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The Evocative Music of William Rippey
Hi! I’m William Rippey. After careers in social work, property management, safety and security management, college teaching, and editorial consulting, I've recently retired. Now I have the time to pursue my lifelong interest in musical composition. And with the perfection of MIDI sampling and sequencing techniques and the development of the mp3 player, I'm also able to share the products of my imagination without spending a fortune I don’t have. Private instruction and university coursework have both played a part in my musical formation. While I have enjoyed performance opportunities as diverse as playing bass clarinet and bass drum in marching bands, serving as a church organist, playing the harpsichord at community performances of The Messiah, and playing piano and bass in rock and rhythm and blues groups, my true musical passion has always been composition. The influences on my music have been as eclectic as my career choices. My grandfather was a church composer and singing teacher, my father a collector of bluegrass music, and my son has been a punk rock drummer and guitarist. A close family friend was a classical violinist who loved Strauss and the Viennese waltz composers as well as the music of his native Transylvania. Composers who have influenced me range from the English virginalists to bossa nova songwriters and include Byrd, Bach, Handel, Rameau, Scarlatti, Beethoven, Chopin, Sor, Tárrega, Ernesto Nazareth, and Antonio Carlos Jobim. My primary compositional focus is the creation of evocative instrumental works that lead the imagination to other places and times. Hence, much of my music is difficult to classify. On the one hand, a piece may adhere to classical forms, but underlying exotic elements may significantly alter any perception that it is a classical piece. On the other, what may at first seem to be a casual piece will often display a strong polyphony and a deep mathematical structure. In any case, I am usually trying to reach the listener on an emotional as well as intellectual level. I would appreciate any feedback you would be willing to provide whether on artistic or technical matters. A brief e-mail to the composer at wrippo@comcast.net stating what you like or dislike about any or all of the following pieces or their excerpts would be greatly appreciated.
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Download: $0.73 This is the mp3 version of the Harpsichord Toccata from Fantasia No. 1. Possessing the mood but lacking the structural components of the keyboard sonatas by the eighteenth century Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian masters, the Toccata has a free form, rhapsodic quality with rapidly developing sections. This piece, like many of the earlier toccatas, was at first designed in the mid-1970s for the purpose of testing various keyboard instruments. Now it has been revised and recomposed as the basis for a study in instrumentation. Fantasia No. 1 will comprise a suite of pieces based on the Toccata to be released at the rate of approximately one a month during the first half of 2009. The Toccata is also available as sheet music and wma downloads (Lulu items 5504980 and 5500709). The preview plays the music displayed in the sheet music preview. A brief e-mail to the composer at wrippo@comcast.net stating what you like or dislike about this piece or its preview would be greatly appreciated. Duration: 4:35
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Download: FREE This is the wma version of the Harpsichord Toccata from Fantasia No. 1. Possessing the mood but lacking the structural components of the keyboard sonatas by the eighteenth century Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian masters, the Toccata has a free form, rhapsodic quality with rapidly developing sections. This piece, like many of the earlier toccatas, was at first designed in the mid-1970s for the purpose of testing various keyboard instruments. Now it has been revised and recomposed as the basis for a study in instrumentation. Fantasia No. 1 will comprise a suite of pieces based on the Toccata to be released at the rate of approximately one a month during the first half of 2009. The Toccata is also available as sheet music and mp3 downloads (Lulu items 5504980 and 5527968). The preview plays the music displayed in the sheet music preview. A brief e-mail to the composer at wrippo@comcast.net stating what you like or dislike about this piece or its preview would be greatly appreciated. Duration: 4:35  Download for Free |
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Download: $0.43 This is the sheet music for the Harpsichord Toccata from Fantasia No. 1. Possessing the mood but lacking the structural components of the keyboard sonatas by the eighteenth century Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian masters, the Toccata has a free form, rhapsodic quality with rapidly developing sections. This piece, like many of the earlier toccatas, was at first designed in the mid-1970s for the purpose of testing various keyboard instruments. Now it has been revised and recomposed as the basis for a study in instrumentation. Fantasia No. 1 will comprise a suite of pieces based on the Toccata to be released at the rate of approximately one a month during the first half of 2009. The Toccata is also available as mp3 and wma downloads (Lulu items 5527968 and 5500709). The preview displays the music that plays in the audio previews. A brief e-mail to the composer at wrippo@comcast.net stating what you like or dislike about this piece or its preview would be greatly appreciated.
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Download: $0.28 Fantasia No. 2 consists of a theme developed through a series of linked variations suggesting various times and places. Although the instrumentation can vary considerably between segments, each variation flows seamlessly to the next, ending in a musical context surprisingly different from that of the initial theme. The basis of this piece was a keyboard sonata written in 1983 in the Scarlatti style emulating a guitar duet. By early 2002, it had evolved into a theme and variation MIDI sequence used to explore the possibilities of the older non-programmable sound cards. Since the toccata that forms the basis for Fantasia No. 1 was originally conceived of as a fantasia (in toccata form) and was composed before the sonata that forms the basis for Fantasia No. 2, I have chosen to name this one Fantasia No. 2. A brief e-mail to the composer at wrippo@comcast.net stating what you like or dislike about this piece or its preview would be greatly appreciated. Duration: 9:53
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Romanza (mp3 format)Romanza (mp3 format) (multimedia download)
Download: $0.50 While reminiscent of the tango-romanzas of the Rio de la Plata, Romanza combines unusually accented variants of traditional milonga and sincopa rhythms with elements of French musette styles and Franco-Russian and 19th century classical romances to create a uniquely evocative musical work. Various moods are created as the thematic matter leisurely wends its way through subtle modulations between the tonic minor key, its relative major, and the corresponding Aeolian and Dorian modes. Romanza is scored for violin(s), bandoneons (or accordions), guitar(s), and bass(es). The score is available as Lulu item 2707353. The music preview approximates the score preview. You may visit the Romanza Excerpts Page at http://www.wrippey.com/romanzaexcerpts to listen to additional excerpts in the wma format. A brief e-mail to the composer at wrippo@comcast.net stating what you like or dislike about this piece or its preview would be greatly appreciated. Duration: 5:22
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Romanza (wma format)Romanza (wma format) (multimedia download)
Download: $0.48 While reminiscent of the tango-romanzas of the Rio de la Plata, Romanza combines unusually accented variants of traditional milonga and sincopa rhythms with elements of French musette styles and Franco-Russian and 19th century classical romances to create a uniquely evocative musical work. Various moods are created as the thematic matter leisurely wends its way through subtle modulations between the tonic minor key, its relative major, and the corresponding Aeolian and Dorian modes. Romanza is scored for violin(s), bandoneons (or accordions), guitar(s), and bass(es). The score is available as Lulu item 2707353. The music preview approximates the score preview. You may visit the Romanza Excerpts Page at http://www.wrippey.com/romanzaexcerpts to listen to additional excerpts. A brief e-mail to the composer at wrippo@comcast.net stating what you like or dislike about this piece or its preview would be greatly appreciated. Duration: 5:22
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Download: $0.58 While reminiscent of the tango-romanzas of the Rio de la Plata, Romanza combines unusually accented variants of traditional milonga and sincopa rhythms with elements of French musette styles and Franco-Russian and 19th century classical romances to create a uniquely evocative musical work. Various moods are created as the thematic matter leisurely wends its way through subtle modulations between the tonic minor key, its relative major, and the corresponding Aeolian and Dorian modes. Romanza is scored for violin(s), bandoneons (or accordions), guitar(s), and bass(es) and is also available as an mp3 download (Lulu item 5546436) and as a wma download (Lulu item 2706373). The score preview displays the approximate score pages for the music that plays in the mp3 and wma download previews. A brief e-mail to the composer at wrippo@comcast.net stating what you like or dislike about this piece or its preview would be greatly appreciated.
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EuphorianaEuphoriana (multimedia download)
Download: $0.47 An underlying milonga ostinato with percussive jazz accents sets the background for this highly polyphonic instrumental work. Euphoriana explores a number of jazz-based themes and rhythms through classical methods with varied tonal, percussive, and rhythmic textures in just under ten minutes. Recording was performed in mp3 stereo at a constant bitrate of 320 kbps with low compression. The score for this music is available as Lulu item 1088334. The preview music is the same as that displayed in the score preview. You may visit the Euphoriana Excerpts Page at http://www.wrippey.com/euphorianaexcerpts to listen to additional excerpts. A brief e-mail to the composer at wrippo@comcast.net stating what you like or dislike about this piece or its preview would be greatly appreciated. Duration: 9:52
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Download: $1.99 Also available as an mp3 download (Lulu item 1036387), this highly polyphonic instrumental work explores a number of jazz-based themes and rhythms through classical methods in just under ten minutes. Scored for Flute, Guitar 1, Guitar 2, Guitar 3, Piano, String Bass, Drumset, Triangles and Woodblocks, Claves, Shakers, Timbales and Bells, and Congas, Euphoriana presents a broad variety of tonal, percussive, and rhythmic textures beginning with an underlying milonga ostinato with percussive jazz accents. The score preview displays the score pages for the music that plays in the mp3 download preview. A brief e-mail to the composer at wrippo@comcast.net stating what you like or dislike about this piece or its preview would be greatly appreciated.
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