Rev up for adventure with these catchy, energetic neoclassical works for piano, harpsichord and more. Feel the power of a thunderstorm or the happy freedom of a cowboy's wild ride. They capture vibrant imaginations of Billy Boyer's childhood.

12 MP3 Songs
CLASSICAL: Keyboard Music, NEW AGE: Neo-Classical



Details:
Influenced by classical, new age, and jazz, Billy Boyerâs songs vary in style and mood, so you may want to preview several tracks (choose hi-fi if possible). Most of his compositions take you on an adventure that just keeps building and growing, whether it be the dramatic development of a thunderstorm in Thunder Suite, or the increasing rhythmic energy of Revving Up. Song of the Wind won first place in the statewide division of the National Federation of Musicians Club young composers competition. An explanation of each track can be found below.

Billy, age 21, has studied piano for 13 years, and is currently majoring in music at St. Louis University. He composed many of these songs around the ages of 17 and 18. The inspiration comes partly from his childhood experiences with nature and the outdoors, including trips to Colorado. But youâll also notice an unquenchable youthful energy in most of his songs, making it great motivational music for working out or doing chores. Kids may also enjoy this music, because it is very accessible and often harmonically simple. Most of the songsâ themes are easy to relate to.

Beethoven Jams Out â Just imagine Beethoven jamming out at the keyboard, shaking his big curly wig.

Allegro â The piano and harpsichord swap roles at the repeat of each section in this lively duet.

Autumn Dream â The wistfulness of a fading summer is blended with the occasional turbulence of the changing elements and the peaceful, dreamy floating of the leaves.

Revving Up â Depicts the revving up of excitement before an adventure. I imagined it during a restless, expectant drive to a beach on the Atlantic Ocean. Includes synth strings and bass.

Thunder Suite: Song of the Wind â After a brief intro of improv, the wind starts to blow, gently at first, but growing in intensity until it becomes a gale. The theme of the wind, which begins at 0:40 and continues throughout most of the piece, can be harmonized by both C# major and A# minor chords without being altered. This represents the blending of the bright earth (major) and dark sky (minor) that often precedes a storm. The piece won first place in the statewide division of the National Federation of Musicians Club young composers competition.

Thunder Suite: Incessant Rain â The rain begins as only a sprinkle and gradually builds to an intense downpour. At 2:35, the rain temporarily lets up, but the first sighting of lightning raises the drama. The ending of this movement becomes very soft and expressive, but still ominously forebodes the next thunderous movement.

Thunder Suite: Power of the Lightning â The full fury of the storm is finally unleashed in this super-intense, climactic movement. After the storm ends, the theme of the wind returns (from Song of the Wind above), but this time in a major key. The same wind that brought the storm carries it away, leaving a rainbow in its place.
Alaskan Glacier â This simple improv was inspired by my uncleâs Alaskan cruise and flight over the Alaskan mountain range, during which the small aircraft landed high on a snowy plateau of Mount McKinley. He took video of this trip, and I later edited it and gave it a soundtrack. This improv is from that soundtrack and includes synth strings.

SuperStretto â This catchy, dramatic musical joke caricatures the structure of a fugue. It becomes so complex and thick-textured towards the end that unsuspecting classical enthusiasts will choke on their food. It begins as a fairly believable Bach-style fugue. But then thereâs a ridiculously long sequence at 0:27, several transitions that get carried away, and finally two âSuperStrettosâ that only Doctor Octopus could play (or a computer in this case).

To understand this piece, you need to know that every fugue has a subject, a short melodic theme that is âstatedâ at the beginning of the piece and is used many times throughout the piece. Each subject of SuperStretto is readily identifiable because it starts with a short trill. In a stretto, the subject begins several times at different transpositions in quick succession, so that three or four statements of the subject are being played at once. A âSuperStrettoâ is a term I made up for a stretto that has 10-20 statements of the subject in quick succession, resulting in an incredibly thick and complex texture.

Rideân Free â Depicts a cowboyâs carefree, wild ride across the countryside. At 4:18, the piece slows down briefly as the cowboy gives his horse a breather beside a cool stream. Then he digs in his spurs for a rousing finale where the secondary theme introduced earlier is fully developed. This piece incorporates several folk-dance rhythms. The meter of the piece begins like a contra or square dance, then it switches to a polka rhythm at 3:56, and a waltz meter at 4:18.

Slumber of the Sea â After the adrenaline of the preceding pieces, itâs time to cool down with this new age/easy listening synthesizer piece that can easily lull you to sleep.

CD length: 47min and 37sec

The sound quality of this CD is very high. It was produced in a small home recording studio with digital piano. Thanks so much for listening.

Billy Boyer