Michael James Oberhauser
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Compositions

Click the title of the piece to read more information, look at the score, and hear a recording (where available)

Opera

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Photo by Zach Kronisch, 2014
Another Country - Chamber opera in one act (2015) - libretto by Shannon Berry. Duration: approx. 1 hour

Lear - Chamber opera in two acts (2015) - libretto adapted directly from Shakespeare. Duration: 2 hours

A Fire in Water - Chamber opera in one act (2014) - co-composed with Terry Johns. Libretto by Shannon Berry. Duration: 90 minutes.

Fallen Angels - A set of 3 short chamber operas (possibly with more to come), including:
Temptation (2012) - Libretto from several public domain sources and with original text by Shannon Berry. Duration: 18 minutes.
Lilith (2011) - Libretto from several public domain sources and with original text by Michael Oberhauser. Duration: 15 minutes.
The Name on the Door (2010) - Libretto adapted from the King James Bible and with original text by Michael Oberhauser. Duration: 15 minutes.

Magnum Opus - Chamber opera in one act (2009). Libretto by Michael Oberhauser. Duration: one hour.

Brother Fire - A miniature opera (2008). Libretto on the play by Thornton Wilder. Duration: 5 minutes.

Other Stage Music

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Once Upon a Bedtime - music for dance/pantomime, framing a production of The Goose Girl by Thomas Pasatieri (2016) - duration: 20:00
​Original text by Shannon Berry

Jekyll or Hyde - incidental music for a movement-based theater piece (2008) - duration: 20:00
Play by Stephen Bradford Lewis
Co-composed with John WV Maggi

The Ballad of Esther Tanner - a Musical (2008) - duration: 20:00
Book and Lyrics by Steve Spotswood

The Frogz - incidental and chorus music for a new play (2007)
Play and lyrics by Stephen Bradford Lewis

Art Song

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Bright Star III - a piece for voice (Bb3-Ab5) and alto saxophone. (2018) - duration: 10:00
​For Megan Ihnen & Alan Theisen Present...

"Bright Star II" - a piece for singing percussionist, or percussion and voice. (Voice rance: Bb3-Bb4) (2017) - duration: 4:15
For Colleen Phelps

​"i would like to be the air" - a wordless lullaby for solo, unaccompanied voice (C4-E5) (2017) - duration: 2:45
Commissioned by Megan Ihnen

​"Hudson Valley Autumn" - for voice (D4-G5) and Piano (2016) - duration: 4:15
Poem by Shannon Berry

Love is Not the Last Room - for four solo soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone and Piano (2011) - duration: 35:00
Various Poets
     -1. Introduction - Soprano - (Yehuda Amichai) - 0:45
     -2. On Pilgrimage - Baritone - (Laurence Hope) - 3:30
     -3. De Profundis - Mezzo-Soprano - (Charles Hamilton Musgrove) - 2:15
     -4. Interlude 1 - Soprano and Mezzo-Soprano - (Yehuda Amichai) - 0:45
     -5. Singers - Tenor - (Unknown) - 1:15
     -6. Oh, Every Day that Dawns - Soprano (David Belasco) - 2:00
     -7. An Empty Crib - Mezzo-Soprano (Ella Wheeler Wilcox) - 4:00
     -8. Interlude 2 - Mezzo-Soprano and Tenor - (Yehuda Amichai) - 1:15
     -9. Chloris and Fanny - Baritone - (Thomas Moore) - 1:30
     -10. When I Would Muse in Boyhood - Tenor - (Alfred Edward Housman) - 2:30
     -11. To One Away - Soprano (Sara Teasdale) - 1:15
     -12. Interlude 3 - Soprano, Tenor, and Baritone (Yehuda Amichai) - 0:45
     -13. The Floor - Mezzo-Soprano - (Oliver Herford) - 1:15
     -14. I Thought I was Not Alone - Baritone - (Walt Whitman) - 2:00
     -15. The Cross of Snow - Tenor - (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) - 3:00
     -16. Interlude 4 - Mezzo-Soprano, Tenor, and Baritone (Yehuda Amichai) - 0:45
     -17. Good Night - Soprano - (Richard La Gallienne) - 3:00
     -18. Near the Wall of a House - Quartet - (Yehuda Amichai) - 2:30

"Heaven-haven: A Nun Takes the Veil" - for voice (Bb3-Bb4, C4-C5, or Eb4-Eb5) and piano (2007) - duration: 1:00
Poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins

The Brontë Songs - for voice and piano (2006) - duration: 13:00
Poems by Anne and Emily Brontë
     - I. My Soul is Awakened - 2:45 (C4-E5)
     - II. The Sun Has Set - 2:45 (B3-B4)
     - III. The Night - 1:30 (C4-D5)
     - IV. If Grief for Grief can Touch Thee - 3:00 (B3-D5)
     - V. 'Tis Moonlight - 1:45 (A3-B4)

"Too Solemn for Day, Too Sweet for Night" - for voice (D4-G5) and piano (2005) - duration: 3:00
Poem by William Sydney Walker
Commissioned by Michelle Cha

Orchestral

Necromancer's Dance - 2fl, 2ob, 2cl, 2bsn, 4hn, 2tpt, 2tbn, tba, 3perc(timp, sus cym, snare, bd, mba, glock), vlnI, vlnII, vla, vcl, bs

Chamber/Solo Instrumental

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Bright Star III - a piece for mezzo-soprano and alto saxophone. (2018) - duration: 10:00
​For Megan Ihnen & Alan Theisen Present...

​"Bright Star II" - for singing percussionist or voice and percussionist (2017) - duration: 4:15
​For Colleen Phelps

Woodwind Quartet - for flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon (2015)

sister to the flame - for clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, percussion, violin, and double bass. (2013)

365 Project - for piano or string quartet (2011) - duration: 15:00
     - I. Summer
     - II. Autumn
     - III. Winter
     - IV. Spring

Four Poems - for flute, percussion, and viola (2010) - duration: 16:00
     - I. Sonnet - 2:00
     - II. Limerick - 1:00
     - III. Haiku (also an arrangement for flute, piano, and viola) - 5:00
     - IV. Free Verse (also an arrangement for flute, piano, and viola) - 8:00

Little Woodwind Pieces - for Flute I, Flute II/Alto Flute, Oboe, Clarinet in Bb I, Bass Clarinet or Clarinet in Bb II, and Piano (2006) - duration: 6:15

Cogito Ergo Sum - for Piano (2005) - duration: 2:15

Choral

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Bright Star, or The Transept of Venus: June 5, 2012 - for chorus SSAATTBB and vibraphone (2013) - duration: 6:00
Text by Shannon Berry

Missa Brevis - for SATB a cappella chorus - (2012)
     -I. Kyrie - 3:00
     -II. Gloria - 3:00
     -III. Sanctus
     -IV. Agnus Dei

Revelation - Cantata for Soloists, Chorus, and Piano (2006) - duration: 30:00
Text from the Bible

     -I. Prologue - Chorus - 2:00
     -II. God and the Lamb in Heaven - Soloists and Chorus - 4:45
     -III. The Seven Seals - Soloists and Chorus - 5:00
     -IV. The Seal of God - Chorus - 1:30
     -V. The Seven Trumpets - Soloists and Chorus - 4:30
     -VI. The Woman and the Dragon - Soloists and Chorus - 4:00
     -VII. The Beasts - Chorus - 2:30
     -VIII. The Three Angels and the Spirit - Soloists - 1:45
     -IX. The Victory Song - Soloists and Chorus - 1:45
     -X. The New Creation - Soloists and Chorus - 2:00