The Books of Ephemera series arose from a 1984 suite of character pieces for piano, "Ephemera". The initial concept was based on the creation of a suite of fleeting, small-scale movements. This idea was carried on to subsequent pieces, particularly the Second and Third Books of Ephemera (2011 and 2013, respectively). With the Fourth Book (2014) I added further restrictions on the composition of each character piece: they must be completed in one day and must last less than a predetermined duration. If they were not completed, they must be deleted, and if they were completed, they must be kept without any further editing, except for instrument-specific playability issues. This exercise has spurred what is essentially compositional improvisation, and has, in my opinion, been a successful endeavor in both output quality and in imposing more focused tonal, timbral, and formal thought processes free of my (sometimes) characteristic obsession with minutiae and repeated editing. I have found this concept quite attractive and plan to continue this series of works for diverse solo instruments and ensembles in the same manner as the Fourth Book.
(1984)
A group of eight brief, tonal pieces for piano solo based on established forms.
(2011)
Four movements for oboe, cello, bass, and harp. This piece initially continued with the original concept, but grew more substantial in character and length in the later movements. Nevertheless I retained the title.
(2013)
A suite of dance pieces for guitar solo to be played without interruption. This piece hews more closely to my original concept.
(2014)
A suite for intermediate piano solo and the first book to employ the compositional concept described above. Each piece is aphoristic; the book may be played in entirety or any subset may be performed in any order.
(2016)
Harpsichord solo. This piece also hews more closely to my original concept and is not a "compositional improvisation" as is the Fourth Book.
(2017)
High voice and piano. This piece contains brief settings of miscellaneous public-domain poetry.
(2019)