A Different Lullaby, the Same Bus

To my delight, I have been made welcome to furnish a piece for an ensemble of cello students. On a time, mention was made of the Bachianas brasileiras № 5 . . . and so, thinking eight parts, I was considering an arrangement of an old piano piece of mine, Lutosławski's Lullaby. Because of the textural possibilities of eight parts, I was thinking of ways to 'break out' the harmonic outline of the piano ostinato.

We reconsidered that my piece ought to be cast in four parts (with the possibility of divisi in the first part), and I began to think of an entirely new piece; still in the mulling stages, I am taking a distant cue from a garage band, and thinking of three chords. Think of it in the right ways, and you can actually make a restricted range of materials interesting and artful; the challenge for the composer is, to find the right way (or a right way), and the rest is pure, exhilirating discovery.

Without abandoning the idea of that new piece, though, this morning on the bus (as often happens with me), I realized that it is still very workable, to arrange Lutoslawski's Lullaby for four parts, instead; and (knowing my Muse as I do) I shall likely see to that arrangement first, before going on to complete the new piece. There is a registral change which coincides with the recapitulation in the piano original, which will be impractical for cello ensemble; but I have readily found an alternative 'signal' for that point, I believe.

To work, to work . . . .