possiblilities of four clarinets using the same methods. He also suggested using the paintings of the great abstract expressionist, Mark Rothko, as a theme for the new work. The first two movements are meant to be musical realizations of Rothko's paintings "Maroon on Blue" and "Number 7." The last movement, "Abstract Expressions," summarizes the musical events heard earlier.

Shifty Business

Shlof, Meyn Kind

A lullaby for SATB a cappella chorus based on a Yiddish folksong. The second of five pieces from "Yiddish Choruses" by Jody Rockmaker.

RockmakerShlofexcerpt.mp3

South Mountain Sunset

SPACE(S)

SPRING FEVER

THE EGRET IN THE LIVING ROOM

THE SONG OF SONGS

I had the opportunity of hearing Chana Bloch read from her translation of The Song of Songs shortly after it was published in 1995. I was deeply moved by the beauty of this sensual poem, and knew I would one day set it to music. The story about the sexual awakening of a young woman and her lover is told in a series of subtly articulated scenes, where the two meet in an idealized landscape of fertility and abundance and discover the pleasures of love. The work is in 5 movements. I excerpted some of the most powerfully emotional sections of the poem, alternating between the woman and man, before a final ecstatic duet.

The Sounds of Hooma

The piece is an aleatoric loop. It can go on endlessly without ever repeating itself.

THE WIDE NIGHT SKY for organ

The Wide Night Sky" is another installment in a series of "Arizona" pieces: compositions inspired by the beauty of my new home. The breathtaking, seemingly endless expanse of space overhead puts on a dramatic, dazzling show every evening, sparking the imagination with dreams of distant, dancing, twirling stars. The piece is dedicated to my friend and colleague, Kimberly Marshall.

THREE BAGATELLES

The three bagatelles for piano were written during the summer of 1999 for the pianist Robert Hamilton. Each piece, as the titles suggest, is a short character study. Each also experiments with different compositional techniques based on the same basic materials:. the seven-note collection of pitches found in the major scale and a long-short-long rhythmic motive. The challenge was to create three pieces that on the surface are strikingly different, but nonetheless relate deeply to one another. A note to the performer: The bagatelles may be performed singly, as a group, or any two together. However, the original order noted above should be preserved when performing the entire group.

TieCO

Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang

WHERE THE LATE SWEET BIRDS SANG

WHIRLIGIGS for saxophone quartet

While diddling around on another project, I happened upon the opening gesture of Whirligigs. I spent some time with the new motive, but soon realized that it would not fit the piece at hand. The close-knit harmonies and counterpoint reminded me of saxophone sections from the Big Band Era. The idea developed further into an intricately woven imitative counterpoint. This exciting new texture brought to mind a new image: a field of whirling gizmos, frantically spinning in a strong breeze. Whirligigs was born from these basic elements.