Verity James Scheel

Violon­Scheelist

Compositions

Le Vertigo by Pancrace Royer [code]

A piece for harpsichord from the French Baroque period: Le Vertigo by Pancrace Royer, from Pièces de clavecin, Premier Livre (1746). Rendered in Max/MSP with a custom “harpsichord”ish synthesizer and an elaborate system of timing for rubato. Because even if it's electronic music it shouldn't sound like it's played by a robot!

This project was in large part inspired by the fabulous recording of Jean Rondeau, which I highly recommend watching since the sound quality, performance, and videography put my attempts to shame.

Composed for “Introduction to Max/MSP” with Matt Sargent.

bB4C (18–22 Februrary 2022) [files]

Composed for “Electroacoustic Composition Seminar” with Sarah Hennies at Bard. This piece was thrown together over 5 days since I got the assignment late, but I enjoyed the process and this piece is all about that process I followed to create it.

I recommend you listen to the piece first, but here is my analysis/process for it:

The notes were not specified as exact pitches in any way, but I had determined what process I would follow to find them. The notes were approximately B-flat, B-natural, and C – but the B-flat was played on the D string as close to the A as my fingers would allow (not quite an extra quarter tone flat), and the B-natural was played on the A string as close to the B as possible (not quite a quarter tone sharp). The C was a double-octave between open C and the C on the G string two octaves above – that is, adjacent to the B’s. Thus using only “three” notes I was able to incorporate timbres from all four strings.

I love these notes because they create a sense of direction, the low B-flat on the D string setting up the tense B-natural with the bright A-string sound resolving to the grounded C octave. Thereʼs maybe an implied fourth note too in the A adjacent to the B-flat. But thatʼs all the plan I had when I walked into the practice room to record some sounds.

I spent about 30 minutes recording various sounds on my cello, mostly single notes, waiting for the resonance to fade before going to the next. I tried to include a variety of articulations, sharp and soft, growing and fading, short and sustained, ponticello and normale. I didnʼt record as many sustained sounds as I would have liked, especially for the B-natural pitches, which limited my choices in mixing sounds. But on the other hand, it reveals some intuitive planning that guided my actions: the B-natural leading to the C is tense and shouldnʼt generally be a relaxed, sustained sound. It also forced my hand to come up with creative solutions in the mixing of the sounds.

I spent several hours over the course of the remaining days mixing the samples into the piece as presented here. I decided to use Ardour as my DAW, for a couple reasons: I had downloaded it already, itʼs open source, and I had seen Mike Solomon use it to split up recordings into samples. Otherwise I know nothing about this. But I dived in, googling every little thing about Ardour until I had samples that I could arrange, amplify, and pan to make a piece.

For the opening, I wanted to gradually introduce the notes, with each one repeating and intensifying, so I had to search for samples that captured each of those growing intensities. Luckily in my second batch of recording I had done pretty much that, so I grabbed every other sample of that, for a quicker growth.

Later on I exploited repetitions verbatim from the recording, when I played duplets or triplets, and these created a rhythmic framework to work around. The main driving B-flat duplets from 2:39 is actually a pair of recordings that were very similar (almost identical timing) that give it more space. I had some intuitive pulse I was feeling while recording, but nothing specific, so it could be augmented or discard when arranging it. It would be cool to take these rhythmic ideas further, and also lean more into the clashes of sustained frequencies too. Plus thereʼs a couple slides I recorded that didnʼt make it in yet.

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Thereʼs much more to explore here and I hope to get back to it. In the files linked above I included the original recordings I made, feel free to remix them in your own work, though of course the range of sounds is pretty limited. Maybe I will make a much longer version under the constraint of using the same recording as my source, but experimenting more with arranging and processing the samples.

For instance, did you know that if you cut off bowed part of a bowed note (and only capture the ringing after the release), it is almost exactly the sound of pizzicato? Thatʼs because pizzicato pulls the string to a certain amplitude and just lets it resonate. So even though I didnʼt record pizzicato, I still have the option of working with that sound.

Maybe I will make a short version as a gradual phone alarm, who knows?

Czajkowski Canzonetta (May 2020) [recording]

My brother asked me to arrange the slow movement of Tchaikovskyʼs Violin Concerto for me to accompany him for our grandmotherʼs memorial service. At first I was like no way, those notes wonʼt fit as a duet. But with some score study and creativity I was able to reduce the piano reduction to a violin and cello duet. We have always been fascinated with different spellings of Tchaikovskyʼs name, so this is the Polish spelling Czajkowski. The recording is from the memorial service. Dedicated to our many wonderful memories with Wilma Scheel. 💙

Panacea (May 2020)

My second composition for Joan Towerʼs class, a duet for two violas composed around the time we were starting to feel the creeping effects of the pandemic at Bard, especially after most students took the option of going home for spring break and staying (myself included). It explores a bit the aspect of community connection and somatic safety that was and still is a struggle. Itʼs a good example of the type of music I want to see more of in the world. Iʼve been revisiting it lately, fleshing out some ideas and adding more to it – stay tuned for Panacea Tuttora.

Goldenrod Rhapsody (March 2020)

My first composition for Joan Towerʼs class, for solo clarinet (B-flat). Music available upon request.

Heptatonia Tertia (2019)

Some brief experiments in Heptatonia Tertia.

Duetti [for oboe and cello] (May, July 2019)

I wrote this for Rob Clower and myself. I think we read it together once, and I can still hear Robʼs tone on the oboe and the distinctive way he takes breaths in my head as I listen to it.

Wormhills (Februrary–March 2019)

The beginning of my second semester at Bard. My dear friend Rob Clower and I are taking the train to NYC to see Brahms Requiem with the NY Phil, and I tell him this story: I have this distinct memory of being driven around when I was tiny and believing that hills were formed by giant earthworms burrowing under the earth. Itʼs the kind of belief that seems like it must have been gotten from a book or a dream, but no book I know says that. Oh to have such an brilliantly free imagination again. He says that it is very interesting, I should turn it into a piece. “No, Rob, thatʼs ridiculous – itʼs not music” I think. But I do. Armed with a semester of music theory and no knowledge of how organs work, I write this piece. It has never seen any realization outside MIDI and my head. And, I donʼt know, itʼs still pretty cool. Thanks for your encouragement, Rob. All my love.

Sketches (2017–)

Just a collection of sketches Iʼve kept over the years. Donʼt take it too seriously! (Two sketches are knowingly stolen from other sources, one with a really really terrible “harmonization”, sorry about that. Plus a cadenza to an existing piece (hint: itʼs for oboe). Other sketches may unknowingly influenced by other things of course.)

Terra Patris (2017)

Just a translation of a hymn into Latin that already had a Latin title but was not originally in Latin.