Music of Rebekah Driscoll

Click on the “more” links to view details of each piece, including recordings of selected works and excerpts (these are marked MP3).

This is currently just a sample of Rebekah’s work; please feel free to contact her for more information.

Chamber Music (without Voice)

• Argument for flute, oboe, mandolin, guitar, violin and violoncello (more)

  Duration: 5 minutes
  © 2007 Rebekah Driscoll

  Please contact Rebekah if you wish to purchase the music for Argument.

• Consciousness is the Creature of Rhythm for flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clarinet, bassoon, violin, percussion and optional narrators (more)

  Duration: 10 minutes
  © 2010 Rebekah Driscoll

  Consciousness is the Creature of Rhythm was inspired by the short story Moxon’s Master by Ambrose Bierce, in which an inventor is apparently killed by his automaton. The story is full of logical gaps, however, and what really happened has been a matter of debate. This piece deliberately leaves those gaps unfilled, suggesting connections and motivations without explicitly endorsing any theory. The audience must use its imagination to make sense of the action and determine who is responsible for Moxon’s death.

  Watch a performance of Consciousness without actors on YouTube.

• Divertimento for flute, piccolo/alto flute, violin and bassoon (more)

  Duration: 11 minutes
  © 2005 Rebekah Driscoll

  1. ♩ = 120
  2. ♩ = 66 – ♩ = 128
  3. ♩ = 66 – ♩ = 88 – ♩ = 120

  Please contact Rebekah if you wish to purchase the music for Divertimento.

• Gemsbird for flute quartet (piccolo and three flutes) MP3 (more)

  Duration: 5 minutes
  © 2005 Rebekah Driscoll

  Listen to MP3^†

  † Performed by Robyn Chew, Elizabeth Janzen, Jessica Ancker and Ronit Azoulay.

  The score and parts for Gemsbird are available for purchase at FluteWorld or directly from Rebekah for $15.

• In Which They Are Received for 6 clarinets MP3 (more)

  Duration: 6 minutes
  © 2011 Rebekah Driscoll

  Listen to MP3 of excerpt^†

  † Performed by Angela Occhionero, Derek Balcom, Kenny Advocat, Christopher Rohrs, Umesh Shankar, Cyrus Collier.

  This work is an extended 6-part canon. Each instrumentalist plays the same material, but the impact of these identical statements varies with the surrounding musical context. The lonely, plaintive line that begins the piece feels more serene once the harmony has been established; the jarring staccato notes that interrupt this texture eventually fit together with related gestures for a cheerful effect. Some entrances produce tension, others merge smoothly with the prevailing atmosphere, and others barely register as the listener's attention is diverted elsewhere. Alternate versions are available for 6 bassoons or 6 cellos. The piece can also be performed by a single instrumentalist with electronic delay.

  The score and parts for this work can be purchased from NewMusicShelf (as PDFs only) or directly from Rebekah (either as PDFs or printed music).

• Intrepid for flute, viola and harp MP3 (more)

  Duration: 7 minutes
  © 2008 Rebekah Driscoll

  Listen to MP3 of excerpt^†

  † Performed by Nadia Kyne, Erin Wight and Allegra Lilly.

  This piece represents the spirit of adventure and exploration which most of us possess as children, but often lose in our pursuit of “success” as we grow older. It is the boldness and freedom to try new things, to seek out opportunities for growth and learning, even when we cannot predict their outcomes. It is the impulse to question what we see, to search for clarity while embracing mystery. It is the willingness to light a candle and peer into shadowy places, including the corners of our own minds. It is the courage to exist fully within our world, and to view it as a constant source of amazement.

  Please contact Rebekah if you wish to purchase the music for Intrepid.

• Lightning and Evasive Ink for brass ensemble (more)

  Duration: 3 minutes
  For 6+ players — parts available for B♭ trumpets, F horn, trombones, euphonium and tuba.
  © 2009 Rebekah Driscoll

• Sing to the Nebula for flute, clarinet and guitar (more)

  Duration: 5 minutes
  © 2010 Rebekah Driscoll

  This piece was inspired by NASA’s images of nebulae, interstellar clouds of gas and dust that are often strikingly beautiful. The guitar part evokes the vast emptiness of space, sounding the same six chords over and over throughout the piece, with only a few changes in rhythm and inversion. Against this backdrop two distinct voices appear, perhaps two different substances or objects floating past each other, slowly pulled together until they collide. Here the tempo picks up and the two wind parts begin to share material; some sort of reaction is taking place. The last slow section represents the formation of something new and sublime.

  Watch a performance of Sing to the Nebula by Grupo Novo da Uni-Rio on YouTube.

  Alternate versions are available for flute, clarinet, and marimba or flute, viola, and harp.

  Please contact Rebekah if you wish to purchase the music for Sing to the Nebula.

• Sisters Face West for violin and violoncello (more)

  Duration: 7 minutes
  © 2008 Rebekah Driscoll

  This piece was inspired by two sisters dealing with the loss of a loved one. Each instrument represents one of the sisters, who at first have very different reactions and do not communicate with each other.

  The cello begins with a slow, mournful theme, and quietly persists with this material despite the violin’s entrance with an edgier, spikier statement. The violin starts and stops repeatedly, becomes more and more agitated, hacks out a series of loud chords and abruptly falls silent; at this point the cello begins to move forward, and the two instruments play together for a time. The cello’s harsher side emerges, encouraged by the violin, and ferocious counterpoint ensues. The two voices collapse into dissonant, despairing harmonies and linger there until at last they reach a unison A, the same A with which the cello began the piece. From this a quiet canon arises, serenely adapting the opening theme, before coming to rest on the A again. Finally a short violin solo ushers in the hymn-like conclusion.

  The score and parts for Sisters Face West can be purchased from NewMusicShelf (as PDFs only) or directly from Rebekah (either as PDFs or printed music).

• ‘Solar’ Saxophone Quartet for two alto, tenor and baritone saxophones MP3 (more)

  Duration: 9 minutes
  © 2007 Rebekah Driscoll

  1. Photovoltaic – Parker Spiral — MP3 of excerpt^†
  2. Sunstroke – Brightest Minds — MP3 of excerpt^†

  † Performed by the Erie Saxophone Quartet.

  This piece is inspired by our sun. The “Photovoltaic” section expresses the invigorating effect of a sunny day (or more literally, the process of creating power from light). “Parker Spiral” refers to the shape of the sun’s extended magnetic field. “Sunstroke” is a reminder of the dangers the sun can pose to us, and “Brightest Minds” celebrates the people who have discovered ways to harness the sun’s power for the benefit of humankind.

  The score and parts for this work can be purchased from NewMusicShelf (as PDFs only) or directly from Rebekah (either as PDFs or printed music).

• String Quartet No. 1 for two violins, viola and violoncello (more)

  Duration: 7 minutes
  © 2008 Rebekah Driscoll

  Please contact Rebekah if you wish to purchase the score and parts for String Quartet No. 1.

• Trio No. 1 for violin, clarinet, and violoncello (more)

  Duration: 6 minutes
  © 2000 Rebekah Driscoll (revised 2007)

  The score and parts for Trio No. 1 are available for $12.

• Tuesday Evening Commute for solo marimba (more)

  Duration: 2½ minutes
  For 4½–octave marimba.
  © 2009 Rebekah Driscoll

  This piece begins with the slam of a door as a city-dweller leaves work one Tuesday night. The momentum that propels him along his familiar route is interrupted a few times: by a surprising sight on the street, by a collision with a fellow pedestrian, and by a daydream on the train. As the commuter nears home his mood lightens, his pace quickens, and the last thing we hear is the slam of his own door as he disappears inside.

  Watch Laura Jordan play Tuesday Evening Commute on YouTube.

• We Had Best Not Contemplate for two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, three horns, violoncello and contrabass (more)

  Duration: 8 minutes
  © 2006 Rebekah Driscoll

  Please contact Rebekah if you wish to purchase or rent the score and parts for We Had Best Not Contemplate.

Chamber Music (with Voice)

• Darkness and Remembrance for soprano and bassoon MP3 (more)

  Duration: 3 minutes
  © 2006 Rebekah Driscoll

  Listen to MP3

  The score for Darkness and Remembrance can be purchased for $5.
  An alternative version for soprano and bass clarinet is also available.

  View text

• The Mask of Night for soprano, tenor, baritone and chamber ensemble MP3 (more)

  Duration: 20 minutes
  For chamber ensemble: 2 flutes, 2 clarinets, 2 violins, viola, violoncello, contrabass.
  Also for chamber orchestra: 2 flutes, 2 clarinets, 2 horns, strings.
  © 2004 Rebekah Driscoll

  1. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 5, Sc. 1 
  2. The Merchant of Venice, Act 5, Sc. 1 
  3. Othello, Act 5, Sc. 2 — MP3 of excerpt^†
  4. Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Sc. 2 — MP3 of excerpt^†
  5. Hamlet, Act 1, Sc. 5 — MP3 of movement^†
  6. The Tempest, Act 4, Sc. 1 

  † Excerpts from first performance on April 14, 2004
  Abigail Chapman, soprano; Trent Schwartz, tenor; Dana Haynes, baritone;
  Elana Hoffman and Emily Clough, flute; Jack Borrebach and Rie Kano, clarinet; Clare Detko and Olivier Manchon, violin; Ron Lawrence, viola; Kurt Behnke, violoncello; Jared Engel, contrabass; conducted by Barnaby Kendall.

  Please contact Rebekah if you wish to purchase or rent the score and parts for The Mask of Night.

  View text

• Выздоровление (Recovery) for soprano and piano (more)

  Duration: 6 minutes
  © 2008 Rebekah Driscoll

  View text

Choral Music

• Driscoll Alphabet for SSATB chorus (unaccompanied) (more)

  Duration: 15 minutes
  © 2009 Rebekah Driscoll

  Read more about this mobile-form work

• Keen, Fitful Gusts for SSATB chorus (unaccompanied) MP3 (more)

  Duration: 2 minutes
  © 2005 Rebekah Driscoll

  Listen to MP3^†

  † Chorus members: Timothy Beck, Ann Binder, Erinna Bowman, Stephen Cedermark, Abigail Chapman, Luis Ferran, Jeanne Marie Holcomb, Phil Holmgren, Alika Hope, Barnaby Kendall, Emily Lefren-Brown, Erica Row, Trent Schwartz, and Mark Stedman.
  Conducted by Dana Haynes.

  The score for Keen, Fitful Gusts can be purchased for $5. If you are interested in purchasing this piece for a full chorus, please read the information on the Contact page

  View text

• Mantra for treble choir and two percussionists MP3 (more)

  Duration: 5 minutes
  © 2009 Rebekah Driscoll

  Listen to MP3 of excerpt^†

  † Vocalists: Mary Hubbell, Younjeong Lee, Alicia Williams, Evan Crawford, Rebekah Driscoll.
     Percussionists: Cory Bracken, Matt Johnson.

  The text Loka samasta sukino bhavantu is a Sanskrit chant often translated as something like, “May all beings everywhere attain happiness and freedom”. The piece is divided into four main sections, each examining one of these words in detail. Loka means “place” or “world”, and the first section describes a “world” of slow gestures, small intervals, repeated notes and limited vocal range. Samasta refers to combining, and in this faster section the Loka material is combined in different ways with percussion, creating an expanded but somewhat chaotic sound. Sukino describes transcendental happiness, and here a solo soprano line soars above the other sounds with a detached freedom. Bhavantu means something like “May it be so”, and in this section all four voices are united in emphatic iterations of the full chant. A short coda follows in the form of a common invocation: the word Shanti (“peace”) repeated three times, followed by Om, the divine sound of the universe.

• Ode to a Nightingale for SATB chorus and violoncello MP3 (more)

  Duration: 9 minutes
  © 2004 Rebekah Driscoll

  Listen to MP3 of excerpt^†

  † Chorus members: Timothy Beck, Ann Binder, Erinna Bowman, Stephen Cedermark, Abigail Chapman, Luis Ferran, Jeanne Marie Holcomb, Phil Holmgren, Alika Hope, Barnaby Kendall, Emily Lefren-Brown, Erica Row, Trent Schwartz, and Mark Stedman.
  Nick Dinnerstein, violoncello.
  Conducted by Dana Haynes.

  The score for Ode to a Nightingale can be purchased for $8 (or $10, with cello part). If you are interested in purchasing this piece for a full chorus, please read the information on the Contact page

  View text

• Out of Her Place for SATB chorus (unaccompanied) MP3 (more)

  Duration: 4 minutes
  © 2010 Rebekah Driscoll

  Listen to MP3 of excerpt^†

  † Performend by Choral Chameleon
  Vince Peterson, director.

  Out of Her Place was inspired by the iconic women’s rights advocate Susan B. Anthony. The first and last stanzas of the text are from speeches she gave at women’s rights conventions; the middle stanza, set for a solo soprano, contains lines from her personal letters.

  The score and parts for this work can be purchased from NewMusicShelf (as PDFs only) or directly from Rebekah (either as PDFs or printed music).

  View text

• Self-Portrait for SSA chorus (unaccompanied) (more)

  Duration: 5 minutes
  © 2008 Rebekah Driscoll

  This piece was created during the composition of the Driscoll Alphabet (see above) and spells out the word “Rebekah”.

• To one who has been long in city pent for SATB chorus (unaccompanied) MP3 (more)

  Duration: 3 minutes
  © 2004 Rebekah Driscoll

  Listen to MP3^†

  † Chorus members: Timothy Beck, Ann Binder, Erinna Bowman, Stephen Cedermark, Abigail Chapman, Luis Ferran, Jeanne Marie Holcomb, Phil Holmgren, Alika Hope, Barnaby Kendall, Emily Lefren-Brown, Erica Row, Trent Schwartz, and Mark Stedman.
  Conducted by Dana Haynes.

  The score for To one who has been long in city pent is available for $5. If you are interested in purchasing this piece for a full chorus, please read the information on the Contact page

  View text

Large Ensemble Music

• Cupid and Psyche for orchestra (more)

  Duration: 9 minutes
  © 2009 Rebekah Driscoll

  This piece is based on the myth of Cupid and Psyche and tells roughly the first half of their story.
  While composed as an independent orchestral work, it can also be used as a basis for a ballet.

  The piece first introduces Psyche, who is so beautiful that crowds of people visit her to pay her homage. The goddess Venus becomes enraged that a mortal should receive so much adoration and she orders her son Cupid to humiliate Psyche by making her fall in love with some animal or insect. Cupid sneaks into Psyche’s chamber intending to carry out his mother’s request but falls in love with Psyche himself. Venus then curses her, so that even though everyone continues to adore her, no one will take her for a wife. Psyche’s parents consult an oracle, who instructs them to abandon her on a nearby mountaintop, proclaiming her too fair to marry a mortal man. Psyche fears that some terrible monster will appear and devour her, but instead she is carried away by the western wind and finds herself in a magnificent palace. This is the home of Cupid, who is still in love with her, but he does not want her to know his identity. He arrives as the sun is setting and dances with her, hiding his face. Psyche is apprehensive but also exhilarated; she knows that her new husband is someone special and that an exciting life awaits her.

  Please contact Rebekah if you wish to purchase or rent the score and parts for Cupid and Psyche.

• Looking After for orchestra (more)

  Duration: 6 minutes
  © 2011 Rebekah Driscoll

• The Mask of Night for soprano, tenor, baritone and chamber orchestra (more)

  Duration: 20 minutes
  For chamber orchestra: 2 flutes, 2 clarinets, 2 horns, strings.
  Also for chamber ensemble (see above for details and excerpts).
  © 2007 Rebekah Driscoll

  1. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 5, Sc. 1
  2. The Merchant of Venice, Act 5, Sc. 1
  3. Othello, Act 5, Sc. 2
  4. Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Sc. 2
  5. Hamlet, Act 1, Sc. 5
  6. The Tempest, Act 4, Sc. 1

  Please contact Rebekah if you wish to purchase purchase or rent the score and parts for The Mask of Night.

  View text

• Tectonic Voice for wind ensemble (more)

  Duration: 5 minutes
  © 2010 Rebekah Driscoll

  This piece is about seismic forces: the energy that causes earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, geysers, and hot springs. The opening motives in the brass and timpani represent this energy, perhaps in the form of lava, swirling and bubbling below the surface of the earth. It is present throughout the piece, sometimes an undercurrent to lively activity, sometimes a distant echo in an otherwise serene landscape. Like the forces they represent, these motives command our attention when they are most disruptive, but they can cause startling outcomes even when we fail to notice them.

  The score and parts for this work can be purchased from NewMusicShelf (as PDFs only) or directly from Rebekah (either as PDFs or printed music).