| Numinous The Music of Joseph C. Phillips Jr. |
Chamber Ensembles
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Never Has Been Yet (2015)
Words by Langston Hughes commissioned by Lara Downes (Solo Piano, with spoken word by the pianist, or with a narrator) 7 minutes |
Lara Downes, premiering a version of
"Never Has Been Yet" at Mondavi Center October 29, 2016 © 2016 Numen Music/BMI All Rights Reserved |
Shibboleths (2015)
Ten Movements for String Quartet
commissioned by the 2015 NextNOW Fest for Invoke String Quartet
(String Quartet: 2 Violins, Viola, Cello)
10 minutes
Ten Movements for String Quartet
commissioned by the 2015 NextNOW Fest for Invoke String Quartet
(String Quartet: 2 Violins, Viola, Cello)
10 minutes
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Es Stehen Unbeweglich (2013)
commissioned by the Ecstatic Music Festival Words by Heinrich Heine, translated by Joseph C. Phillips Jr. (part of Awe & Humility, a joint suite of compositions with Imani Uzuri at 2013 Ecstatic Music Festival) (5 Female Voices, 2 Violins, 2 Violas, 2 Cellos, Electric Bass) 3 minutes |
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Serendipity (2013)
commissioned by the Ecstatic Music Festival (part of Awe & Humility, a joint suite of compositions with Imani Uzuri at 2013 Ecstatic Music Festival) (Flute, Clarinet, Trumpet, Trombone, 2 Electric Guitars, Keyboard, Harp, Vibraphone, 5 Female Voices, 2 Violins, 2 Violas, 2 Cellos, Electric Bass) 5 minutes |
The Red Book (2013)
performed for Simone Dinnerstein’s 2013 Neighborhood Classics Concert Series
(Flute, Clarinet, Trumpet, Electric Guitar, Electric Piano, 2 Violins, Viola, Cello)
6 minutes
performed for Simone Dinnerstein’s 2013 Neighborhood Classics Concert Series
(Flute, Clarinet, Trumpet, Electric Guitar, Electric Piano, 2 Violins, Viola, Cello)
6 minutes
Pharaoh Scrolls (2013)
suite of music from The Loves of Pharaoh performed by Numinous Quartet at Rhythm in the Kitchen Festival (2013) & BAMCafé (2013)
(String Quartet: 2 Violins, Viola, Cello)
(also available for Full Orchestra)
12 minutes
suite of music from The Loves of Pharaoh performed by Numinous Quartet at Rhythm in the Kitchen Festival (2013) & BAMCafé (2013)
(String Quartet: 2 Violins, Viola, Cello)
(also available for Full Orchestra)
12 minutes
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To Begin the World Over Again (2012)
commissioned by Edisa Weeks and Delirious Dances
70 minutes |
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To Begin The World Over Again, is a collaboration between choreographer Edisa Weeks and composer Joseph C. Phillips Jr. and explores the writings of Thomas Paine and his spirited advocacy for freedom and democracy in America. Paine’s words are used as a mirror to look at America and question what does it mean to be free in American today? What is the promise of America that Paine so fervently wrote about and has America realized that promise?
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Unlimited (2011)
commissioned by TAKE Dance (Flute/Clarinet, Violin, Viola, Cello, Accordion) 12 minutes (this is a chamber version of the sixth movement of Changing Same, recorded by Numinous for New Amsterdam Records (2015)) |
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In January 2009 I stood freezing on the National Mall in Washington D.C. with two million others witnessing Barack Obama become President of the United States. Standing there with faces black, brown, and beige there was a palpable sense of excitement and anticipation that the truly unlimited opportunity the original “promise of America” represented, seemed finally reachable to not only someone like me, but seemly anyone and everyone with ability, a dream, temerity, perseverance, and luck. That day felt like a beginning, where the phrase “one nation” took on renewed resonance and meaning. And while the realities of governance since then have tempered the fires of hope, they have not extinguished them. No matter her ultimate direction America is forever changed, not only for the now but for the “unborn millions to come” in the long now.
Producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff with their “Philly Sound”—an often energetic and richly orchestrated dance music—are sometimes credited with laying the foundations for disco in the 1970s. In my ancient early days growing up, before I had any idea of who Gamble and Huff were or exactly what disco was, the songs they produced—such as “Me and Mrs. Jones,” “Back Stabbers,” “Now that We Found Love,” “Love Train,” “For the Love of Money,” “When Will I See You Again,” and “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” (also known as the Soul Train theme song)—formed an indelible imprint on an impressionable little kid. Often I was less interested about what the singers actually sang about (was too young to understand much anyway). Rather, I enjoyed the mood, atmosphere, and energy those songs created; the sophisticated way they moved you or made you want to move, “it like put a bow tie on the funk. It made it elegant."
Echoes from “The Love I Lost” by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes featuring the incredible lead singing of Teddy Pendergrass and “Love’s Theme” by Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra (an artist influenced by Gamble and Huff) can be heard throughout “Unlimited.”
Producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff with their “Philly Sound”—an often energetic and richly orchestrated dance music—are sometimes credited with laying the foundations for disco in the 1970s. In my ancient early days growing up, before I had any idea of who Gamble and Huff were or exactly what disco was, the songs they produced—such as “Me and Mrs. Jones,” “Back Stabbers,” “Now that We Found Love,” “Love Train,” “For the Love of Money,” “When Will I See You Again,” and “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” (also known as the Soul Train theme song)—formed an indelible imprint on an impressionable little kid. Often I was less interested about what the singers actually sang about (was too young to understand much anyway). Rather, I enjoyed the mood, atmosphere, and energy those songs created; the sophisticated way they moved you or made you want to move, “it like put a bow tie on the funk. It made it elegant."
Echoes from “The Love I Lost” by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes featuring the incredible lead singing of Teddy Pendergrass and “Love’s Theme” by Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra (an artist influenced by Gamble and Huff) can be heard throughout “Unlimited.”
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The Distance of the Moon (2010)
commissioned by TAKE Dance (Alto Saxophone, Electric Guitar, Violin, Cello, Bass, Percussion) 10 minutes |
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My composition is inspired by the first story, The Distance of the Moon, in Italo Calvino's phantasmagorical 1965 book Cosmicomics. The story depicts a time before history when the Earth was so close to the Moon that people could climb ladders to the lunar surface to retrieve the manna of 'moon milk.' Gradually and slowly the Moon and Earth recede from each other to their present distances. In my composition I use that motion as a metaphor for two lovers who grow apart and while always still seeing each other from a distance, wistfully will never experience that former closeness with each other again.
110 Percent (2010)
performed by Numinous Quartet at Rhythm in the Kitchen Festival (2013) & BAMCafé (2013)
1. “It's on me”
2.“Still very much alive”
3. “Lost a step or two”
4. “Taking it to the next level”
(String Quartet: 2 Violins, Viola, Cello)
18 minutes
performed by Numinous Quartet at Rhythm in the Kitchen Festival (2013) & BAMCafé (2013)
1. “It's on me”
2.“Still very much alive”
3. “Lost a step or two”
4. “Taking it to the next level”
(String Quartet: 2 Violins, Viola, Cello)
18 minutes
Memory of Red Orange Laid Out in Still Waves (2010)
commissioned by Dave Douglas and the Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT)
(2 Trumpets, Glockenspiel, 2 Violins, Viola, Cello)
15 minutes
commissioned by Dave Douglas and the Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT)
(2 Trumpets, Glockenspiel, 2 Violins, Viola, Cello)
15 minutes
The title comes from a line in Edward P. Jones's sobering book, The Known World which, while a work of fiction, was based upon the true incidents of African-Americans owning slaves during the 19th century.
Liquid Timepieces (2010)
commissioned by Simone Dinnerstein and the Neighborhood Classics Concert Series for the ensemble Face the Music
(Flute, Bb Clarinet, Eb Alto Saxophone, Electric Guitar, 2 Electric Keyboards, 2 Violin, Viola, Cello)
13 minutes
commissioned by Simone Dinnerstein and the Neighborhood Classics Concert Series for the ensemble Face the Music
(Flute, Bb Clarinet, Eb Alto Saxophone, Electric Guitar, 2 Electric Keyboards, 2 Violin, Viola, Cello)
13 minutes
The years 2010 and 2011 are the anniversaries of Gustav Mahler’s birth (1850) and death (1911). I wanted to celebrate these so-called ‘Jubilee Years’ by writing a work that honors the profound influence Mahler’s music has exerted on my own musical development and thinking. Liquid Timepieces is my own musical encomium to him and despite some subtle references to musical moments from Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, No. 3, and No. 9, Liquid Timepieces is not meant to sound like Mahler. Rather, I hoped, through my own distinct musical expression and language, to create a similar resonance to the protean spirit of life and the world that permeates his works.
The evocative phrase, "liquid timepieces" comes from a line in the poem, "Designer Kisses" by Major Jackson, which I heard him recite at the 2009 River to River Festival Poets House tribute to Meredith Monk. Liquid Timepieces was the first commission by Simone Dinnerstein for her Neighborhood Classics Music Series. Written for the group Face the Music and their director Jennifer Undercofler, it premiered on April 15th, 2010 at PS 321 in Brooklyn, New York.
The evocative phrase, "liquid timepieces" comes from a line in the poem, "Designer Kisses" by Major Jackson, which I heard him recite at the 2009 River to River Festival Poets House tribute to Meredith Monk. Liquid Timepieces was the first commission by Simone Dinnerstein for her Neighborhood Classics Music Series. Written for the group Face the Music and their director Jennifer Undercofler, it premiered on April 15th, 2010 at PS 321 in Brooklyn, New York.
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Beautiful Thing (2009)
for singer Joy Askew and Pulse Ensemble (words by Joy Askew) (Voice, Flute, Horn, Violin, Cello, Bass, Percussion) 8 minutes |
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William Carlos Williams' Paterson: Episode 17 ("beat hell out of it, beautiful thing") is the inspiration for the title. However, my composition is really inspired by the small upstate town of Hudson, New York.
This little town on the banks of the Hudson River about a two hour train ride from New York City, is presently at 7000 people, but despite its small size Hudson has led a very out-sized life. From it's founding by Quakers in the late 17th century, a center of whaling activity, almost becoming the capitol of New York State (missed it by one vote), the 8th largest city in the US by 1790 (the 4th largest in NY as late as 1820), and famous in the late 19th and first half of the 20th century, as THE notorious center of vice, especially gambling and prostitution, in the Northeast. Described very colorfully in Bruce Edward Hall's book, Diamond Street: The Story of the Little Town with the Big Red Light District, those rackets were mostly broken up in 1951 after surprise raids of Hudson whorehouses by then-Attorney General Thomas Dewey and the State Police netted many people including several local policemen. After a serious decline in the 60s and 70s, Hudson, which boasts the "finest dictionary of American architecture in New York State," underwent a major revival with the renovation of many houses and buildings and now boasts a wonderfully active arts scene, many antique shops, art galleries, and restaurants.
Beautiful thing (she has no actual name, just this honorific), the protagonist of the William Carlos Williams' poem, is a woman "first beat up then molested in the course of a three-day drunken debauch." Despite her difficult life, she does possess a spirit which cannot be taken away from her and while reading the poem, I thought of many similarities between "Beautiful Thing" and an imagined prostitute early in Hudson's history. Proposing the idea to Joy, we worked together on a possible "story" of a young woman without many opportunities or choices, who despite having to sell herself is "waiting for a wonderful moment" that will lead her to her dream of the "great glittering world down the mighty river."
This little town on the banks of the Hudson River about a two hour train ride from New York City, is presently at 7000 people, but despite its small size Hudson has led a very out-sized life. From it's founding by Quakers in the late 17th century, a center of whaling activity, almost becoming the capitol of New York State (missed it by one vote), the 8th largest city in the US by 1790 (the 4th largest in NY as late as 1820), and famous in the late 19th and first half of the 20th century, as THE notorious center of vice, especially gambling and prostitution, in the Northeast. Described very colorfully in Bruce Edward Hall's book, Diamond Street: The Story of the Little Town with the Big Red Light District, those rackets were mostly broken up in 1951 after surprise raids of Hudson whorehouses by then-Attorney General Thomas Dewey and the State Police netted many people including several local policemen. After a serious decline in the 60s and 70s, Hudson, which boasts the "finest dictionary of American architecture in New York State," underwent a major revival with the renovation of many houses and buildings and now boasts a wonderfully active arts scene, many antique shops, art galleries, and restaurants.
Beautiful thing (she has no actual name, just this honorific), the protagonist of the William Carlos Williams' poem, is a woman "first beat up then molested in the course of a three-day drunken debauch." Despite her difficult life, she does possess a spirit which cannot be taken away from her and while reading the poem, I thought of many similarities between "Beautiful Thing" and an imagined prostitute early in Hudson's history. Proposing the idea to Joy, we worked together on a possible "story" of a young woman without many opportunities or choices, who despite having to sell herself is "waiting for a wonderful moment" that will lead her to her dream of the "great glittering world down the mighty river."
Usher (Variations) (2008)
commissioned by Triocracy
(2 Clarinets, Trombone)
(Version for String Quartet (2013))
12 minutes
commissioned by Triocracy
(2 Clarinets, Trombone)
(Version for String Quartet (2013))
12 minutes
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Kelip-Kelip (2007)
(Flute, Electric Guitar, Piano) 7 minutes |
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The second composition inspired by a trip to Malaysia was Kelip-Kelip (the first was Rihla). Kelip-kelip is a Bahasa Malay word meaning "twinkle" and is used to describe fireflies. One of the Malaysian states my wife and I visited was Kuala Selangor and the village of Kuantan, where we took a late night ride on the Selangor River in a small boat called a sampan. Along the banks of the river were millions of fireflies lighting the "quiet darkness." However these were not the lightning bugs I grew up with, but rather fireflies that twinkle not in a greenish-yellow light but rather in a blue-ish LCD-like soft glow. And what was more amazing was that these fireflies did not flicker with a lazy stochasticity but rather in a beautiful synchronicity. When we came around a river bend in the pitch blackness and silence of the night to see the trees lit up and flashing together like Christmas trees lights was a moving and magical experience.
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Rihla (2007)
for Pulse Ensemble (2 Woodwinds, 2 Percussion, Laptop, Koto, Violin/Erhu, Cello) 15 minutes |
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Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta was one of the most widely traveled explorers of the 14th century. This near contemporary of Marco Polo covered over 75,000 miles during his years (far more than his famous predecessor). Visiting places such as West Africa, Pakistan, India, the Maldives, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Palestine, China, Malaya, Cambodia, and Persia, Ibn Battuta was the only traveler known to have visited almost every Muslim land of his time. Several years after returning, Ibn Battuta dictated an account of his travels to Moroccan scholar, Ibn Juzay al-Kalbi. The subsequent documentation, A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Traveling, became known as simply the Rihla. While often fictional or exaggerated in places, the Rihla gives a rich report of life in the lands of Islam during the Middle Ages. Today rihla has taken on different meanings. Not only does it refer to the actual Ibn Battuta book, but depending upon the context, it can also signify a journey (physical or spiritual) and a documentation of one’s travels.
Rihla is inspired by a trip my wife and I made to Malaysia. While we spent our first and last days in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, we spent most of our time in less urban settings, riding public buses to and from destinations around the country. On one particular day we traveled between Kuala Selangor and Lumut on at least 5 different buses! Usually the only foreigners on board, we saw evidence of kampung (village) life and spirit in the places we passed through and stopped in along the way.
Throughout our travels in Malaysia, experiences such as riding around Pankgor Island on a rented motor scooter, observing frolicking monkeys in the trees along (and sometimes in) the road, witnessing contests of Sepak Takraw (a game similar to volleyball except players can only use their feet and head instead of hands), eating local cuisine at Malay restaurants, visiting the mountainous Cameron Highland region, and watching Islamic school children boarding the bus in their colorful clothing, inspired me to want to create a sort of musical travelogue of our journey. While not trying to directly interpret our trip in any programmatic way, my attempt with Rihla was to create a musical impression of the many wonderful emotions and feelings experienced while moving from place to place within Malaysia.
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Race (2006)
for Pulse Ensemble (Trumpet, Electric Guitar, Flute/Clarinet, Flute/Clarinet, Horn, Tuba, Vibraphone, Electric Piano, String Quartet) 8 minutes |
Like John Adams' Short Ride in a Fast Machine or Micheal Torke's Javelin or Run, I wanted Race to be a portrait of motion; a linear progression of movement to the end, much like an actual race. However there were no images of runners in my mind as I was composing of the piece. It was only after my composition was completed that I looked back upon it, and this sense of movement that I heard lead me to explore running as a metaphor. One of the first photos I found was a photo of Marion Jones from the 2000 Olympics. No matter what you think of her, I just found the photo an accurate depiction of the joy running (and winning, in this case) can bring out in someone and that is one feeling I want Race to give to the listener. Going all the way back to the 1920 Olympics it was wonderful to learn about and see photos of the great runners of the past such as Paavo Nurmi, Kip Keino, Wilma Rudolph, Jesse Owens, and Joan Beniot, all whose photos and more are used in the slide show that accompanies the performance of Race.
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The Lady Who Sailed The Soul (2006)
for Christian Howes and the Pulse Ensemble (Violin solo, Clarinet/Flute, Clarinet/English Horn, Horn, Tuba, Vibraphone, Acoustic Guitar, Violin, Viola, Cello) 12 minutes |
The composition was originally inspired by watching kites one summer afternoon in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. The soaringness and elegance of motion brought my thoughts to the concept of solar sailing. Extremely large and thin membrane mirrors that reflect starlight in order to “push” a spacecraft through the cosmos, solar sails first came into popular consciousness with the 1960 novelette, "The Lady Who Sailed The Soul" by Cordwainer Smith. Although the story concerns the legendary romance of two solar sailors, Helen America and Mr. Gray-no-more, my imagination was more intrigued by the beautiful and elegant “image of the great sails, tissue-metal wings with which the bodies of people finally fluttered out among the stars.”
While solar sailing has been mostly thought of as science-fiction (most recent examples include a Bjorian ship in an episode of Star Trek Deep Space Nine and Count Doku's ship of choice in Star Wars Episode II-Attack of the Clones), space engineers have begun to seriously explore solar sails as a way to create continual propulsion for spaceships without the need for heavy and expensive fuel. In the spring of 2005, the Planetary Society co-sponsored the launch of Cosmos 1, which was to be the first test of solar sail technology. Unfortunately, the Russian-made rocket booster failed to fire and Cosmos 1 never reached orbit and the project was lost. However, plans are being made to raise money for a second launch attempt.
The Eloquent Light (2005)
for John Abercrombie, John McNeil and the Pulse Ensemble
(Trumpet, Electric Guitar, Flute/Oboe, Clarinet/English Horn, Horn, Tuba, Vibraphone, Harp, String Quartet)
15 minutes
for John Abercrombie, John McNeil and the Pulse Ensemble
(Trumpet, Electric Guitar, Flute/Oboe, Clarinet/English Horn, Horn, Tuba, Vibraphone, Harp, String Quartet)
15 minutes
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The Spell of a Vanishing Loveliness (2004)
for Pulse Ensemble (Mezzo-Soprano Voice, Vibraphone, Electric Guitar, Cello) 8 minutes |
With three friends I was on a townhouse roof in Brooklyn early in the evening of September 11, 2001. Surveying the entire lower Manhattan cityscape for the first time, I watched as a distant flickering mass seemed to be coming closer toward us from the World Trade Center site. At first it looked like a swarm of white butterflies, glittering in the evening sun, but as it got closer we realized that it was paper floating toward us from lower Manhattan. It was a quite beautiful and ethereal sight with the swarm coming directly over us and many of the pages from law books and computer printouts, landing all around us on the roof. We all watched as the swarm passed over us and quietly continued further into Brooklyn. No more than five minutes, this small and ephemeral moment, still resonated with me three years later, as I began to write this composition. My original lyrics are inspired by a short poem by Li Po.
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Penumbra (2002)
commissioned by the Maffei Dance Company, New York City (Vibraphone, 2 Marimbas, Piano, and Tape) 23 minutes |
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Flying (2002; 2005)
commissioned by the Maffei Dance Company, New York City (Original version (2002)-Vibraphone, 2 Marimbas, Piano, and Tape) 18 minutes (Percussion Ensemble version (2005)-2 Vibraphones, 2 Marimbas, 4 Percussionists, 2 Pianos) commissioned by the St. Olaf College Percussion Ensemble, Northfield, Minnesota 18 minutes |
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Urban Sketches (1990)
1. Convergence 2. Realization 3. Contemplation 4. Exultation (Alto Saxophone and Cello) 8 minutes |
Shangre-la (For Kane) (1989)
(Soprano Voice, Alto Saxophone, Horn, Bass Trombone, Cello, Piano)
5 minutes
(Soprano Voice, Alto Saxophone, Horn, Bass Trombone, Cello, Piano)
5 minutes
Thanks and credit to all the original photos on this website to: David Andrako, Concrete Temple Theatre, Marcy Begian, Ed Lefkowicz, Donald Martinez, Kimberly McCollum, Geoff Ogle, Joseph C. Phillips Jr., Daniel Wolf-courtesy of Roulette, Andrew Robertson, Viscena Photography, Jennifer Wohrle, Carolyn Wolf. The Numinous Changing Same CD design artwork by DM Stith. Contact for photo credit and information on specific images.