Preface
 |
| assorted small items |
Texts
Recorded
March 21, 2026
Track 8 [from Eisenbrey 2003]
My mom was an amateur violinist
and for several years
in the early
oughts
she went to a chamber music summer camp
this is a souvenir CD
of the campers' final concert
this is a movement
for piano trio
not inexpressively played
though intonation is sometimes less than secure
Can't B Good - Janet Jackson [from Discipline]
for low lights
and something more comfortable
Middle - Cumulus [from I Never Meant It To Be Like This]
the internal shaping of the instrumental stanza
transpires
behind
the drums' impervious beating of the pulse
insisting upon the bodies
in the pit
Melischromatica - Steve Layton [from Virtual Composition]
muscled backs
heaving ho
on heavy oars
pulling through
a viscous sea
the sea
fights back
the night
stretches on
A Cat's Life - Keith Eisenbrey - Keith Eisenbrey, Olivia Sterne [from Keith Eisenbrey 6: 1988-1994]
feline body language
instantly alert
violent
changeable
using the do fa sol la
as moodshift signal
(or sol do re
mi)
this fugue is rather fun
if I do say so myself
bear and a half to
work up though
peculiar timeskip feeling
to the third act repeat
I have my moments
and Olivia was awesome
Sonata in F-sharp Major, Kk. 318 - Domenico Scarlatti - Pieter-Jan Belder
a figure
is any grouping
found to enable
a sense
of
comprehensibility
a tonality
is a sense
of shape
or motion
within
pitchspace
La muette de Portici, Act I - Daniel-François-Esprit Auber - Diego Torre, Oscar De La Torre, Angelina Ruzzafante, Wiard Witholt, Dessau Anhalt Theater Chorus, Anhaltische Philharmonie Dessau, Antony Hermus
fun fact
the role of the mute title character
was once played
by the future wife
of Hector Berlioz!
to open in the courtyard of a chapel
sets the story
within the
public sphere
and under the watchful eyes of the Church
the overture might be the passing throngs
in their moods
this music
is closely linked to the characterization of the singer-roles
at their immediate moments
it provides no spoilers nor alternate
viewpoints
we are in their heads
as
this music imagines it
for us
the chorus
is a character
representing the people
who are
the background society
of the principals
the large ensemble segments
are quite fine
internally
characterized
a sunny mood
wrecked
to end the act
Bunte Blätter: Novellete, Op. 99 #9 - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig
curio puppet
spectacular accompaniment
it is intended
to be taken in
as a spectacle
a technical
wonder
how gracefully it dances
Einsam bin ich, nicht alleine. Volkslied aus dem Schauspiel Preciosa, S. 453 (after Weber) - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
the Romantic imagination
individualized character
by getting
inside of them
hence
the appeal of opera
as a popular art
form
within civic life
Sonata 8, Op. 66 - Alexander Scriabin - Ruth Laredo
a figure
cycles
within a cycling rhythmic scheme
generating
a melodic moment
cycling through the whole
a deep pool indeed
bewitching aromas
the pool is stirred
Peg and Awl - Carolina Tarheels [from Anthology of American Folk Music]
displacement by machine
Tele-Vee-Shun - Stan Freberg [from The Very Best of Stan Freberg]
Elvis's childhood's
loose bicycle seat
Say It Isn't So - Aretha Franklin [from Laughing On The Outside]
eruptive plea
carefully restrained
In a Sentimental Mood - Bill Evans [from Some Other Time / The Lost Session from the Black Forest]
the showbiz past
of jazz
become
a music
for aficionada
intellectualized
The Strenuous Life - Scott Joplin - E. Power Biggs
the bass
is separated rhythmically
from the chords
and the
tune
from each of them
kept moving
with occasionally filler
licks
between cycles
Twist and Shout - Bruce Springsteen [from Live at The Roxy]
played a bit too heavily
ponderous twist
not enough naked glee
gets weary
Come Home - T Bone Burnett [from Truth Decay]
a plea from the blues
the mouth harp
has its own share of troubles
Heading For The Light - Traveling Wilburys [from Traveling Wilburys]
into the sunset
A Poem - S. Eric Scribner [from Pianosphere]
a glittering surface
with pauses to peer through
into the
below
seems friendly enough
Clancy's Heart - Tingstad & Rumbel [from American Acoustic]
maritime rural
golden hued
settle back
we'll hang out here
for the evening
Construction 4 - Christian Asplund [from Brainstun]
scratching an image
into a hard even surface
Places We Exist - Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs [from Crooked Path]
cowgirl blues
always been the same
Middle Ages - Cornelius Dufallo, Patrick Derivaz [from Bass Violin]
the room this is in
is picking up sounds from elsewhere
or rather
from several elsewheres
each sound
from its own elsewhere
Cafe Macchiato - Science of Deduction [from Alternative Works]
music made with electronic means
celebrates electricity
high end
edgy dive
techno slum lords
Poncho - Anna La Berge, Tom Baker [from Sand]
a poem
in a room of hidden mirrors
and crooked halls
ill-ly
lit
brain state
fun house
in the grooves of this record
is the sound of John Cage
Going Across The Sea - H. I. Bandy [from Really The Blues]
bring a fiddle
open strings
on the open sea
Mean Woman Blues - Roy Orbison [from For The Lonely]
sha la la la
The Man I Love - Ella Fitzgerald [from Love Songs: The Best of the Verve Song Book]
the orchestra
is clearly
for the most part
playing
exactly
the notes
that are written down
for them
to play
keeps them
in shadow
disindividuated
The Dawntreader - Joni Mitchell [from Song to a Seagull]
spinning pretty fantasy
back cover copy
beach read
The Plainsman - Fairport Convention [from Meet On The Ledge]
some British fantasist
dreaming of the American Movie West
do they have proper plains in the UK?
That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate - Mission of Burma [collected from Nancy's Mix]
full of adventure feeling
Galliard Battaglia - Canadian Brass [from More Greatest Hits]
Byrd arranged?
something similar though if not
Yuri-G - PJ Harvey [from Rid of Me]
musical genres
as descriptives
of the types
of mass-produced
objects
included
an ingredient list
types of paper
and types of type faces
Chonkyfire - Outkast [from Aquemini]
enter through one side of a phone conversation
dramafied poetry
exit through the broken machine
Satisfied 'N' Tickled Too - Karin Blaine [from Dirty Money]
rooster
use'ta
Loxo - Tea Cozies [from Tea Cozies]
valley girl adjacent
accent
and attitude
Mermaid - Swearin' [from Surfing Strange]
heavy ballast in this keel
poem
largely effaced
by
heavy ballasted guitar down strums
the cycles disassemble
Fuck You - Choke The Pope [from Who Cares]
disaffected youth tantrum
Psalm 23 (meditation, responses) - Keith Eisenbrey - Keith Eisenbrey, Neal Kosály-Meyer [from Keith Eisenbrey 6: 1988-1994]
in this version
I add an element
of durations
of nothing at
all
the machine
at rest
a system
of three sound origins
each
always
distinct
formal cyclicity of the poem
a figure
explores pitchspace
the fierce determination of our forbears
My Man's Gone Now - Sarah Vaughan [from Sarah Vaughan Sings George Gershwin]
hard left right track pan isolation
early stereo hi fi
bad
idea
or
album like this
is a collaboration
between a singer
and a producer/arranger
all other persons
are vanished
(George had an alibi)
The Karen Tape Chapter 4 - Neal Kosály-Meyer [August 1963]
yawned until he swallowed a bee
a spacy story
with rabbits and
whispers
and sleepiness and ground hogs
and an owl and a bumble
bee
a lesson about kids being kept quiet
Scuppers the Sailor Dog
Neal reads all his books for us
bisyllabic fish:
fee-ish
a book about the usefulness of simple nouns
back to the little
bunny
and a little yellow duck
two books in tandem?
or
somehow
a complex tale
half of my poem book
which he runs
off to get
I'm ready to play now
The Bridge - Dolly Parton [from Just Because I'm a Woman]
hyperisolation
they can't be in the same room
it's unseemly
they might get ideas
Captain Jack - Billy Joel [from The Essential Billy Joel]
plays with the same group of guys
every night but Monday
portrait (accusation)
of the losers at the bar
in celebration of
them
Rikki Dee - Bow Wow Wow
entering the cycle
is an exciting moment
a threshold
to the
underground party lights
so many subcultures
within the subcultures
this one's
for
immature manboys
I've Been Thinking About You - Mariah Carey [from Music Box]
last notes of breaths
are heavily laden with jewelry
Tell Him - Lauryn Hill [from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill]
Pauline exegesis
Salt On My Wounds - Bettye Lavette [from A Woman Like Me]
expanded blues schema of blues schemas
Big K - Goat [from Special Agent]
late night alien airwaves
dance of the grindhouse end credits
G.U.Y. - Lady Gaga [from Artpop]
lust with sharp blades
Index - Bad Luck [from Four]
a smooth running motor
alone in the ways of the night
passing
compartments
between the drum heads
Philadelphia - Dead Bars [from Dirt Cult Records: You Don't Have To Be Cool]
start up the bus
everybody jump on as it gets rolling
Jasper's Barbecue - Frankie Jaxon [from That Devilin' Tune]
open with plain
answer with fancy
ad copy
sounds like quite a partying joint
Gold Wedding Ring - Peggy Lee [from Sea Shells]
if this were a book of illustrated poems
can only imagine the
illustrations
would be painfuly sappy
in that way
that 50s
greeting card art
could be
Lend Me Your Comb - The Beatles [from Anthology]
songs made from scraps of conversation
from among the presumed social
milieu
of the young musicians
a snapshot of greater teendom
Security - Etta James [from Tell Mama]
thing of value
as a pledge
conversation overlaying the dance
Rapport 1 - Robert Morris, David Mott [from Open Space 26]
two musicians
and means
of allowing them
to share
prerecorded sounds
mixed together
improvisationally
essentially
a collaboration of mixing boards
with multiple
inputs
and control of the pan and gain
this was not as simple a thing to do then
(1973)
since all those
prerecorded sounds were
(presumably)
on tape or vinyl
not
computer files
this gig took some serious set up
young music nerds
in the 70s
what they did
for jollies
pretty wild stuff guys
though I probably wouldn't spin this
at a
school dance
it would go over worse than Pink Floyd
as a country twang blues
Ovdaviala Lissitchkata - Bulgarian State Radio & TV Female Vocal Choir [from Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares, Volume 2]
dancing song
in traditional costume
bouncing skirts
Polly - Nirvana [from Unplugged in New York]
our weary life
Another Man's Done Gone - Billy Bragg & Wilco [from Mermaid Avenue]
that sincerity signaling
piano chord style
Route 66 - Eckstein Middle School Students [from Mach 6]
how exciting
you can drive all the way yourself
discover the West
see sunny California
(do re mi possession presumed)
Ambient Fortune - Tom - Sacajawea Elementary School Students [from Digital Dreams]
electronic burp bubbles
Old River - The Foothill Fury [from Lone Buffalo]
peacefully you roll
wash away my blues
Silent Night (Track 3) [from Unlabeled Christmas Album]
so polished
so soft
so harmless
pastel piety
Psalm 130 - Keith Eisenbrey - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey [from Keith Eisenbrey 6: 1988-1994]
my first piece
in a mod-17 derived pitch set set
an unevenly stretched pitch space
modeled
as a diatonic collection
might be
Graveyard Blues - The Paradise Joy Boys [from Turn Me Loose White Man]
the continent's greater porch
telling the continent's greater troubles
Blackjack - Ray Charles [from Yes, Indeed!]
as a warning
I'll sing my blues
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World - The Shirelles [from The Shirelles Anthology]
the topsy turvied
fad fuddled culture
do not look behind the
curtain
Magic Bus - The Who [from Magic Bus]
who produced this?
what were they thinking?
what did they think
they were hearing?
Lake Washington Singers Concert 731225 - Lake Washington Singers, Betty Eisenbrey, JoAnne Deacon [recorded December 1973]
mom did what she could
to be serious about the Christmas concerts
as much as she could
lightening up for the Spring shows
this
has some ambitious a capella numbers
sung quite creditably
I was 14
and may have been there
as it stands
this has a serious first half
and a lighter second
half
for all I know
that's me with the jingle bells!
ah!
even
more percussion again
some of that may be me
Pokey - Doug Seidel [from Bard Sampler 1982-1983]
messed up and half-assed
is a valid response
I Don't Care - Audio Two [from What More Can I Say]
long winded put down
Overture to Candide - Empire Brass Quintet [from Class Brass On The Edge]
shooting for L'Histoire
but cribs too literally
adult situation
as from a child's vulnerability
High All The Time - 50 Cent [from Get Rich or Die Tryin']
a day in the life
Heart Beat - Madonna [from Hard Candy]
dancing
to be beautiful
in the light
Canadian Dwarf Samurai - Swingset Showdown [from Cymbal of Appreciation EP]
sea shanty character study
Lookin' For Trouble - Lost in Space [from Live at The Player's Lounge]
this music
is ecstatic dance
full body raunch
broadens out
into a gentler ride
Suite for Broken Instruments - Ensemble Unnamable [from Fourth Floor]
this music
is something happening in a room
might be music as well
Steamboat Man - Roy Harvey [from Turn Me Loose White Man]
this recording
is a near contemporary
of
Steamboat Bill Jr.
some fine yodeling
going to the Lord knows where
Lines Upon a Tranquil Brow - Norman Monath [from Songs of the Pogo]
during the night
when we're shining the moon
Madame George - Van Morrison [from Astral Weeks]
minstrel man
sings the news of life
Souvenir - John Cage - Stefan Hussong
chancedly found
or not
the ear
joins similar sounds
into forms
figures
persons
intents
this part
is pushing that other part around
verbally
that other part
pleads
sonority builds
reminiscent of AKU
there's that grumpy part
in its massive slumber
and massiver
snore
pleady part
is the pretty part
grumpy part
is a loudmouth
but is coming around
the snore
has not abated
grumpy part
is two parts
the loud mouth
and the snore
Gigantic - Pixies [from Surfer Rosa]
we want a sound
that sounds like
it is in our crowd
a dramatic scene
with long tellings in it
everybody gets their say
Called from Potters Field - James King [from Bed by the Window]
folk tale gospel
resurrection of the least
Change Clothes - Jay-Z [from The Black Album]
sits on the edge of beat
to push it along
Oh, Forgotten - Solvents [from Manresa Castle]
bowed string
to add body
to a sound
in place of an electric
guitar
this sound messes around in the tenor/bass/low strings resonance
Sweet's Too Slow - Ancient Warlocks [from Ancient Warlocks]
sound
to activate
the architectural resonance
shiver the temple's timbers
shake up the house
Fucking - Whitney Ballen [from You're a Shooting Star, I'm a Sinking Ship]
jealous seethe
inescapable cyclic thought loop
Sinfonia 7 (midi) - Keith Eisenbrey [November 3, 2023]
midi harpsichord
robotic and dispretentious
it's so clearly a
machine
a neutral party
comic strip sized tale
the old
hide from Papa
shtick
Lonely Teardrops - Jackie Wilson [collected from Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock & Soul]
shoobedoowop
quasi pizzicato tear drops
The Bare Necessities - Louis Armstrong [from Disney Songs The Satchmo Way]
the joy of omnivory
Canonical Form - Milton Babbitt - Robert Taub
one prepares ones self
to venture into Babbitt
rule based schemes
peeking out
from between the note trees
Dance On - Prince [from Lovesexy]
all the parts
of industrial production
in their spots
printers' type sets
artistic independence
as collaborative
exclusion
Allemande de Liege - Baltimore Consort [from La Rocque 'N' Roll]
the space this is in
is clean and neutral
not unfriendly
but
perhaps a bit antiseptic
Lost - Goodness [from Goodness 1995-1998]
we portray our fellows
with poetic sympathy
Old Man Crow - Scurvy Bastards [from Battle Born]
this song and album
is in my collection
because Karen found a 45
on the sidewalk
that had one of their songs on one side
unplayably
scratched up
but not unlocatable on the webs
so I purchased it
and told the story
to the keeper of their sharing site
who
sent me their other CD
as a bonus
because why not
Jericho - Peter Fedofsky [from Situations]
sudden echoic space helmet
Two Or Three Back And Around - Jesse Cantgerbury, Greg Sinibaldi [from Ascendant]
exploring the precision of intervals that pierce with vigor
Destroy - Red Ribbon [from Dark Party]
a dark mood
The Clicking Drums - Tom Varner, Neil Welch [from Out of Mud]
sound example
In Session at The Tintinabulary
March 22, 2026
Lebanon - Keith Eisenbrey
for the past few years
I have been working my way
through the
tunes
found in an 1846 shape note song book
arranging them
one by one
one every Sunday
for piano
usually
in
three voices
sometimes two
not spending
more than a couple
of hours
from start to final recording
this is number 142
March 23, 2026
Banned Rehearsal 1147 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Steve Kennedy, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer
It's been awhile
but all five of our regulars
made it over for
noise Monday evening
hoorah!
Postscript
Drops
Music of Aaron Keyt - Part 2
This collection is composed of two large sets of short pieces: 40 Hymn Arrangements (2019) and Joshua Tree Preludes (2021). I recorded the hymn arrangements on clavichord in 2024, and the preludes on piano in 2022.
recordings of my compositions (and more!) can be found at keitheisenbrey.bandcamp.com - free to download or stream
