Erik-Peter Mortensen
My Garden of Joy03:17

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Dear friends and influencers! This is my 4th newsletter, Thanksgiving edition, and in a fairly brief time on NM1 you have shown incredible support for my music! Here are some highlights since the 3rd newsletter: I’ve added 10 new songs since the last issue, and thanks your amazing support, 9 of them have moved up drastically in the charts to join my other primarily classically influenced tracks in the NY classical charts - and my songs have SWEPT NY classical chart positions 1-25! Three tracks have swept 1-3 for global classical charts and 18 tracks are in the top 30! Seventeen songs are in the top 50 in NY charts for all genres. :-) Here are the track names and chart positions for NY Classical - if you haven’t heard one of these, I’d be honored if you gave it a listen! 1. Fugue in C#-O Say Can you See-Electric Guitar Ensemble * 2. Fugue in G#-My Country Tis of Thee-Harpsichord Mix * 3. The Cockroach Hunt * 4. Jupiter and Europa 5. Fugue in bm-Gilligan’s Island-Guitar Quartet 6. Blue Skies 7. Divertimento in E 8. Hero’s Quest 9. Verleih uns Frieden 10. Forged by Fire * 11. Fugue in cim-The Munsters-Harpsichord Mix * 12. A New Road * 13. Tancredi Mourning at the Tomb of Clorinda 14. Ingrediente Domino 15. Fughetta on a Theme by Harry Potter 16. Journey of the Spirit 17. Journey at Dawn * 18. Magnificat Octavi Toni 19. Techno’cally Baroq’en 20. Transformation Adagio 21. Dragon Song 22. Crusade of the Battledragons 23. Nico’s Waltz 24. A Stroll in the Garden with Amadeus 25. Concerto in C for Harpsichord-Allegro Some of my non-classical music has also hit the charts in a big way! We Sing for You * (#1 in NY, US and Global Charts for A Capella) Whispers in the Night * (# 1 in NY, #10 in US and #19 in Global Charts for Singer/Songwriter) Я вас любил-I Loved You Once-EDM from Russia (#1 in NY, and #2 in US and Global Charts for World) Ave Verum Corpus-EDM/Renaissance/World Mix (# 1 in NY, #2 in US and #3 in Global Charts for Singer/Songwriter) Here’s some info on my newly posted songs! Three fugues from my “Bach to the Future” concept album Fugue in C#-O Say Can you See-Electric Guitar Ensemble Fugue in G#-My Country Tis of Thee-Harpsichord Mix Fugue in cim-The Munsters-Harpsichord Mix These 3 DEMO’s are a part of my evolving Bach to the Future Collection! The Fugue subjects in this collection, as well as many countermelodies are based on very popular tunes from hymns, songs, nursery rhymes, and TV/Film themes. (I released the “O Say Can You See” and “My Country Tis of Thee”, both National Hymns specifically to coincide appropriately with Thanksgiving Weekend). As you can hear, these 4-5 part instrumentals completely transforms the melodies into a stylistically accurate Baroque fugue (hopefully) in the style of J.S. Bach! There are three purposes of this collection: 1. To make you laugh, once you recognize the popular melody! 2. To illustrate to those less familiar with it what a fugue form is. By having a familiar melody as the fugue “subject”, it's much clearer to track how all the parts work together and you can hear each voice weaving in and out clearly. 3. Simply to be a great piece of music for the sake of its own beauty, a masterful fugue in the style of the inspiring Bach! For any talented guitarists, instrumentalists or keyboardists who are reading this, I'd love to create the complete collection of my 24 fugues in many versions: as a guitar ensemble version, chamber ensemble, 2 organs and/or pianos, even electronica! I also see YouTube videos of these fugues split into 4 screens (one for each part being played) going viral! If any musicians are interested in participating in this project please send me a direct message! I think we do can all the collaboration over the Internet and Dropbox these days! We Sing for You This a cappella crossover track was written for a short film I composed called “The Fall of Camelot”. It’s for the death scene of Queen Guenevier with Sir Lancelot weeping over her and carrying her body in a funeral procession. Whispers in the Night This track was written for my class at Berklee for Songwriting for Film and TV. We were given a scene from Grey’s Anatomy to score, where a drowning woman recalls all her memories and dreams, both fulfilled and unfulfilled. The Cockroach Hunt Also written for a Berklee class in Orchestration for Film and TV, the setting is a scene from “Raising Helen” where a group of friends begins a jolly gathering in Helen’s 1st NY apartment, only to be traumatized by a cockroach scurrying over her feet! Eventually the poor bug is chased and squashed by Helen’s 12 year old nephew - who used her Gucci Bag - a housewarming gift - as the murder weapon! You’ll notice this at the end of the track when the lively music comes to a crashing halt - and then a funeral like dirge is played to honor the deceased! Forged by Fire Also written at Berklee, this was an exercise in combining orchestral and electronic instruments to create a hybrid track. You may notice my lead is an electrified solo violin! A New Road Music and lyrics by me in the style of John Dowland for a girl I had a crush on! She had gone through a bad breakup and I was offering myself as a “New Road” lol! Rise up, the morning breaks! Our journey now prepare! Haste, haste, the dark restores our vigor sweet. Before us lie two paths that meet, An ever-winding road of delight. I entreat you lady fair! All others bid farewell. Bid them a kind adieu. Each heart that longs for another heart divine, To live a life far sweeter than wine, Must travel with a soul most true, And mine is one with you! Our journey now begins, The sun shines on our way, The birds with their melodious voice now sing, The flowers with their fragrant buds now spring, Two hearts upon the course of love Now swing in glorious sway! Journey at Dawn Written for Orchestration class at Berklee, this has the same vibe as my more meaty “Journey of the Spirit”. The opening melody was given to us as a requirement for inclusion. I started with tremolo strings and then developed the concept into a Baroque style Adagio and envisioned a group of Hobbits starting out on a long journey through the forest. :-) My Garden of Joy I must be a hopeless romantic as I wrote this for another girl I had a crush on, again in the style of Dowland! Didn’t get the girl so maybe I should have written a heavy metal track instead, lol. Maybe one day, someone will visit and stay in my garden! This song was just added so it’s too new to be on the charts. :-) Fairest Larissa, yon beauteous light Fills the dales and meadows with bliss and delight. Each morn the birds do sing and chant 'mongst flow'ring trees, No cares betide on Zephyr's gentle breeze. Though for such beauty I have thirsted e'er, 'Tis lacking yet one precious treasure rare. Wherefore art thou my cherished Muse? Thou could'st yet my longing heart with hope infuse! My heart prepareth a bastion for thee. 'Gainst the gale of life's rigor my care shall set thee free. No grief shall prevail in my garden's sheltring love. Joy's radiant rays will grace thee from above. All other riches I but seek in vain. 'Tis life with thee my happiness shall gain. Banish the clouds of lovelorn shade. Pipe and dance within my sweet Ambrosian glade! I plan to keep adding at least 1 or 2 tracks every week for your enjoyment and I'm always excited to receive feedback from you so I encourage you to send me a note on anything you'd like to talk about! I promise I'll do my best to respond to every message. :-). Expect to hear a lot more Christmas related music from me in the next issue or two! God Bless and Happy Listening! EP