... or you could say "lack of."
As of today, that isn't entirely true. I've been trying to get some notes down on paper, and while I have a few, I wasn't really happy about any until today.
Yay!
Not so fast. That may may mean discarding everything that I've done before today. It's not a huge amount, but I hate to do that. I'm still rather unmotivated. After coming up with the new material today, I plinked around on the piano and was satisfied. It had a sound world that I was comfortable with. I took Jenny to work, did my workout at the gym, and then I was back in procrastination mode.
What is going to make this piece difficult - and what has made it difficult so far - is that I am using 5 and seven note sets, but I only have a tenor sax and a string quartet, i.e. 5 instruments. Of course, I can use double-stops in the strings and not use the entire set in the chords. It just leaves me the choice of what notes not to use: which notes can I drop from the chord without losing the color of the set. It's not that difficult in the 5 note set in the string quartet context. As long as I keep D and F#, I can use any two of the other notes and still get the flavor of the chord. If I think of the 7-note set as two chords, I can use either as 3-note chords and add one from the other, of two notes from each of the chords, to get the polychord flavor.
I also have 17-note row, which distills into a 12-note row - D# and D can appear in multiple positions. I haven't decided whether I'll use permutations of the 17-note version, or just the 12-note one, and leave the 17-note one as a melodic outline.
Formally, I'm leaning towards a similar pattern to Labyrinth (and the sketches for Sym. No 4) which is 3 main movements separated by two free interludes.
My plan looks like this:
I. Slow and dark
II. Interlude - free (Ten. sax and one other instrument)
III. Free - fast fragments darting here and there
IV. Interlude 2 - free (Ten. sax and a different instrument or two)
V. Fast irregular rhythms
It may all change, of course. BTW, I didn't like my original material because it was too dissonant, and the sets were too similar. Sometimes with all that dissonance, you need some pure consonant intervals to clear the air. There was a perfect 5th in each, but the rest of the sets held a preponderance of semitones, and I kept being forced to use tritones from one of the notes of the P5.
That's probably too much information for most of you. Needless, to say. I've found the material, so now I need to excavate the piece from it. I think coming up with a title would help, but I don't have it yet.
Monday, May 20, 2019
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
News
Wow, it's almost April, and I've been silent. Part of that has been due to a very large - huge - typesetting job, an opera, which consumed me from before Christmas until a couple of weeks ago. The little time I had was devoted to preparing for the classes I am teaching. Now I feel like I have some time to devote to my true calling.
One of the things that has happened during this period, and it happened only Monday of this week, is that a new version of Paradiso has been chosen to be premiered at the College Music Society National Conference in Louisville on Oct. 24. So what is this new version and when did I have time to write it? When I saw the call for scores, I thought that maybe that the time was ripe for a premiere of the original version for chamber orchestra. The 12' time limit meant that Chaos and Symphony No 3 were out of the question, and after I decided to go for it, I realized that the available orchestra didn't include soprano saxophone, piano, nor harp. Annoying, yes, but I had already arranged it for sinfonietta, without harp or sax, so why not include piano and put a few things back in that I'd removed for the sinfonietta version. I got to the ending, which I needed to change anyway after the performance of the sinfonietta version, and found that it didn't work as it was without piano, so I made a major change, adding two bars to the ending to make it work. That doesn't sound major, but it involved changing the meaning of the ending in my head. I still have to decide whether to go back and change the other versions.
Aside from that, I need to get down to writing my tenor sax piece (tenor and string quartet). I've started and stopped several times, in some cases even short of writing things down. I really need to start keeping a composing journal again - a paper one. At least I could remember some of the fleeting ideas I had for it.
What else? I want to write 3 more movements to add to The Black Pool. It's the water movement of an Earth, Air, Fire, Water piece. The plan is to make them all around 2 minutes long and orchestrate them each in (or after) a style of a different composer, without actually copying the compositional style. Air was going to be Webern, Fire possibly Stravinsky, and Earth Lutoslawski, although my orchestration isn't far from his anyway.
I might also write a few more movements to Temps (cl, vl, vc, pf). There is a solo clarinet movement and Time Knot already finished, and I might borrow a movement or two from Labyrinth, since it is the same harmonic material, probably the second. I was also thinking of the third, but I'm not sure it would work with this ensemble.
A Mighty Fortress is still on the back burner, and the last movement of Night Visions is still a pipe dream. With the assistance of my Advanced Music Engraving class, I have also created a version of Chaos for sinfonietta, which I'm hoping to get a performance for, in the near future.
Well, that's all for now. Time to cook some dinner.
One of the things that has happened during this period, and it happened only Monday of this week, is that a new version of Paradiso has been chosen to be premiered at the College Music Society National Conference in Louisville on Oct. 24. So what is this new version and when did I have time to write it? When I saw the call for scores, I thought that maybe that the time was ripe for a premiere of the original version for chamber orchestra. The 12' time limit meant that Chaos and Symphony No 3 were out of the question, and after I decided to go for it, I realized that the available orchestra didn't include soprano saxophone, piano, nor harp. Annoying, yes, but I had already arranged it for sinfonietta, without harp or sax, so why not include piano and put a few things back in that I'd removed for the sinfonietta version. I got to the ending, which I needed to change anyway after the performance of the sinfonietta version, and found that it didn't work as it was without piano, so I made a major change, adding two bars to the ending to make it work. That doesn't sound major, but it involved changing the meaning of the ending in my head. I still have to decide whether to go back and change the other versions.
Aside from that, I need to get down to writing my tenor sax piece (tenor and string quartet). I've started and stopped several times, in some cases even short of writing things down. I really need to start keeping a composing journal again - a paper one. At least I could remember some of the fleeting ideas I had for it.
What else? I want to write 3 more movements to add to The Black Pool. It's the water movement of an Earth, Air, Fire, Water piece. The plan is to make them all around 2 minutes long and orchestrate them each in (or after) a style of a different composer, without actually copying the compositional style. Air was going to be Webern, Fire possibly Stravinsky, and Earth Lutoslawski, although my orchestration isn't far from his anyway.
I might also write a few more movements to Temps (cl, vl, vc, pf). There is a solo clarinet movement and Time Knot already finished, and I might borrow a movement or two from Labyrinth, since it is the same harmonic material, probably the second. I was also thinking of the third, but I'm not sure it would work with this ensemble.
A Mighty Fortress is still on the back burner, and the last movement of Night Visions is still a pipe dream. With the assistance of my Advanced Music Engraving class, I have also created a version of Chaos for sinfonietta, which I'm hoping to get a performance for, in the near future.
Well, that's all for now. Time to cook some dinner.
Sunday, December 2, 2018
Procrastinating
My last post was around the time of my concert at CCM. It went well. The recordings are now all on YouTube.com. If you want the full concert, listen to them in this order:
Remembering the Night Sky
Labyrinth
From Her Husband's Hand
Meanwhile, I've been teaching and setting a new arrangement of Paradiso for orchestra. It's similar to the unperformed original version, but I needed to remove the piano and soprano saxophone. I had already removed the harp in the two smaller versions, but I was able to reinstate the tuba part. Like the original, this version is essentially for chamber orchestra, rather than sinfonietta.
Coming up, I am still working on the piece for Tenor Sax and string quartet. At one point, I had a name for it, but I never wrote it down, and I've since lost that train of thought. Maybe it will come back to me.
During the next few months, I'll be setting parts for an opera (not mine), so composing time will be hard to come by. I've had some more thoughts on the wind ensemble piece and Temps. I still have a desire to write my 4th symphony and another piano concerto (a real concerto this time), but I'm hesitant to start on either before I have a sniff of a performance, or a performance of Sym. No 3 or Chaos.
And, of course, there is that two minutes of Bass Trombone Concerto or Concertino that is waiting to be continued.
I'm supposed to be working on that opera, so I guess I need to get back to it...
Remembering the Night Sky
Labyrinth
From Her Husband's Hand
Meanwhile, I've been teaching and setting a new arrangement of Paradiso for orchestra. It's similar to the unperformed original version, but I needed to remove the piano and soprano saxophone. I had already removed the harp in the two smaller versions, but I was able to reinstate the tuba part. Like the original, this version is essentially for chamber orchestra, rather than sinfonietta.
Coming up, I am still working on the piece for Tenor Sax and string quartet. At one point, I had a name for it, but I never wrote it down, and I've since lost that train of thought. Maybe it will come back to me.
During the next few months, I'll be setting parts for an opera (not mine), so composing time will be hard to come by. I've had some more thoughts on the wind ensemble piece and Temps. I still have a desire to write my 4th symphony and another piano concerto (a real concerto this time), but I'm hesitant to start on either before I have a sniff of a performance, or a performance of Sym. No 3 or Chaos.
And, of course, there is that two minutes of Bass Trombone Concerto or Concertino that is waiting to be continued.
I'm supposed to be working on that opera, so I guess I need to get back to it...
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
I hadn't realized that it's been so long ...
Lots has happened since my last post. Self-funding a recording is currently off the cards, for non-musical reasons which I won't go into. I'm still thinking about it, but I'll need to find considerable funding before I can take the plunge.
I have a faculty recital scheduled for Sept. 30 at 4 pm in the Werner Recital Hall at CCM (University of Cincinnati). Featured on the program will be a new chamber version of From Her Husband's Hand, with Diane Hunger on Alto Sax. She will also play the chamber version of Remembering the Night Sky. These two works will be split by Labyrinth, which was recorded last January by the Society for New Music. I made the first edits during the summer, and I look forward to hearing the rough cut.
I recently discovered NotePerformer3 and have made good quality audio files of Symphony No. 3 and Chaos. Although there are some minor balance issues (software related, I think), both recordings sound almost real at times. I've also embarked on a revision of Symphony No. 1, basically to take away the embarrassing bits in the third movement and clean up some other spots that sound a little square. I don't know if it will ever be as good as the second or third symphonies, but I there are some good things in it which deserve to be heard. It should sound pretty good in NotePerformer, since there isn't anything unusual in it, like aleatorics. FWIW, Dystopian Sunset sounds really good, too, except for the "Clouds" which seem to no longer be a 1/4-tone after the first cloud. I don't know why it resets and I can't seem to un-reset it. The balance between the two ensembles is wrong, too. Again, I can't seem to adjust it.
I've got a few projects on: a piece for Tenor Sax and string quartet for Diane Hunger. I'm not entirely sure about another project. I have some piano concerto sketches and more symphonic sketches, one of them being part of the piano concerto, before the piano comes in. It may be two pieces, a second piano concerto and Sym. No. 4 (or a concerto for orchestra), since I'm not sure the material goes together.
I must go teach now, so I'll post more when I have time.
I have a faculty recital scheduled for Sept. 30 at 4 pm in the Werner Recital Hall at CCM (University of Cincinnati). Featured on the program will be a new chamber version of From Her Husband's Hand, with Diane Hunger on Alto Sax. She will also play the chamber version of Remembering the Night Sky. These two works will be split by Labyrinth, which was recorded last January by the Society for New Music. I made the first edits during the summer, and I look forward to hearing the rough cut.
I recently discovered NotePerformer3 and have made good quality audio files of Symphony No. 3 and Chaos. Although there are some minor balance issues (software related, I think), both recordings sound almost real at times. I've also embarked on a revision of Symphony No. 1, basically to take away the embarrassing bits in the third movement and clean up some other spots that sound a little square. I don't know if it will ever be as good as the second or third symphonies, but I there are some good things in it which deserve to be heard. It should sound pretty good in NotePerformer, since there isn't anything unusual in it, like aleatorics. FWIW, Dystopian Sunset sounds really good, too, except for the "Clouds" which seem to no longer be a 1/4-tone after the first cloud. I don't know why it resets and I can't seem to un-reset it. The balance between the two ensembles is wrong, too. Again, I can't seem to adjust it.
I've got a few projects on: a piece for Tenor Sax and string quartet for Diane Hunger. I'm not entirely sure about another project. I have some piano concerto sketches and more symphonic sketches, one of them being part of the piano concerto, before the piano comes in. It may be two pieces, a second piano concerto and Sym. No. 4 (or a concerto for orchestra), since I'm not sure the material goes together.
I must go teach now, so I'll post more when I have time.
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
State of play
I did finally pull the plug on a recording of Inner Sanctum, however I'm still negotiating with them. We discussed briefly a recording of Oyre's Garden, but that is an old piece, and I'm not sure an 8 minute piece on a compilation is good value for money with where I am at now.
As I am known mostly for my saxophone music, we are now discussing a recording of From Her Husband's Hand. There are a lot of things still up in the air on it, but I'm awaiting their proposal. Then comes the ugly task of financing it. Some of that will depend on who performs it and where. So far, our discussions have included at least one live performance (on a regular concert) along with the recording. It would still be a compilation, but the piece is more substantial and about twice as long. And it will probably cost more.
Any recommendations on crowdfunding sources?
Aside from that, composing ...
I think my next piece will be a short orchestral work - and I mean really short - for a small competition. I've been wanting to write for orchestra, so this might be a way back in. There is no money or even a performance in it, but I have an idea, so I might give it a go. The contest theme is the Elements. Mine will be water. I've got a sound world in my head, and a tentative title: The Black Pool. (Not to be confused with the city of Blackpool in England.) It may eventually become something larger, and that probably means it won't win the competition.
After that, I don't know. I would like to write some piano music, but I may arrange From Her Husband's Hand for the same size ensemble as Remembering the Night Sky to increase the performance possibilities. Otherwise, I seem to have ground to a halt. I'm just way too busy with teaching and typesetting work.
I still have a recording session coming up in Syracuse - Labyrinth - followed by another performance of it on Feb. 16. Half the ensemble is different from last time, so we will see how that goes. I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it to the rehearsal before the recording session. (That would mean flying out and back on the same day.)
Well, that is where things stand now.
As I am known mostly for my saxophone music, we are now discussing a recording of From Her Husband's Hand. There are a lot of things still up in the air on it, but I'm awaiting their proposal. Then comes the ugly task of financing it. Some of that will depend on who performs it and where. So far, our discussions have included at least one live performance (on a regular concert) along with the recording. It would still be a compilation, but the piece is more substantial and about twice as long. And it will probably cost more.
Any recommendations on crowdfunding sources?
Aside from that, composing ...
I think my next piece will be a short orchestral work - and I mean really short - for a small competition. I've been wanting to write for orchestra, so this might be a way back in. There is no money or even a performance in it, but I have an idea, so I might give it a go. The contest theme is the Elements. Mine will be water. I've got a sound world in my head, and a tentative title: The Black Pool. (Not to be confused with the city of Blackpool in England.) It may eventually become something larger, and that probably means it won't win the competition.
After that, I don't know. I would like to write some piano music, but I may arrange From Her Husband's Hand for the same size ensemble as Remembering the Night Sky to increase the performance possibilities. Otherwise, I seem to have ground to a halt. I'm just way too busy with teaching and typesetting work.
I still have a recording session coming up in Syracuse - Labyrinth - followed by another performance of it on Feb. 16. Half the ensemble is different from last time, so we will see how that goes. I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it to the rehearsal before the recording session. (That would mean flying out and back on the same day.)
Well, that is where things stand now.
Sunday, November 26, 2017
Starting over
Well, it's another holiday season, and I'm back to square one.
I've come to the conclusion that the recording project is a non-starter. The contribution they want from me is eye-watering. If I'm going to spend that much, I want top billing and more control over the performing forces. FWIW, they wanted to record Inner Sanctum, which would have been nice. I haven't shut the door yet, but that kind of contribution is more for a twenty-something still trying to make their way and become known. For me, the optics of funding my own recording (one of several works on a compilation) don't work. I will never earn back the money invested. I would have to sell upwards of 2000 copies. That won't happen unless it wins a big award. (Possibly even if it does.)
On the other hand, the SNM will record Labyrinth in February on a bigger label, and without a financial investment on my part. It may take five years before it is released, but that is out of my hands.
That said, I'm still in touch with the other company and may consider a disc of only my music. That would be a considerable investment, however, they say that an orchestral recording might be a better value for me, since they would do it overseas. It could be two symphonies, or a symphony and a concerto. It would, however, allow me some time to raise the money, whereas they would want the initial payment for the other recording before I had a chance to begin raising the rest of the money. I wouldn't want to get locked into paying for something I can't afford.
As far as composing is concerned, I've given up on the bass trombone concerto. I may still finish it, but I don't like the proposed length (6-8 min), and I think I would rather write it for tenor trombone, ideally with orchestra, unless someone wants to pay a commission for it. I've got a good two minutes for bass trombone and trombone octet, but it really projects to a larger work.
I was also going to submit my Symphony No 3 for something, but I've decided that the intended orchestra probably wasn't up to it.
I'm also still considering a wind ensemble piece, but I'm not feeling very inspired about it. I've had a few spring performances of other things fall through, and I just wonder if I should write some chamber music instead, possible more of Temps.
A commission would focus the mind. Any takers?
I've come to the conclusion that the recording project is a non-starter. The contribution they want from me is eye-watering. If I'm going to spend that much, I want top billing and more control over the performing forces. FWIW, they wanted to record Inner Sanctum, which would have been nice. I haven't shut the door yet, but that kind of contribution is more for a twenty-something still trying to make their way and become known. For me, the optics of funding my own recording (one of several works on a compilation) don't work. I will never earn back the money invested. I would have to sell upwards of 2000 copies. That won't happen unless it wins a big award. (Possibly even if it does.)
On the other hand, the SNM will record Labyrinth in February on a bigger label, and without a financial investment on my part. It may take five years before it is released, but that is out of my hands.
That said, I'm still in touch with the other company and may consider a disc of only my music. That would be a considerable investment, however, they say that an orchestral recording might be a better value for me, since they would do it overseas. It could be two symphonies, or a symphony and a concerto. It would, however, allow me some time to raise the money, whereas they would want the initial payment for the other recording before I had a chance to begin raising the rest of the money. I wouldn't want to get locked into paying for something I can't afford.
As far as composing is concerned, I've given up on the bass trombone concerto. I may still finish it, but I don't like the proposed length (6-8 min), and I think I would rather write it for tenor trombone, ideally with orchestra, unless someone wants to pay a commission for it. I've got a good two minutes for bass trombone and trombone octet, but it really projects to a larger work.
I was also going to submit my Symphony No 3 for something, but I've decided that the intended orchestra probably wasn't up to it.
I'm also still considering a wind ensemble piece, but I'm not feeling very inspired about it. I've had a few spring performances of other things fall through, and I just wonder if I should write some chamber music instead, possible more of Temps.
A commission would focus the mind. Any takers?
Monday, October 23, 2017
Kick-start revisited
I have been applying for a number of calls for scores, and one responded to me last week. I still haven't spoken to the project coordinator, but they want to record one or two of my pieces. The only catch is that I will have to contribute towards costs. They appear very interested, since their deadline isn't until November, but they were impressed enough that they contacted me right away (within two days of applying).
Saying that, they may treat all projects that way, putting out a call for scores and then telling everyone they like their work, until someone bites and plunks down the cash. I've looked for horror stories about them on the internet, but haven't found any, so they appear legit. They have over 300 records out, apparently, and record under 3 labels, all of which are distributed by Naxos.
I'm sure the cost will be huge, even if I am sharing it with other composers on the disc. What I don't know is if I'll be sharing it with the feature performers who were the originators of the call.
In any case, I'll need to apply for some grants, and then initiate a kick-starter (or equivalent) campaign, once I have an idea of the costs. Anyone have a preference? Kickstarter, GoFundMe, others? I've found a number of grant options. I just need to get some figures first.
Saying that, they may treat all projects that way, putting out a call for scores and then telling everyone they like their work, until someone bites and plunks down the cash. I've looked for horror stories about them on the internet, but haven't found any, so they appear legit. They have over 300 records out, apparently, and record under 3 labels, all of which are distributed by Naxos.
I'm sure the cost will be huge, even if I am sharing it with other composers on the disc. What I don't know is if I'll be sharing it with the feature performers who were the originators of the call.
In any case, I'll need to apply for some grants, and then initiate a kick-starter (or equivalent) campaign, once I have an idea of the costs. Anyone have a preference? Kickstarter, GoFundMe, others? I've found a number of grant options. I just need to get some figures first.
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