Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2018 1:24 pm Post subject: R.I.P. Daniel Barkley, composer/brother/musician
Dear all,
It is hard to succinctly break this news, but it is personally relevant and devastatingly painful - I lost my brother on Thursday night and the world lost a wonderful composer and a beautiful human being.
Before I write a short paragraph on what he meant to me and who he was as a person and to share his music, let me just tell you - he fought so very hard with extreme depression and lost the battle. If you are able, please consider supporting MindWise who help people like him in Northern Ireland.
Danny's entire life was consumed by music, one of the brightest most dedicated and tireless composers and musicians I have ever met. There was nothing he didn't know about music, about any instrument and any technique or style. His entire being was music, nothing else. When he wrote music for ensembles, he learned how to play the instruments they played to try and understand how to better write for them and with me being his brother he took to brass and I bought him his first cornet.
While his first instrument was piano, on which he was exceptional, he learned at least a working knowledge - if not greater - of most stringed instruments, including period instruments such as the viol, the voice, percussion and on... there are feet deep of books on his piano, and on his shelves. This was his WORLD.
A short story - he applied to participate in a Kodály course, lasting a week, which focussed on the voice, solfège and so on. He wasn't a singer or enrolled in performance, so he had to take an entrance exam demonstrating facility in music. As part of the exam they played a 30 second excerpt of SATB - Bach or something similar - they asked him to identify any cadences in the music. He wrote out the entire example - all 4 parts, having heard it once, with 1 mistake which he profusely apologised for. Everyone was speechless. I witnessed his astonishing ability to transcribe on many many occasions. If he had a party trick - which he didn't as he wasn't the sort - it would have been to play piano in ANY style. We played musical games where I would call a composer and he would improvise in the style, and I would call another and he would seamlessly merge into the style.
He was the most gentle hearted and loyal gentleman you would ever meet, and he loved all his friends and family. When he was well he would gift us short compositions and spend hours sharing music with us - he particularly enjoyed finding examples of dissonance in classical composer's works, this was like a little treasure hunt for him. I got many messages with links or images and bars circled showing how Mozart put a minor 9th on the strong beat of a bar or how Beethoven sneaked in some parallel #4th's or something similar. It was like a child finding a hidden sweetie.
I am going to try to collate, catalogue and record all his works - which for a 28 year old is substantial - but for now I will leave you with some of his compositions.
Thank you for reading this if you have, thank you for donating if you have, and thank you for the opportunity to share with the world what a truly gifted, beautiful and loyal brother Dan was.
One of my favourite pieces he wrote was this choral work "Twas later when summer went":
This is a piece "Whirl" which he composed for my young brother (tuba). They were recording this piece, but the only audio surviving is the audio on the video recorder as the engineer deleted the session. I am SO glad we still have this as it brings me joy to hear both my brothers make such beautiful music. Andy in this video is only 13 in this video. He quit playing, but was phenomenal while he did. Drive beyond you could imagine.
I’m so sorry to hear of you loss. Somehow the most brilliant minds have such inner turmoil that I’ll never be capable of understanding and I truly wish it weren’t so.
Thank you for sharing some of his music, and I wish you and your family as much peace and calmness during your mourning as is possible.
Joined: 02 Nov 2005 Posts: 218 Location: Southern U.S.
Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 6:02 am Post subject:
Mike, I'm very sorry for your loss. It sounds like your brother was undoubtedly a person well worth knowing and his friendship was valuable to others.
You are doing a great thing by helping to ensure that his music will live on and be appreciated long past his time here on earth and hopefully you can take some comfort in knowing this. You must have been a good brother to him as well.
Joined: 26 Jun 2017 Posts: 1543 Location: Virginia USA
Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2018 8:11 pm Post subject:
Very sorry for your loss. I know such pain cannot be mitigated by his surviving music, but I am glad you have that to keep. _________________ Bb: Schilke X3L AS SP, Yamaha YTR-6335S
C: Schilke CXL, Kanstul 1510-2
Picc: Kanstul 920
Bb Bugle: Kanstul
Bb Pocket: Manchester Brass
Flugel: Taylor Standard
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Natural Tr: Custom Haas replica by Nikolai Mänttäri Morales
Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2018 5:06 am Post subject: Re: R.I.P. Daniel Barkley, composer/brother/musician
[quote="bach_again"]
Sorry for your huge loss. Sun is going to shine less brightly, nights darker, for a long time.
Listening to your brother´s music I personally hear kind of hauntingly eerie intense emotions, a giant battle with life, interfoliated with short periods of serene beautiful harmonics. Deeply touching, as was the Green Brigade, me being deeply rooted in brass band music. Such an ability to communicate through music he had, your brother!
Ambivalent to post, may sound corny, I´m just a fellow on the TH, but honestly this is what the windmills of my mind did generate.
There will be another spring. _________________ Cornets:
Getzen Custom Series Schilke 143D3/ DW Ultra 1,5 C
Getzen 300 series
Yamaha YCRD2330II
Yamaha YCR6330II
Getzen Eterna Eb
Trumpets:
Yamaha 6335 RC Schilke 14B
King Super 20 Symphony DB (1970)
Selmer Eb/D trumpet (1974)
Joined: 28 Sep 2004 Posts: 8911 Location: Orange County, CA
Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2018 9:10 am Post subject:
No words. Wishing you peace and comfort. _________________ "I'm an engineer, which means I think I know a whole bunch of stuff I really don't."
Charles J Heiden/So Cal
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