The classic tag-line attributed to listeners of indie music-- "You've probably never heard of them." Want more hipster fodder? Have I got a gem for you. Henry Stewart is a recent graduate in music composition from Goshen College, a college so small you've probably never heard of it. Lest this put you off his music chops, this guy composed a piece for a competition in London, for which he placed in the top three, and got the Villiers quartet (yes that Villiers quartet) to perform it, by his sophomore year. (proof: http://record.goshen.edu/2013/11/28682-villiers-quartet-visits-goshen-performs-student-composition ). Stewart doesn't compose classically for the piano or orchestra, though. He samples, he mixes, he computers. To whit; he's a hip cat. More relevantly, he knows what he wants to write about: Sad things. As an avid fan of the ilk of Los Campesinos! and Why? and We Were Promised Jetpacks, I've listened to a lot of angsty music, a lot of music that focuses on death and the inevitable tragedy of the human condition, while sounding really good. Stewart fits in with this company admirably, with a particular emphasis on programmatic composition, that, in the words of one listener "makes me want to just step onto the tracks and wait for a train to come take my life away, but in a good way." I'll let you judge for yourself, and so, without further ado, here is the contents of Henry Stewart's senior recital, for the low, low price of free:
https://soundcloud.com/henry-breneman-stewart/sets/senior-recital-april-25-2014
Full disclosure: I go to Goshen College. I know Henry Stewart. He's a pretty solid human being. That said, I really do value his music for the value it brings to my life apart from all of that-- I don't often listen to this sort of genre, but this stuff makes you feel.
-Peter
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