Water Bear CDs 1
Found in the archives of Tim Reppert, our bass player and sound engineer extraordinaire, the recording of this live concert held almost 20 years ago is striking for its timelessness and for the joy it evokes. The pieces Read more
Found in the archives of Tim Reppert, our bass player and sound engineer extraordinaire, the recording of this live concert held almost 20 years ago is striking for its timelessness and for the joy it evokes. The pieces are fresh and the playing is high quality! We couldn't resist releasing this material.
Our sound is a unique mixture of jazz improvisation, folk fiddling & classical styling. Each piece uses the inspiration of a mapping system to spell out a name in musical pitches, most often heard as the first part of the melody. Each Name Music piece was written with a specific person in mind, expressing some part of their personality or essence, and may also portray musical characteristics of other people with that name.
Joe Deninzon (https://joedeninzon.com/) said in June 2021:
"What an amazing blend of genres! I hear bluegrass, folk, a bit of funk, jazz, baroque influences, but it all flows together so naturally. If forced to classify, I would just call it “New American” music. Keep doing what you’re doing. This is a really fresh, original sound and the writing is excellent. Thank you so much for sharing. I genuinely enjoyed the music This is really awesome!"
Our sound is a unique mixture of jazz improvisation, folk fiddling & classical styling. Each piece uses the inspiration of a mapping system to spell out a name in musical pitches, most often heard as the first part of the melody. Each Name Music piece was written with a specific person in mind, expressing some part of their personality or essence, and may also portray musical characteristics of other people with that name.
Joe Deninzon (https://joedeninzon.com/) said in June 2021:
"What an amazing blend of genres! I hear bluegrass, folk, a bit of funk, jazz, baroque influences, but it all flows together so naturally. If forced to classify, I would just call it “New American” music. Keep doing what you’re doing. This is a really fresh, original sound and the writing is excellent. Thank you so much for sharing. I genuinely enjoyed the music This is really awesome!"
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Cameron 14:290:00/14:29
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Libby 5:390:00/5:39
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Margaret 9:400:00/9:40
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Wylatt 6:020:00/6:02
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Carolyn 6:170:00/6:17
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Carma 9:080:00/9:08
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William 5:080:00/5:08
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Hank's Prescription 5:270:00/5:27
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Bill 3:580:00/3:58
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Janice Then Jane 9:000:00/9:00
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Hamilton 3:430:00/3:43
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Kristen 6:100:00/6:10
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Ellen 5:420:00/5:42
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Rachel 8:050:00/8:05
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Ithaca 7:030:00/7:03
Recorded in May of 2006 at the First Congregational Church in Ithaca, NY. "Water Bear is the kind of music that makes you open up and breathe draughts of sunlight until you're filled up with happy" -- Libby Larsen "Mer Read more
Recorded in May of 2006 at the First Congregational Church in Ithaca, NY.
"Water Bear is the kind of music that makes you open up and breathe draughts of sunlight until you're filled up with happy" -- Libby Larsen
"Mer Boel's "name" method of writing music, in the hands of all the Water Bear folks, seems to blossom beautifully into lovely, charming and engaging music. It's quite interesting too! Thanks for the beautiful sounds." -- Darol Anger
Most of the pieces were inspired by wanting to write music for specific people in my life, and to make each piece truly unique I developed the Name Music mapping system to spell out their names in musical pitches. The series of pitches are used to create melodies, harmonies, or bass lines, or sometimes chords for the piece.
"Water Bear is the kind of music that makes you open up and breathe draughts of sunlight until you're filled up with happy" -- Libby Larsen
"Mer Boel's "name" method of writing music, in the hands of all the Water Bear folks, seems to blossom beautifully into lovely, charming and engaging music. It's quite interesting too! Thanks for the beautiful sounds." -- Darol Anger
Most of the pieces were inspired by wanting to write music for specific people in my life, and to make each piece truly unique I developed the Name Music mapping system to spell out their names in musical pitches. The series of pitches are used to create melodies, harmonies, or bass lines, or sometimes chords for the piece.
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Bridget 4:430:00/4:43
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JoanNelson 6:390:00/6:39
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Timothy 3:490:00/3:49
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Brian 5:200:00/5:20
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Sarah 4:450:00/4:45
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Sebastian 3:210:00/3:21
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Dances One 4:320:00/4:32
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Ellen 4:470:00/4:47
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Tammy 6:360:00/6:36
The original Water Bear quartet members with their inaugural debut professionally pressed CD. The Name Music pieces heard here come alive with the improvisational arrangements created on the fly for most of the pieces. Read more
The original Water Bear quartet members with their inaugural debut professionally pressed CD. The Name Music pieces heard here come alive with the improvisational arrangements created on the fly for most of the pieces. Their method: choose as you will from the written out elements of melody, harmony, and chords, or solo over the chord structure, just stick with your choice for at least 8 bars to see what develops. Usually only the starting idea might be selected -- as in "let's all start pizzicato!" as on Cameron.
We recorded all in the same room generally, but with separate microphones on each instrument. We did overdub the vocals for the most part! But otherwise the pieces emerged from multiple takes, where we could select the most striking rendition to present. Enjoy!
We recorded all in the same room generally, but with separate microphones on each instrument. We did overdub the vocals for the most part! But otherwise the pieces emerged from multiple takes, where we could select the most striking rendition to present. Enjoy!
Water Bear CDs 2
A motley collection of Name Music pieces by Mer Boel all recorded in 2000 to 2003 spanning several line-ups, with a more through-composed feel and discrete improvisation sections. Performers Mer Boel & Ruth Roland, Read more
A motley collection of Name Music pieces by Mer Boel all recorded in 2000 to 2003 spanning several line-ups, with a more through-composed feel and discrete improvisation sections. Performers Mer Boel & Ruth Roland, violins; Tim Reppert, bass; Nate Richardson, guitar (on tracks 1,3,4,5); Hank Roberts, cello (on track 2); Chris White, cello (on tracks 3, 4, 5); Bill Cowdery, piano (on tracks 4); Jeff Kirby, drums (on track 5).
Name Music pieces composed in 2000, with a mixture of trio and quartet performances. Our improvisational process involved using the written melody and harmonies either "as is" or with embellishments, or striking out into soloing, all decided in the moment. All pieces recorded in the same room, separate microphones.
Here's our release from 2007 of Name Music compositions by Mer Boel which Water Bear recorded in the years 2000 to 2002, using our signature method of improvised arrangements with a minimum of rules or guideposts. A Read more
Here's our release from 2007 of Name Music compositions by Mer Boel which Water Bear recorded in the years 2000 to 2002, using our signature method of improvised arrangements with a minimum of rules or guideposts. A mixture of trio and quartet instrumentation since some of the pieces were recorded before Tim Reppert joined us on bass. There's also one violin duet (Nancy).
Chamber Ensemble (Computer Recordings) by Mer Boel
A short chamber piece for violin, cello, bass, and piano, inspired by the serene water and joy of swimming in Cayuga Lake near Ithaca NY. I wanted to imbue this piece with action and rest, dynamism and rejuvenation, all qualities I experience swimming at the lake.
A calming and elegant piece for Alto Flute, regular Flute, Bassoon, Cello, and Double Bass.
A short, 2 minute orchestral piece composed in May 2022 to celebrate the tenderness, yearning, and outright joy that is created by the courage to try new things, go on uncharted adventures, stand up for what you believe, Read more
A short, 2 minute orchestral piece composed in May 2022 to celebrate the tenderness, yearning, and outright joy that is created by the courage to try new things, go on uncharted adventures, stand up for what you believe, and other scary endeavors we can encounter in life. Inspired by the pregnancy of my niece and her husband!
Recorded in Sibelius Ultimate, using the NotePerformer sound set with its AI-assisted features.
This piece was composed to give energy for the next phase of our soul's journey on earth in this lifetime, conveying the support and encouragement all around us, and ends with a quiet moment of connection to our inner strength and purpose.
I wrote this piece in August of 2022 to evoke the strength and character of my sister Lucy when facing challenging times. There is majesty and inspiration in how each of us handles adversity, and perhaps you'll find something about this piece that resonates with you as well.
A jubilant piece for strings and piano that builds into a joyful romp full of love and joy.
Long cascades of chordal tones build and recede, and the marimba dances around within the liquid gold, catching the glints of the sun. This 4 minute orchestral piece was inspired back in 2010 by the Liquid Mind releases Read more
Long cascades of chordal tones build and recede, and the marimba dances around within the liquid gold, catching the glints of the sun.
This 4 minute orchestral piece was inspired back in 2010 by the Liquid Mind releases by Chuck Wild, to see if I could write an orchestral score that would evoke a similar feel. But I couldn't! I wanted something to develop, to "happen"! So I added in the middle section, previously called Thirds (because the chords change by minor thirds) and decided to feature the marimba (inspired by Cayenna Ponchione).
The recording uses the dynamic AI-assisted sounds of NotePerformer to bring it to life.
Written for the wonderful sister of a dear friend, this piece celebrates the ease and happiness of her life, the flow of events unfolding beautifully and fully suported.