This web page will give you general and specific information about my composition 'Bonanza:The Musical'. Please click on each link to find information about each sections concept. The 'arrow' (if present) in each section will give you an audio excerpt. You may click on one or all of the arrows to give yourself an idea of the sound of the piece.

This web page is a way for me to present my compositional ideas. I am presenting this page as an alternative to a score or recording or a verbal explanation of the piece.

For more stuff about me try these spots:George Cartwright and GloryLand PonyCat. The world premiere performance will take place at Studio Z Zeitgeist's performance space in downtown St Paul, Minnesota

Thank you, George Cartwright

Many fine years ago I discovered that my long time pal and musical cohort Davey Williams was a writer and a painter. He wrote a play not to mention a civil war novel (too sad to finish), and a treatise on everything he didn't know about music entitled ' balg dog newt fig' recently published by the F Celine Press of early North Dakota. The play is called 'Bonanza:the Musical' and consists of the Cartwright Boys from the Bonanza tv show and their dad having a going away party for the Marlboro Man and his boys since folks don't smoke so much anymore. From there much hilarity and shotgun blasts ensues and Granny ends the long mystery of the Cartwright boys origins.

Pretty funny stuff. The concept of my composition is to have it exist as a conterpoint to the 'funny' of 'Bonanza:the Musical'. The music will envolk the idea of 1) the horrors of the world 2003 to 2009 and 2) the horrors of the world in general. In using a diffent way to compose for the live performance the Musician will hear and interpret on the fly. by using pre-recorded musics, musical 'arual' scores to be fed to the musician(s) rather than look at printed music and improvised and composed sections and improvised music generated via computer at the concert. All subject to change of course.

The ensueing film/video is to be shot by Anne Elias on a trip to the outer edges of Birmingham, Alabama of Davey reading Bonanza:The Musical in it's entirety and engulfed by the lovely and piquant country side of Alabama and it's shady and green trees (this could change). Plus visual elements from and by Anne that are to be determined as the piece proceeds.

The film/video will consist of a large screen with Davey sitting at a desk reading Bonanza:The Musical. The film/video may or may not be synched up with the spoken text portion of the piece, though some effort will be put into this. Anne will also have other video material to project in the piece which has yet to be made.

If you'd like to see some examples of Anne's work please click on the links below or go to her web site

When I discovered that Davey had written this play and that I wanted to write music to it I asked him to please record himself reading it so I could use that as a basis for the composition. Being the good pal that he is Davey proceeded to read the entire play over the phone into my answering maching over a period of two weeks. I took that and recorded it into my computer so I could have it to work with. THEN, being the good pal that he is he went into a studio in Birmingham (AL) and recorded the piece again and sent that to me. I have thus been involved with taken these two NOT syncronized elements and cutting them up and making them fit together. Needless to say this had been a fairly time comsuing process and the results are, darn good. Not perfect, but, now, who would want that? Not me brother...

Now, this pre-recorded music, so to speak pre-recorded musics, made by George eminating from asides, bits of voice, bits of guitar, bits of saxopohone (excuse the pretense please), and embrassingly synthentized sounds and MANIPULATED in the loveingly and emalgamated way of the forlorn rabbits of the cane and the pleasently played bass acounstic sounds of and by Adam Linz and Adam Linz...

This is music that only the musician(s) will hear and interprete as an 'aural score'. It may , or may not, be something the audiance hears. It will occour at various moments in the piece, most likely not pre-determined , but maybe. Can't tell yet . It will be 'fed' to them via headphones.

There will be small bits of score(s) for the musician(s) to use during the piece. The bits may be cued or the musician(s) may decide as the piece proceeds to play one or more of them..