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Charles Gayle: Spectrum Charles Gayle: Works

Charles Gayle: Spectrum

Charles Gayle: Spectrum

Spectrum is a broad overview of Gayle's music, spanning more than thirty years, including the rise of electronics in music production. From hand-written scores handed off to musicians in the 1970s, to computer-sequenced hardware sound banks in the 1990s, to fully computer generated sound in the 2000s, he adopted the new tools as they became available, and adapted to the changing realities of music production. Beyond demo disks and samples handed out to friends and family, none of this music has previously been made available to the public.

Gayle dedicated the work Overture to Unframe to the organ donor whose lung let him continue to create: "Dedicated to the organ donor who gave me the gift of life and the chance to live another day. Today, years after my transplant, I offer my music as an expression of gratitude. This is music that, without your kindness and generosity, would never have been written."

Track Listing

  1. Children Playing (1:11) [MP3]
  2. Sunroom Pirouettes (1:54) [MP3]
  3. Overture to Unframe (8:18) [MP3]
  4. Amanda's New Dress (1:26) [MP3]
  5. Avocadoes Won My Heart (2:09) [MP3]
  6. Ellis (2:22) [MP3]
  7. Cleveland's Day Off (1:16) [MP3]
  8. Bicycles (2:37) [MP3]
  9. Chasing Butterflies (2:04) [MP3]
  10. Another Year (14:11) [MP3]
  11. Waiting For You (2:22) [MP3]
  12. Peaks of Otter (4:45) [MP3]
  13. Canon: Landscape with Hills (2:12) [MP3]
  14. Marissa (9:10) [MP3]
  15. The Wikipedia Variations (2:05) [MP3]
  16. Danse (3:17) [MP3]
  17. Hymn for Grandma Griffin (2:01) [MP3]
  18. Square Blue (3:11) [MP3]
  19. Music Box (1:33) [MP3]

Total time: 68:04

UPC: 191091544754

Buy Charles Gayle: Spectrum on Amazon: No longer available

View the score of Overture to Unframe (PDF).

About the Composer

Charles Irving Gayle (1949-2011) was an American musician and composer. One of six brothers, he grew up between Sandston and Bottoms Bridge, eastern suburbs of Richmond Virginia. At 16, he joined the Richmond Symphony playing French Horn. He graduated from Randolph-Macon College, then served in the US Air Force. In the 1980s, after his service, he earned a Master's degree in Music Theory and Composition from Virginia Commonwealth University while managing the VCU Performing Arts Center. This was an important and productive time for him as a composer. After his separation from VCU in the mid-1990s, he worked for Tower Records, and then Colonial Downs as A/V manager.

In 2000 Gayle was diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis, a terminal lung disease. On 1 May 2001 he received a lung transplant that gave him nearly ten more years of life. Despite his compromised health, changed lifestyle, and the constant medical issues, he composed prolifically during his post-transplant years. He dedicated the work Overture to Unframe to the organ donor whose lung let him continue to create.

Sincere thanks to the organ donor whose lung allowed my father to continue to create. Without their generosity, much of this music would not exist.

Works

The listing of Charles Gayle's works has moved to [HERE]. Many of the compositions are available to listen for free, look for the [MP3] tag in each entry.

Copyright Statement: I, Benjamin Gayle, am the owner of rights to all material posted here. Visitors to this site are encouraged to download and listen to the music. For any other use (commercial, public performance, etc.), please contact me.

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