In the course of my miscellaneous musical reading, I found an article by the organist and composer Friedrich (or, in England, Frederic) Weber, “On Melody in Speech,” in the Feb. 1887 issue of Longman’s Magazine (pp. 399-410). Weber notated the pitches and rhythms of the cries of several animals (dogs, birds, donkeys), and added some […]

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Here’s another classic nipped in the bud, from Black Scat Review 18. This would save everyone a lot of trouble.

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Here’s another example of a classic work of literature nipped in the bud. Potions are often unpalatable! This too appeared in the latest issue of the Black Scat Review.

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Here’s a translation of a song by Charle Cros, from Black Scat Review 18. SONG OF THE SCULPTORS (Charles Cros, 1879) Proclaim the principles of art! And shout with all your might! That marble is a stone apart, Because it is so white. Proclaim the principles of art! And fix them in your head! Like […]

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Here’s an example of my comic strip “Shorten the Classics,” one of four for an upcoming issue of the Black Scat Review. This version of “The Raven” not only makes it more concise, but gives it a happier ending. Please click on it to make it more legible.

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This piece for violin and piano, in a slightly different form, originally served as the overture for “Harlequin and His Master Wed,” the second half of Bill Irwin’s show The Harlequin Studies, produced by the Signature Theater in 2003. I eliminated the drum part, and came up with a shorter title.

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Another piece from my student days: a brief outburst for flute, ‘cello, and piano four hands. I was 17 at the time.

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The eleventh string quartet is a revision of one I wrote back in 1988. It has three movements, each 59 measures long.

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Shakespeare’s 28th sonnet is, like Bottom, translated, by changing one letter in each word. The clinamen is in the 3rd line, where “oppression” is changed to “expression.” SHAKESPEARE MISSPELLED Now man, O when deturn on hoppy flight, What ax debarked thy bone-fit or rust? Then dad’s expression, as now, bas’d my might, Cut hay be […]

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The tenth string quartet consists of arrangements of some of the songs from The Doug Skinner Songbook. Here’s part of one of them.

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