What happened last night

Originally I had planned to spend yester evening on the duos of These Unlikely Events (I need to fling № 4 into Sibelius — a software whose survival seems now imperiled — and to lay out parts for № 5, and check on parts for the earlier ones . . . maybe just one, № 3) and on Après-lullaby (sorting out the conversion from cello ensemble to string quartet). But (per last night's post) instead I concentrated on chopping out a flute solo piece.

 

I began scribbling on the 17:10 train out of North Station . . . obviously stopped the pen while driving home, picking up some groceries (needed some flounder fillets, tinned peas, butter, &c.) and eating dinner (a lovely roast chicken) . . . and had the score ready for delivery at 21:30.

 

As I took up the pen on that train, I had in my notebook a few pages of sketches for a number of other pieces; and I freely drew on motifs there 'available'; so this flute solo is a kind of commentary on a couple of other pieces.  Thus the title is Airy Distillates — airy for the flute, distillates for the derivation of materials.

 

There is even a Twitter pun in the piece's scheme.

 

 

 

 

Separately: I've been living with King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of FZ for a few days (mostly I've been composing or otherwise working on my own music, so I've been a little lazy with the CD player at home).  Kind of nice, but a little . . . smoothed-out, overall. At the very least, though, worthwhile for the Ur-text of Music for Electric Violin and Low-Budget Orchestra.  Not entirely a bad thing, but the general feel of the album strikes me as, Zappa gone easy-listening.  Interesting alternative readings, though the brevity of "King Kong" (which I perforce remember as a massive suite of variations on the fourth side of the double-LP Uncle Meat) I find intrinsically slight.  It has, however, piqued my curiosity to revisit a Ponty album which I used to have on cassette tape, back when:  Mystical Adventures.

 

 

 

 

It's a momentous day!  Young Helen brings the Cello Sonatina in to her lesson to-day. I'm on tenterhooks . . . .