Glare in Rear-View

Finished Lunar Glare yesterday. I had hand-written sketches for the ‘blank’ passage which was just before the ending (which I had already composed), and so I folded these into the Sibelius score. The ending needed tightening, which in this case was a ‘loosening’; the ending was a little abrupt (you don’t want to spoil a nice 16-minute piece with an ending which gives an impression of being rushed), so there is a seam or two that I ‘let out’ just slightly.

Much earlier in the score (p.2) I had a full measure’s rest, which has consistently just felt too long: an easy fix. (Very happy with the Sibelius software.) Easy-ish, anyway . . . my first action (adding a new measure, in which I planned to create a 3/4 measure to replace two 2/4 measures, and thus lose a quarter-note’s worth of the overlong rest) did something weird with two ossia bars on the same line, but I found a work-around without undue mental taxation.

I expanded the first clarinet solo passage slightly. And there are two and a half pages in which, in the working draught I had sent to the harpsichordist for review, the clarinet part was missing. Missing, because I had not composed it yet; and that passage at the time consisted only of Aberti-ish rhythmically activated chords in the keyboard. So, yes, I devised a clarinet part for those pages.

At this point, then, just minor alterations to consider for the score; composition is essentially done (I already see a measure to which I probably ought to add a cautionary natural-sign).

[ click for larger image ]

Afterwards, I went for an hour’s walk. The air was invigoratingly fresh, but it was sunny and there was not much wind.