Compositions

Performing Artists Associates of New England

Because of his outstanding talent and potential as a young musician beginning his concert career, he was selected as the first Marshall Dodge Scholarship winner…[He is] an excellent guitarist.

Judi Sandler

Woodland Concert Series, Hartford, CT

Many thanks for a fine concert. Everything about it was quality and much appreciated.

Larry Allen, Director

New York Times

A deft performance…

University of Louisiana – Monroe

…a formidable guitarist and distinguished performer of solo and chamber music…

Dr. Bill Nichols, Professor of Music and Audio Review Editor
The Clarinet

Herbert Barrett Management

…a wonderful classical guitarist with an impressive sense of programming.

David Middleton

Jones County Post, NC

At times delicate, at times robust, Goldspiel showed an enormous sensitivity to the various musical styles…Goldspiel entranced the audience with a brilliant execution…

Northeast Louisiana Arts Council

I have observed Dr. Goldspiel interacting with both the student and adult populations and have been impressed with his ability to tailor his informances to his audience in such a wide variety of venues. He has earned the respect of the boards and administrators of organizations in our local communities and is representative of the partnership that should exist between members of a University faculty and the host community.

Tommy Usrey, Executive Director

Institute for Research & Archiving of Music, Skopje, Macedonia

I asked him to come perform two solo recitals in Macedonia. One performance here at our University “Cyril and Methodius” in Skopje and another concert at the Struga Autumn Music. His performances were well received with many favorable comments. In Skopje we even had the good fortune to have members of the American Consulate attend. Dr. Goldspiel’s performances were enjoyable and a credit to his talent.

Dr. Dmitri Buzarovski, Director

New Haven Register, CT

Goldspiel made an immediately favorable impression…A most expressive performer capable of the most subtle dynamic gradations, he projected beautifully…

Colin Clarke, Fanfare Magazine (Mar/Apr 2021)

Alan Goldspiel’s Soldier of Mine is a poignant expression of the longing enshrined in war correspondence. The atmosphere is prolonged superbly over what is one of the longer items in the program.

Kinston Free Press, NC

Goldspiel showed himself to be an accomplished and sensitive performer. His playing is terrifically assured, and…he exhibits a fine musical understanding.

Concerts-At-The-Commons, Harvard, MA

The audience was extremely enthusiastic; I could tell, after eight years of concert presenting, that they realized that they were witnessing a performer who will be heard from for many, many years.

Bernard J. Fine, Director

Chamber Orchestra Kremlin

I have performed with Alan Goldspiel on two separate occasions, with two different works, and both times was impressed with his professionalism. Combining artistic and administrative duties is not an easy task, and to excel in both, as soloist and as concert manager, Alan has met this formidable task and come through wonderfully on all accounts.

Misha Rachlevsky, Music Director

Alabama State Council of the Arts

Goldspiel’s compositions exhibit a variety in thematic melodies that are well suited for musicians and audiences. His work is imaginative and explores new musical ideas.


Synergism for electronic playback, collaboration with Alex Shapira (in progress)

Shabbat Suite for solo guitar (10')

      1. Candle Light
      2. Zachor
      3. Shalom
      4. Shamor
      5. Havdalah

Shabbat Suite by Alan Goldspiel was written in response to the question, "describe something you love about Shabbat." Who doesn't love a day of complete cessation of labor, festive meals, and multisensory ceremony? But, of course, if only it were that simple. My re-evaluation of this weekly ritual from the initial lighting of the candles, through remembrance, a sense of peace, observance, and separation remained difficult to put into words. This solo guitar music is, then, my answer - a time for reviving the spirit and knowing what is important.

Begins in a Whisper...Rises to a Cry for Soprano, Flutes, Guitar/Ukulele (12.5')

This is the third collaboration between poet Barry Marks and composer Alan Goldspiel. This work was jointly commissioned by the Alabama Music Teachers Association and the Music Teachers National Association in 2023 and was premiered on June 3, 2023 at Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama. Arranged in six songs, the music is performed by a trio of performers playing six instruments - voice, cowbell, flute, bass flute, ukulele, and classical guitar. It was desired that the music and poetry explore an arc of circumstances involving the little and how it becomes the big, as in, one voice to the many, or one small act/decision leading to substantial change. The notion of an effect from the little to the big, be it in revolution, social justice, love and kindness, an awakening, human development, etc. permeates in creative collaboration here.

Night Songs for Soprano, Clarinet, and Guitar (10')

Night Songs is a musical journey through the mysterious and enchanting world of the nocturnal hours. Composed for soprano, clarinet, and classical guitar, this piece consists of six distinct songs, each capturing a different mood and moment of the night. The music and poetry evoke the soft and gentle transition from day to night as the sun begins to set, the melancholic reflection on the passing of time and the inevitability of change, the promise of a new day with its hope of a fresh start, or maybe even a foreboding realization leaving no sense of hope or renewal at the first light of dawn.

Mountains Beyond Clouds for Bass Flute and Guitar (6')

Inspired by Haiku and its traditional syllable patterns of five and seven, Mountains Beyond Clouds portrays aspects of nature as a series of short movements with descriptive titles. The fives and sevens manifest in rhythmic patterns, meter, and melodic groupings or sets. The closure or caesura is a final movement signifying all things come to an end.

The Logic of Phlogiston for Clarinet and Fixed Media (5.5')

During the 17th century, it was hypothesized that combustible material contained an element called phlogiston. According to Wikipedia, “Phlogiston theory states that phlogisticated substances contain phlogiston and that they dephlogisticate when burned, releasing stored phlogiston which is absorbed by the air. Growing plants then absorb this phlogiston, which is why air does not spontaneously combust and also why plant matter burns as well as it does.” How could one not want to somehow explore that? Of course, once oxygen was “discovered,” that was the end of that theory. The notion that a theory is, in fact, only a theory and will be superseded by that which is proved to be more accurate lies at the heart of my thinking about this creative effort. That is, that while the logic may seem impeccable, it will only remain so until disproved. So, the former line of thinking worked perfectly before anyone knew about oxygen. I wanted to create music unfolding as a series of questions with time for reflection and the odd thought or two. The fixed media then assembles and disassembles as it combusts through the performance.

Twelve Etudes for Ukulele (23')

Song of Hope for solo Bass Flute (4')

Outside Looking In for solo Oboe (2.5')

Alone: In Memorium for solo Flute (4.5')

This work for solo flute was written in memory of my mother, Joan Goldspiel, who passed away suddenly in 2021. That she was alone at the time was not unusual. She enjoyed and preferred being alone, doing what she wanted and how she wanted to do it, or often how she wanted to not do it. Among what she did want though was for those gathered at her funeral, whenever that would be, should sing the song, You’ll Never Walk Alone. The sentiment expressed therein, she felt, was for us to know and remember. We sang. The music here takes melodic elements of that song paying particular attention to notes with specific lyrics that I believe she wanted us to hold dear. Regarding the second movement specifically, she often spoke about hoping for a golden ticket for quick passage – a reference to when she passed that it would be quick and in no way drawn out. She got the express!

5 Intersecting for Electronic Playback (4')

And Sons for Voice and Guitar (26')

Song of Hope for Solo Tuba (4')

Echo of Reality for Tuba and Guitar (6')

Second Nature for Electronic Playback (4')

Golus III for Solo Guitar (6')

Parallax for Electronic Playback (4')

A Diluvian Response for Guitar and clarinet (6')

      1. Enlil and the Noisy Humans
      2. HaShem and the Sinners
      3. Zeus and the Bellicose World

A Diluvian Response recalls that there are many flood legends existing in different cultures. These common narratives usually involve a deity who destroys civilization as punishment for some wrong doing, some survivor(s), and ultimately the rebirth of civilization. Often closely linked to creation myth, our stories here involve writings from Mesopotamian, Hebrew, and Greek sources. My objective was to write this music for clarinet and guitar at the part of the story when it is decided to send the catastrophic waters because we rarely view the events from that side of things.

A Winter's Tale for Tuba and Two Trombones (6.5')

      1. If I Prove Honey-Mouth'd
      2. Let My Tongue Blister

A Winter's Tale sparked from a bit of line from a Shakespeare play in which whimsy, deception, tragedy, and romance abound. While attending the play, the notion of "honey-mouth'd" and "tongue blister" caught my attention and I thought then what an interesting title for music they might make. The music for two trombones and a tuba tries to be evocative of deceit and guile and, because of it, the subsequent inability to express "my red-look'd anger.

Golus II for Electronic Playback (4')

Golus II continues a musical exploration of exile, alienation, and abandonment. The word golus is Yiddish for exile and refers to the diaspora of the Jewish People. Diaspora Studies, in general, reflect on overcoming tremendous hardship, the ongoing growth of the diasporic phenomenon, and the cultural, social, political, and economic contributions of such peoples to their new homeland hosts. The musical work Golus II with its repeated call of the sampled Shofar (a ram's horn used by ancient Jews in religious ceremonies and as a battle signal) and chimes tuned to a Klezmer scale (D, Eb, F#, G, A) centers itself around the notion of leaving a place - sometimes willingly, sometimes not.

Golus I  for Flute, Clarinet, and Piano - World Premiered NACWPI National Conference, University of Northern Iowa, October 12, 2019. (6')

The word golus is Yiddish for exile and it refers to the diaspora of the Jewish people. Diaspora Studies, in general, reflect on overcoming tremendous hardship, the ongoing growth of the diasporic phenomenon, and the cultural, social, political, and economic contributions of such peoples to their new homeland hosts.

The musical work Golus I reflects on the tragedy and courage of all exiled peoples and, in some very small way, seeks to emotionally represent that life-altering experience. It is the first in a series of works that takes the notion of exile as inspiration and commentary.

Convivio for Two Guitars (or) Harp and Guitar (7'15")

    1. Lady Philosophy in the Umbrian Hills
    2. The Sweet Poems of Castello di Postignano

Midnight Glowing on Horseback for Electronic Playback (4'20").

Midnight Glowing on Horseback juxtaposes surrealist ideas and classical formal structures within its left to right time-based electronic playback. The audio events combine and mix samples of ordinary objects, instruments, synthesized sound, and Salvadore Dali discussing his moustache. The slightly bizarre mix of elements, rarely all that jarring, and maybe nonsensical, combine to conjure a mental image - midnight glowing on horseback? - or perhaps to merely create an awake dream.

In Dreams for Solo Guitar (11')

    1. Of Venus
    2. Broken Bridge
    3. Before Awakening

In Dreams is a three movement work for solo guitar based on the art work of Salvador Dali. The notion of the dream and its sometimes other-worldliness is explored visually and sonically often in works of art. The movements take their inspiration from the surrealist's perspective of time, the absurd, and the interesting juxtapositions of characters and space. The largely tonal part of the work represents the perfectly (mostly) normal parts of the paintings/exhibitions. For example, a bee, pomegranate, rockfish, tiger, bayonet are perfectly normal things - an elephant with long flamingo legs - less so. That those elements are contained and related in one dreamscape is interesting and how I subtlety relate the musical elements in time and proximity is the desired effect - without, I think, any completely jarring juxtaposition.

Goldspiel and Alexander perform Duck, Duck Soup at the W

Duck, Duck, Soup for Guitar and Tuba/Bass Clarinet (7').

      1. Monkey Business
      2. A Night at the Opera
      3. The Cocoanuts
      4. Animal Crackers

Duck, Duck, Soup for guitar and bass clarinet or tuba finds its inspiration in the zany antics of the Marx Brothers and their wonderful films. In this setting, the unusual pairing of instruments is no more unlikely than the archetypical characters characters created by Groucho, Harpo, and Chico who come together on stage and screen to tell a story.

Each movement, given a title from one of their films, represents some of my favorite moments from those brilliant shows. The films often juxtapose narrative exposition (mayhem) with complete and utter comic diversion (more mayhem) followed by entirely welcome musical interludes. Here is music that, at once, is playful, wise-cracking, mischievous, earnest, obtuse, suspicious, but always, in the end, warm-hearted - all like the brothers who endeared themselves to generations of viewers. Now, "pardon me while I have a strange interlude."

And The Song Is The Light - a new Shabbat Service for Soprano, Vocal Quartet, Synthesizer, and Guitar; a project of the Alabama State Council on the Arts 2016-2017 Artist Fellowship Award (In Progress).

With Solitude and Song for Voice and Guitar (9') - commissioned by Barbara Bonfield, Text by Emma Lazarus. Premiered at The Club in Birmingham, AL.

      1. Echoes
      2. Links
      3. The End of the Song

With Solitude and Song was commissioned by and written in honor of Ms. Barbara Bonfield on the occasion of her eightieth birthday. The poetry by Emma Lazarus speaks of the human condition, the wonders of nature and our place in it. The musical elements of the songs have taken great inspiration from the poetic meters found therein and the life of the poet. It is not inconsequential to this work and its dedicatee that Lazarus, whose poem The Colossus is inscribed on a plaque at the Statue of Liberty, worked tirelessly on behalf of those who merely wanted a better life. (Click here for With Solitude and Song Poetry)

Yom HaShoah for Solo Guitar (9').

      1. Yellow Candle
      2. Hear My Prayer
      3. March of the Living

Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, memorializes those who died in the Shoah, which means catastrophe or utter destruction in Hebrew and refers to the atrocities that were committed against the Jewish people during World War II. Here, the guitar scordatura, rhythmic figures, and melodic motives express the emotions experienced in such memories.

For me, it still feels necessary to remember and remind. Jewish tradition requires the lighting of a 24 hour candle during periods of mourning. Burning a specially designed Yellow Candle mourns the Six Million who perished and keeps their memory alive. The music is strongly influenced by the song Es Brent (It Burns) by Mordechai Gerbirtig.

Hear My Prayer musically petitions us to honor and remember all the souls who died in the Holocaust. Woven into this movement is the Sh'main one of its most familiar musical representations. The major/minor mode-shifts juxtapose hope (never again) and sadness in a most fundamental way.

The March of the Living brings students from around the world to Poland, where they explore the remnants of the Holocaust in a silent march from Auschwitz to Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp complex built during World War II. Set in 7/8, the music's asymmetry reflects the walking in those steps learning of those things.

The LeBaron Trio performing Sometimes Y at Shelton State Comm. College

Sometimes Y for Soprano, Clarinet, and Piano - Poetry by Barry Marks (20').

      1. AEIO UY
      2. A, First of All
      3. E, Silence is...
      4. I, Am
      5. O, The Story of
      6. Beneath a Sky
      7. U, The Ugly
      8. Sometimes Y

Sometimes Y is the result of an ongoing collaboration between a poet, Barry Marks, and a composer, Alan Goldspiel. The title came first, I was amused by the notion of a proud parent boldly announcing to all that his child was to perform as the sometimes Y in a school play illustrating the vowels.

My initial idea was to somehow musically exploit this situation and then explore some of the peculiarities of the English language as evidence by the many bad/funny translations. Further thought focused on the ambiguity of applying "sometimes' with both the vowel and it's homonym why.

Then, as I mentioned these ruminations to a poet, we began discussing the various associations we had with each vowel, the various roles that the vowels play in English, and then we even discussed at great length the actual appearance and shape of those six letters. It was from this beginning that Sometimes Y for soprano, clarinet, and piano was born. Texts were created and ultimately poems were realized.

Each song musically represents the emotional qualities of the letters as expressed by the poetry and the aims of the poet. The forms and/or musical lines often abstractly and sometimes overtly represent the vowel shape. The tonal is also frequently juxtaposed against the less tonal in a manner not unlike the various effects and pronunciations of the vowels. Ultimately, this is about how the letters make us feel. (Click Here for Sometimes Y Poetry)

Soldier of Mine for SATB Choir (8') - commissioned by Snead State Community College, Text by Margaret McQuarry Huskey.

Soldier of Mine by Alan Goldspiel was commissioned by Snead State Community College (Boaz, Alabama) and it is based on a poem of the same name written in 1944 by Margaret McQuarry Huskey. The poem was sent in a correspondence to a soldier who was sent overseas, a soldier who, while not yet boyfriend, would later become husband.

Set tonally, Soldier of Mine musically exploits the character of our soldier as described in the poem and it also evokes the era in which he lives. In the poem, all of the description is juxtaposed against dream imagery to convey admiration and longing.

The sectional nature of the music corresponds to the images depicted in the writing. I wished to musically express the worry and concern of one left behind, the anguish of loneliness, the hardship of war, and our troubled thoughts when those we care about are not near – while also conveying the hope that the poem silently expresses for a romantic relationship.  

Soldier of Mine was doubly premiered in 2017 at Snead State Community College as part of a literary festival and then in a concert salute to the armed forces.

Purple Nokh A Mol for Solo Tuba (6') - commissioned by Joe L. Alexander; Premiered at the Mississippi University for Women for the Mid-South Chapter of NAC/USA

Purple Nokh A Mol was written for my friend Joe L. Alexander. It explores, and was inspired by, the notion of “again.” The super locrian mode with its octatonic beginning and whole tone ending provides the pitch universe and inherently represents “repeat” in its interval patterns. The music juxtaposes two super locrian modes extending the repetition to transposition.

“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.” - Henry David Thoreau

Magic Shtetl Klezmer Band at Temple Emanu-El
Magic Shtetl Klezmer Band at Temple Emanu-El

Klezmer Shabbat Service for Quintet, SATB Choir, Soloist (55') - commissioned by Temple Emanu-El; Premiered at Temple Emanu-El, Birmingham, AL.

Written in homage to the Jewish people of Birmingham, Alabama, Klezmer Shabbat Service was commissioned by Temple Emanu-El in honor of Marvin and Ruth Engel. Inspired by the eastern European Klezmer tradition, here, sacred Hebrew texts meet secular life-cycle celebration music.

This music, written in the classical tradition, combines Klezmer's distinctly sectional formal scheme with melodies based on the Jewish modes. Klezmer's emotional charge and dance-inducing rhythms surface in many of these Friday night service prayers, yet just as often they are used as the basis or background structure of the prayer with only a hint or tiny glimpse of the original inspiration.

The non-traditional scoring for this version of a Klezmer Band, a choir, and a soprano soloist in a synagogue setting was further inspired by Yiddish theatre music and folk songs, Hasidic Nigunim, Israeli folk/camp songs, and the very notion of a wedding band itself.

The World Premiere of this piece took place at Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham, Alabama on August 26, 2016. It was performed by Cantor Jessica Roskin, the Temple Choir, and the Magic Shtetl Klezmer Band.

Slippery Slope at 16th St Church
Performing Slippery Slope at the historic 16th Street Baptist Church

Slippery Slope for Guitar and Violin (6.5') - commissioned by the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center.

The Slippery Slope for guitar and violin was written to accompany the play A Slippery Slope: The Consequences of Hate and was premiered at the historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL on January 25, 2015. The music was commissioned by the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center in honor of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the UN International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The music, evocative of the script, sets the tone and seeks to convey the consequences of hate and prejudice.

V'shamru for SATB choir (5').

Sloss: A New City for Soprano, Clarinet, and Guitar (12') - commissioned by the Alabama Music Teachers Association

      1. Red House, Yellow House
      2. Commissary
      3. A Wife's Prayer
      4. The Union
      5. A New City

Oral histories and songs tell the tale of the industrial revolution in the South and the emergence of Birmingham, Alabama (1871) as a post-bellum city whose rapid growth led to the nickname "Magic City." Sloss Furnaces, one of the largest manufacturers of pig-iron, and its company town "Sloss Quarters" with its company store were an integral part of early life in Birmingham.

I was fascinated to learn that former plantation workers, convict-laborers, and immigrants from many European countries worked the dangerous jobs of the pig-iron furnaces and foundries. These five songs were inspired by the oral histories of former Sloss employees, section-gang work chants, trade-union appeals, and the many, many references to music as an important cross-cultural part of daily life.

This composition explores, in particular, the life of the migrant farm worker coming to the new city and it offers a tiny glimpse into what the workers and their families had to endure to make a living during those days. Sloss: A New City was commissioned by the Alabama Music Association and the Music Teachers National Association for the 2014 State Conference in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

The World Premiere of this piece took place at the Alabama Music Teachers Association at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on June 5, 2014 and was performed by Melanie Williams (soprano), Lori Ardovino (clarinet), and Alan Goldspiel (guitar).

Vagaries and Sundries for French Horn, Trumpet, and Trombone (4').

Vagaries and Sundries seeks to musically represent in a small way our ephemeral world of change and miscellany, that which we deal with every day. As such, it explores the notion that with a common musical frame of reference or idiolect, we can sometimes see that the more things appear to change and/or seem irrelevant or coincidental, the more they may remain consistent and connected.

The World Premiere of this piece took place at the National Association of Composers/USA Mid-South Chapter at the University of Louisiana - Monroe on April 13, 2014 and was performed by the Black Bayou Brass (James Boldin, horn; Aaron Witek, trumpet; and James Layfield, trombone).

And All That Jazz? for Guitar, Trumpet and Clarinet (11').

      1. Blue Three (in the west end)
      2. Jammin' (with honeysuckle)
      3. I Awake (in a beautiful town)

Taking its cue from three iconic jazz performers, And All That Jazz? is a blend of styles combining blues and swing with a manipulation of sets derived from the three pieces alluded to in each of the movements titles.

Blue Three (in the west end) salutes the pioneering work of Louis Armstrong, his Hot Fives and Sevens, and his West End Blues. Jammin' (with honeysuckle) pay homage to the landmark 1938 Carnegie Hall jazz concert of Benny Goodman and the fourteen minute jam session on the tune Honeysuckle Rose which was performed there. I Awake (in a beautiful town) celebrates the music of legendary jazz guitar great Django (a Gypsy name meaning 'I awake') Reinhardt and his well-known work Belleville.

The World Premiere of this piece took place at the National Association of Composers/USA National Conference at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana on October 4, 2013. It was performed by Lori Ardovino (clarinet), Joe Ardovino (trumpet), and Alan Goldspiel (guitar).

The Sword and the Lute for Guitar and Soprano Saxophone (12').

      1. Lion's Claw
      2. Cross Swords
      3. Night Song

This work was inspired by the interesting conjecture that many of the Saracen bodyguards/soldiers of the Middle Ages were thought to be musicians/lute players who accompanied many narrative songs of war -  soldiers by day, lute players by night! That the power of music and song might be as lethal as a weapon of war is a thought-provoking subtext. Here, these inspirations manifest themselves as a duet/duel between the guitar and the soprano saxophone.

Lion's Claw refers to the Arabic sword the scimitar, its powerful curved blade said to be quite effective in battle. Cross Swords pits each instrument against the other as groups of eighth notes accent and conflict within different parts of the measure. The saxophone multiphonics serve as a call to arms while the guitar pizzicato and percussion strike back each metaphoric blow. Night Song, when we are alone with only our thoughts, relives the day's exploits both triumphant and sorrowful, a time for the soldiers to pause and reflect.

The World Premiere of this piece took place at the National Association of Composers/USA National Conference at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana on October 3, 2013.

Five Preludes for Solo Guitar (15').

The Five Preludes are inspired by and written in homage to Heitor Villa-Lobos and his music. Each one takes some essence (or my interpretation of that essence) of the great Brazilian composer's work and uses it as the basis for the composition. The preludes complete the set of four five-movement works for solo guitar begun in 2005 (Five Meditations (2005), then Nature Sketches (2007), and Tale of the Bird Mound (2007).

From Birds to the Flying Machine for Guitar and Soprano (11'); Text by Leonardo Da Vinci.

Day at the Beach for Guitar and Clarinet (7').

      1. Sand Crab
      2. Clouds and Driftwood
      3. Umbrella Tales

Celebrating the sometimes vexed spirit of relaxation, Day at the Beach evokes the beauty of the scenery and is a personal reminiscence of some typical encounters at the shore. Sand Crab, Clouds and Driftwood, and Umbrella Tales relate the experience of one such trip.

In writing for the clarinet and guitar, my idea was to achieve an internal blend of the parts whereby, for example, the clarinet line would often become the bass line for the guitar melody. in the interchange of parts a sonic variation is achieved that exploits the similarity of range between the instruments. Separating this experiment in timbral structure are melodies with ostinato accompaniment.

Driving the internal structure of the music is the notion of a third, often filled in. This fundamental element appears in many guises and culminates in the bluesy major/minor third reflecting some trouble with trying to shade oneself.

Tale of the Bird Mound for Solo Guitar (12').

      1. Mound Builders
      2. Atlatl
      3. Poverty Point
      4. Fox-Man
      5. Bird Mound

Ancient civilizations in North America built large earth mounds for reasons which we can only speculate. The people who lived then and the society they created are both a great mystery. One such mound, Poverty Point (Louisiana), is in the shape of a bird, an important symbol based on engravings and other artifacts found there. The engraving called Fox-Man, for example, is thought to represent a horned owl.

Excavated objects of pottery and stone tell us all that we know about the lives of these Mound Builders. Stone point artifacts are thought to have been used on the ends of spears which were thrown with the help of an Atlatl, a device held in the hand and hooked to the spear to increase speed and distance. It is fascinating to consider Poverty Point culture and this tale of the Bird Mound celebrates its legacy.

Nature Sketches for Solo Guitar (12').

      1. Twilight
      2. Waterfall
      3. Dark Clouds
      4. Moonlight
      5. Windstorm

I was inspired to create sound environments for various nature tableaus. I really wanted to musically represent states of mind, emotion, and sensation about nature in its many forms. I created the music and then determined what that best felt like. In some instances, I set out to create one mood or sound environment and came up with something totally different.

Latin Overture for Two Guitars (5').

Latin Overture combines the strummed-chord technique of Flamenco with the melodic songs and rhythms of Latin America. The guitars straddle the traditional and modern in this contemporary exploration of Latin/Spanish style.

Five Meditations for Solo Guitar (15').

        1. Seasons Change
        2. With Hope
        3. The Hand I Hold
        4. Sunset
        5. Now Until the End
Alan Goldspiel is the President of the National Association of Composers/USA - Mid-South Chapter