Kurticus Music
The music of composer Kurt M. Mehlenbacher.
Music by Kurt Mehlenbacher
New Music
Luminarias
As much as I would like to say this piece was inspired by the concept of the Luminarias in Arizona, that would be a completely false statement. In truth, the work was commissioned and had several phrases written before any type of concept came to light. I initially told my contact at the Central Arizona Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, Kristin Holton Prouty, that I wanted to write something that could be played while a church congregation was receiving communion, but as the brass parts of the work evolved into more of a fanfare and less of a chorale, and the idea of repeatable and removable sections fell by the wayside, it became a struggle to consciously evoke anything. ...
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Stars and Spiderwebs
Something I like to call a "commission gone wrong."
This piece was supposed to be kind of like a power ballad, but that is definitely NOT what it turned out to be. While I slowly convinced Melanie that she wanted something a little more odd but still accessible rather than cheesy and what I would consider dishonest to my compositional ability (I don't dislike power ballads, but now did not feel like the time to start writing them). ...
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You Know of Time
This song cycle focuses on the tension and emotions of a couple separated by war. In this particular situation, the commissioner has a husband that has been deployed in Iraq twice since he joined the armed forces. Comprised of three songs, this cycle goes through the regular life felt by the wife, her longing thoughts of her husband on the other side of the world, and the intensified excitement knowing of his return home. ...
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