from
The Comic Almanack, An Ephemeris in
Jest and Earnest, containing Merry
Tales, Humorous Poetry, Quips, and Oddities. First Series, 1835-1843
Texts
Live
October 18, 2025
Among the Trees: Sonic Ecology in the Anthropocene
Seattle Modern
Orchestra
Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle
Julia
Tai, conductor; Sarah Pyle, flute/piccolo; Rachel Yoder, clarinet; Bonnie
Whiting, percussion; Ellie Yamanaka, harp; Cristina Valdés, piano; Janna
Webbon, violin; Marcin Pączkowski, violin; Maria Scherer Wilson, cello
Territories, refrains - Caroline Louise Miller
hear what wind sees
tree talk
bird swoop
internal critter
cries
chatter in the leaf litter
Chaczidzib - Hilda Paredes
small bird
song and swoop
unceasing avian assertion
Heat Islands - Caroline Louise Miller
waves wash across our day
mapping data onto sound
literalized depiction
hard-nosed
impressionism
(explicitism?)
aestheticized read-outs
textures represent facts
Vox Balanae - George Crumb
carefully sequestered gestures
these sounds take care not to molest each
other
pictorial
Meadows - Sarah Pyle
we can be growing vegetation
score-guided improvisation
and seed
distribution strategy
- all around a thoughtful and thought-provoking evening
we planted our
bit of the distributed seed score
by the path
across the front
of our house
it has been well and duly watered
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| Maryhill Museum of Art |
Mass Appeal
Capella Romana, Portland Youth Philharmonic Camerata,
David Hattner
St. Mark's Cathedral, Seattle
Mass - Igor Stravinsky
the words
as ritual
packed
into dense twists of resonating
sound
Mass in E minor - Anton Bruckner
the ritual
as words
respiring
through living polyphonic
flesh
Recorded
October 19, 2025
Snow - Sage [from Forked]
at a protesting pitch
sloganized yell
Salem Hotel Room Faucet - Keith Eisenbrey [July 15, 2018]
plumbing shrieks
with two notes
III: Silent Room - Steve Peters [from Chamber Music]
whose walls
are these tones
to hold silence in
Madrigals, Book VIII: Armato il cor d'adamantina fede - Claudio Monteverdi - Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini
crossing the line
treating words as rhythm
tupled tempi
Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BuxWV 196 - Dieterich Buxtehude - Simone Stella
twining intricacies around a solid core
lends the intricacies a firm
footing
lends the core a pleasing grace
Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mit mir, BWV 73 - Johann Sebastian Bach - Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Amsterdam Baroque Choir, Ton Koopman
lectionary readings
tied to the Liturgical Calendar
a gloss upon
it
(gloss upon gloss)
the cantatas
being glosses
upon
the lectionary
all
being glosses
upon the cycles
of
sun and moon
and a need
to commemorate
by festivals
an
inscription
of a memory
upon the regular motions
of bodies
in space
Sonata in F Major, Kk. 290 - Domenico Scarlatti - Pieter-Jan Belder
non sequiturs
so nonchalantly revealing
their wandering spirits
Horn Concerto in E-flat Major, K. 417 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - English Chamber Orchestra, Barry Tuckwell
gallant style
found a clarity
in strict social hierarchization
the pecking orders are clear
at all points
workings out
are sequestered
from key-establishment activities
 |
| Maryhill Museum of Art |
Symphony in C minor, Op. 67 (#5) - Ludwig van Beethoven - Wilhelm Furtwängler, Wiener Philharmoniker
1
thank you
for taking the repeat
the reinforcement
of
its path of development
helps differentiate
the subsequent
aberrations
and the return
to seem
more returny
and
its aberrations
more alarming
2
pomp
its dark thoughts
its shiny perquisites
its dramatic sweep
3
grim
struggle
and diligent scrubbing
4 shining bright victory
festoons and fluttering paper
swelling bosoms
cheers
hurrah!
Novelletten: Rauschend und Festlich, Op. 21 #5 - Robert Schumann - Éric Le Sage
crawling with clever figuration play
a carnival of merry japes
Consolations: Andantino, S171/5 - Franz Liszt - Beatrice Berrut
mimetic of music
Mazurka in D-flat Major, Op. 40 #1 - Dmitri Alexeev
body
within its diaphony
Missouri Squabble - Carrol Dickerson's Savoy Orchestra [from That Devilin' Tune]
we descend
from stage
to dance floor
Sophisticated Lady - Art Tatum [from Piano Starts Here]
like Schumann characters
it is made of figurations
quicker than
chipmunks
Blue Angel - Roy Orbison [from For The Lonely]
bum bum bum
hip hip
sha la la
doo bee wah
 |
| Maryhill Museum of Art |
a song
that goes round and round
like a ride at a fair
Corporal Clegg - Pink Floyd - [from A Saucerful of Secrets]
does theater with nearly no story
but
kazoos!
Like a Seed - Morgana King [from New Beginnings]
each seed chatters its name
this is rather strange
moving on now
to a regular song
complete with regular introduction
in full
70s self-actuation bliss-out
One of His Stage-Told Stories - Bruce Springsteen [from Live at the Roxy]
spiritual significance of engine specs
Improvisation 5 - Keith Eisenbrey, Anne McLellan [October 2, 1983]
Kafka
on horse riding ecstasy
Going Under - Patti Smith [from Dream of Life]
statements
complete themselves
in fours
structured poetry
Don't Blame Me - Sun Ra [from Monorails & Satellites]
a phantasmagoria of killer song bits
all the favorite moves
from
all the favorite numbers
hommage à Art Tatum
My Love Is Your Love - Whitney Houston [from My Love Is Your Love]
strange echoes
working with subordinate voices
Entracte (midi) - Keith Eisenbrey [realized September 30, 2003]
a symphony in seventeen bars
 |
| Maryhill Museum of Art |
Track 2 - Pete Comley [from Sonarchy Radio, December 8, 2008]
we are at the mercy
of what has been broadcast and recorded
flotsam from the past
jetsam of our projected future
upon
our imagined present
pointing at a pika
(cute little fella)
from within a narration
possibly
the result of some
fluctuating atmospheric disturbance
Banned Rehearsal 849 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Steve Kennedy, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer [December 16, 2013]
words out of pocket
the room
roots through the trash
that
crowds in it
a machine
set in motion
can be
on
or
off
ignores its context
in either position
the shrapnel of reference
embedded bloodily
the piano throws a theatrical tantrum
or fit
or swoon
or
satire
Viewing Influences - Wally Shoup, Paul Kemmisch, John Seman, Ollie Klomp [from Wally Shoup 2X4tet]
sounds like
two string basses
drums
and sax
it rolls along swiftly
rocky road or not
on it goes
smoother here
a place to stretch the back
and move the legs
Banned Rehearsal 1082 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Anna K, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer [August 14, 2023]
good evening loyal listener
this evening's listen
will be held on
the patio
in the cool corner of the yard
where shade falls
(from it
sun runs)
we are all microphones now
sensitive
to fluctuation
atmospheric disturbances
even to music
should
such arise
out here
this evening
does what this is
need
to be music?
we hear it
as full of consciousness
but
perhaps
that's
what I mean
when I say
it is music?
it is sound
full of consciousness
(what I perceive to be)
the consciousness I perceive
as music
that is
I
perceive music
to be a consciousness
intent
on communication
but
we are still microphones
responding to the music
consciousnesses
around us
as music consciousnesses will do
I believe my system may have failed me
I listened to this track last
week
oh well
it's quite pleasant
 |
| Maryhill Museum of Art |
regrouping
where I should be
this one wrings its hands in worry
Good Golly Miss Molly - Little Richard [from Little Richard]
early early mornin'
to the early early night
if this is rock and roll
then nothing else is
Parade of the Wooden Soldiers - The Crystals [from A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector]
Phil Spector
was an unfortunate error
an erase-or of distinctions
Crinoline Days - Rusty Dedrick Orchestra [from Irving Berlin, All by Myself: Notable Compositions, 1926-1933]
little ankle laces
for a costume review dance act
Death Trip - The Stooges [from Raw Power]
marking territory
rear leg lift
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Episode 04 - Douglas Adams - BBC Radio Workshop
how many times must we get the entire reprise
clotting up the story in
progress
for digressions
and back-tracking
and
verbiage
Shakespeare's clown police
and Monty Python
poorly imitated
 |
| Maryhill Museum of Art |
Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2 [from Under a Blood Red Sky]
I imagine my general distaste for stadium rock
stems
partly
from my discomfort in crowds
the singing style
tends
toward hollering
Banned Rehearsal 145 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Anna K, Neal Kosály-Meyer [July 21, 1988]
this one sounds like
the one we did
on the bank of the Snake
where we hear
the recorded word
riverrun
run into the ground
very clever
we toss pebbles
upon the running river
an ocarina whistles
occasionally
mostly
we are quiet
River Liffey
I think
is at a much lower altitude
than The
Snake
{yes, mostly}
play in the presence of
or play directly to
the recording
device
I hear a bug
the sound of horses' hooves
on river stones
Beethoven's Third Symphony stopped by
a horse just made
that lip trill thing
they do
a raven croaks
Euro-culture
is the intruder here
the splashing about is peaceful
 |
| Maryhill Museum of Art |
sung gently
to monochord
and quiet guiro
Runaround - Goodness [from Goodness 1995-1998]
scenes of frenetic youth life
dance to shake it loose
When the Blues Catch Up to You - Bettye LaVette [from A Woman Like Me]
advisory blues
Zither Film 23 - Keith Eisenbrey [November 2, 2008]
little machines
that do their do
then don't
episodes
in an absurdist radio drama
abstract absurdism
mechanisms to pry open
the wandering mind
musical hypnotism
impatience wears thin
caesurae
that question our awareness
of our impatience
the
waiting time
palpable with anxiety
blink
miss
we are not borne along
it comes at us
extreme polymetrics
(large scale)
(for precision's sake)
whether or no
I see myself
as following
in some grand
tradition
seems like
an obsolete question
don't you
think?
can we have friends in the past?
You Will Know (featuring Lena Simona and Charlie Smith) - Dawn Clement [from Tempest/Cobalt]
suburban country sentimental
Assembly Rechoired 57 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Steve Kennedy [July 16, 2018]
recorded on our porch
interesting placement of sounds in mix
especially that very angry chickadee
even the airplane overhead
is right there on the porch with us
sirens in our laps
we use our little tools
to claw back at the encroaching noise
textures are types of numbers
extreme polymetrics
(small scale)
orchestrated
for maximal uncountability
orchestration for mages only
 |
| Maryhill Museum of Art |
waddaya know
there are Zither Film sound bits
floating around in
Snohomish
of all places
cohabiting
with the usual
suspects
there's that Gospel Piano as was promised on
What Is There To Say? - Bill Evans [from Everybody Digs Bill Evans]
a composer composing a song-written song
costumes
lighting
drink service
and long eyelashes
included
they even
bat bat bat bat
those lashes
 |
| Maryhill Museum of Art |
The Beast - The Brothers Four [from The Brothers Four Cross-Country Concert]
any presumption
to inquire critically
into music
runs square
into
our attitudes
about the social purpose
of that music
and
into our own
personal
social needs
for music
in general
Turtle Blues - Big Brother and The Holding Company [from Cheap Thrills]
stripped down combo
piano
amped acoustic {guitar}
and amped
Janis
no loss of impact
Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye) - Gladys Knight and The Pips [collected from Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock & Soul]
music for an evening out
no matter what the song
is about
it's dressed
for an evening out
Purcell: Suite - Canadian Brass [from High, Bright, Light and Clear]
the repertoire
in the wild
is a list of current money-makers
thriving
on name recognition
scenes from classical
literature
are perennial favorites
for those
with the
wherewithall
to produce such things
 |
| Maryhill Museum of Art |
more quick Kafka
a pack of nobodies
it's a wonder
we don't
burst into song
Bring The Noise - Public Enemy [from It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back]
lively swagger
Never Heard of Him - Fastbacks [from Zucker]
firehose face rinse
Johnny Appleseed - Tingstad & Rumbel [from American Acoustic]
sparkles
music
for the pleasure
of playing
together
Banned Rehearsal 657 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Neal Kosály-Meyer [October 7, 2003]
these sounds
are now open for discussion
but
you'll need to
con their lingo
two electric guitars
and a banjo
if I'm catching those sounds
right
keeping ourselves mutually heard
with tendencies to get stuck
Lonely Heart - Vince Mira [from The Cash Cabin Sessions]
cashing in
on a country basso profundo
Mitchell 131223 - Keith Eisenbrey - Keith Eisenbrey [December 23, 2013]
I managed to get batteries into its pickup
and
I was trying out a
recording device
that could record multiple tracks
this one
may have four
composing in layers
Morning Stroll (Revamped) - Patrick O'Keefe - Clarinet Quartet[recorded live at The Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, January 5, 2018]
how a walk
gathers its wits
about it
as it goes
interesting
even if unintended
concerns about crossing parts
(I say
cross with abandon)
(if
only to wake up the third clarinet)
instruments can't help
but talk about their extended families
the program comes afterward
a stroll
that never arrives
 |
| Maryhill Museum of Art |
an early version
it is quite entertaining
I wonder what I changed
{I may have found an out-of-chart note somewhere}
From Monday On - Red McKenzie [from That Devilin' Tune]
in the form of a conversation
across media
Monday is wash day
gonna wash your blues away
The Riviera - Blossom Dearie [from Give Him The Ooh-La-La]
where every golden sun tan
has cost the gold
of more than one man
Go Through Life - Chris Kenner [from Land of 1000 Dances]
here's the slow dance
model-epistle
for proposing with
In Session at The Tintinabulary
October 19, 2025
Dedham - Keith Eisenbrey
October 20, 2025
Banned Rehearsal 1136 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Steve Kennedy
October 24, 2025
Detritus 8 - Keith Eisenbrey
Postscripts
Drops
Keith Eisenbrey 28: Figure Studies 2011 and 2014
Another bunch of solo piano improvisations for you, from 2011 and 2014.
1. Figure Study 110110
2. Figure Study 140210
3. Figure Study
140303
4. Figure Study 141012
recordings of my compositions (and more!) can be found at keitheisenbrey.bandcamp.com - free to download or stream
