SKU: PR.416414250
UPC: 680160602261. 8.5 x 11 inches.
DRIVING MUSIC was commissioned by the New York Classical Players for their inaugural concert. Thework took inspiration from Needham’s seemingly-constant travel schedule in the spring and summer of2010. The work was written, in part, in various cities across the country, on a number of planes, and innumerous car rides (as a passenger, of course). To highlight the composer’s travels, the work is cast ina series of contrasting musical vignettes, with each section representing a place Needham was in whilesketching the work.
SKU: PR.11640342S
UPC: 680160687749.
The Body Electric draws its inspiration from great American poet, Walt Whitman's work I Sing the Body Electric. Two years earlier, while writing a setting of Whitman's Crossing Brooklyn Ferry for baritone and chamber orchestra, I became enamored with many of the poems from his collection, The Leaves of Grass. I had not revisited Whitman's poetry since high school and that distance provided a fresh look at Whitman's poetry. In the spring of 2009, I came back to this collection and decided to write another work inspired by Whitman's poetry, this time for chamber orchestra alone. Writing a work that attempted to capture the mood of this epic poem seemed impossible. Because of the inherent abstract nature of text-less music, writing a work that was a musical blow-by-blow of the poem seemed equally impossible. For me, the solution was to take three fragments of the poem and focus on conveying their particular moods. In the score, I have included the following lines at the beginning of each section: the Body electric, A divine nimbus exhales, and the Body at auction. the Body Electric was written for the 2009 Wellesley College Composers Conference and was premiered on the final concert of the conference with Jim Baker conducting. Clint Needham.the Body Electric draws its inspiration from great American poet, Walt Whitman’s work I Sing theBody Electric. Two years earlier, while writing a setting of Whitman’s Crossing Brooklyn Ferry forbaritone and chamber orchestra, I became enamored with many of the poems from his collection,The Leaves of Grass. I had not revisited Whitman’s poetry since high school and that distanceprovided a fresh look at Whitman’s poetry. In the spring of 2009, I came back to this collectionand decided to write another work inspired by Whitman’s poetry, this time for chamber orchestraalone.Writing a work that attempted to capture the mood of this epic poem seemed impossible. Becauseof the inherent abstract nature of text-less music, writing a work that was a musical blow-by-blowof the poem seemed equally impossible. For me, the solution was to take three fragments of thepoem and focus on conveying their particular moods. In the score, I have included the followinglines at the beginning of each section: the Body electric, A divine nimbus exhales, and the Bodyat auction.the Body Electric was written for the 2009 Wellesley College Composers Conference and waspremiered on the final concert of the conference with Jim Baker conducting.Clint Needham.
SKU: PR.11640342L
UPC: 680160687756.
SKU: PR.114413820
UPC: 680160585830.
Another prize-winning composition from Needham is his String Quartet No. 1, which sprang from an afternoon's exposure to Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Says the composer, The work itself is about cycles. Nature cycles (day to night, seasonal, moon, tides, etc.), life cycles, and even cycles in music make their way into the piece, both consciously and subconsciously. The work is a homage to nature and to the affective spirit found in the music of Vivaldi..
SKU: PR.11441382S
UPC: 680160585847.
SKU: PR.41641425L
UPC: 680160602278. 11 x 14 inches.
SKU: PR.114416510
UPC: 680160621682. 9 x 12 inches.
Needham's Axioms is his musical distillation/expression of seven different snippets of proverbs, quotes, and axioms, each carefully chosen for the imagery they present. Consider Hell hath no fury... as the foundation of a movement, or Music hath charms... translated to sound. Needham was successful in this project, such that Axioms was awarded the 2008 Heckscher Composition Prize from Ithaca College. For advanced performers. Hear an excerpt on Soundcloud.
SKU: PR.11441651S
UPC: 680160621705. 9 x 12 inches.
