Page 5

. . . of the text, that is.  My working copy of the text for The Mysterious Fruit is seven pages (double-spaced).  I am now on page 5, and my goal for today is to see to all the text on this page.  My goal for tomorrow (after church, of course) is page 6.

This may perhaps be the only time when I refer to the annual event in my blog, but this is an amusing story a co-worker told at the coffee machine yesterday:

When I was in my 20s, and various girls would invite me and my friends over to watch the Super Bowl, we knew that wasn't a party we wanted to go to, because they would watch the game on like a 10-inch black-&-white set. 

Fast forward to the present, and my daughters at college are complaining, "None of the guys want to come over and watch the game because our TV is too small."  You understand: they've got a 50-inch flat-screen.  Changing times ....

On with it

Good rehearsal with my choir last night (and while there was some post-blizzard tardiness, attendance was strong). Starting to make a little more music with the Alleluia in D.

Steady daily progress on the Op.124; Carola & Sylvie will rehearse the 15pp. version of the MS. today. I've reached a point in the text where a little "rest" for the voice is textually appropriate, and part of my work yesterday was the game, Can I write a fugue for marimba solo? Not surprisingly, I shall have to tweak my sketch from yesterday . . . but far from being annoyed that it was not perfect right off, I am pleased at how nearly "on" it is, already. the trick is that it has to fit in the marimbist's two hands, and should not entail a game of "Twister for one." So I've devised a fresh subject, for which motif we can then find subsequent use, too.

Ongoing Mystery (of the Fruity Variety)

The Op.124 is presently about 7 minutes, and the composer has (in a manner of speaking) disposed of 4 out of the 7 pages (double-spaced) of text. Work continues, but this is the state of the piece which goes into rehearsal, day after tomorrow.

The marimbist Sylvie sent me an email message saying that she liked the piece, but that there was a passage or two where she was having trouble, and would I talk with her and consider perhaps some changes?  We had a nice talk (she and Carola have both emphasized that they think it a beautiful piece, which is of course the highest praise a composer could ask), and the problem was essentially through the Tranquillo section (mm. 63-97), mostly a matter of the great distance between the tremolos in the bass clef (which it is too hard to ask the player to do that all that passage just one-handed) and the treble clef "accents" (too difficult, with concentrating on maintaining the tremolos, to reach up to the two-mallet right-hand octaves).  She was very respectful;  fact is, though, that her suggestion does not mar the passage at all.  the idea is that she will play the tremolos with both hands (which makes the whole passage more manageable), and we strike the top note of the treble clef octaves (which are not essential), making it feasible to dart the right hand up briefly from its part in the tremolos, and strike the treble clef note accurately (which is important for the singer, expecting certain pitches).

The fate (jumping rails here) of the Organ Sonata remains in the air, but word from a colleague is It is not forgotten.

henningmusick: Moonrise (afterglow)

henningmusick: Moonrise: I had written [...] several "functional" pieces for brass quintet (or brass quintet plus) for use in various services.  While I enjoy the challenge of writing for a specific occasion (and appreciate the opportunity to furnish music for specific use), after a while I wanted to write a concert piece for brass quintet, which did not need to fulfill any purpose other than sounding as I wish it to sound.

Not coincidentally, as I read this introductory paragraph for my program notes for Moonrise, this more or less tells the tale:  All the short "functional" pieces were performed immediately.  Moonrise has waited 10 years for its first performance.

It proved a hard sell even for the quintet for whom I initially wrote it.  We six got together for a reading (and, dadgummit, they could have recorded that reading, but for whatever reason{s} tape was not running).  On the whole, there was positive response ... and yet, though they had a full slate of tour dates, their regular fare was arrangements of Renaissance polyphony and of Gershwin (not saying a word against either), and they didn't see how they could fit Moonrise in.

So, not at all an unusual story:  Wrote a good piece, knew it for a good piece, was never going to modify what was already a good piece ... but a piece which had to wait for both (a) a group who saw the music's merits and (b) the right venue.

Who: the MidTown Brass Quintet
Where: Norton Arts Center, 781 No. Central Avenue, Hapeville, Georgia 30354*
When:  Sat, 24 January 2015, 20:00

* Not pictured below

Moonrise

For a period of some years, I had written for the late Bill Goodwin, music director at the First Congregational Church in Woburn, Mass., several "functional" pieces for brass quintet (or brass quintet plus) for use in various services.  While I enjoy the challenge of writing for a specific occasion (and appreciate the opportunity to furnish music for specific use), after a while I wanted to write a concert piece for brass quintet, which did not need to fulfill any purpose other than sounding as I wish it to sound.  And the first freedom which that gave me was, that I could write a longer piece than (say) would have been useful in a church service.

Hearing the delightfully mysterious and (in the context of the rest of the orchestra) rather otherworldly Flugelhorn in Stravinsky's Threni, I thought it would be nice to substitute Flugelhorns for the trumpets of a standard brass quintet in my piece.  Because of their mellower tone, the "hardest-edged" instrument in my quintet would be the trombone, and I imagined a piece whose soundworld was generally soft, diaphonous.  And the first musical idea I had for the piece was not a sound, but a kind of visualization:  a sort of glow;  the narrow glow of the unison which starts the piece (a unison which become increasingly "qualified"), and the effulgent glow of the final "chord of the piece, a fairly close tone-cluster which, in these brass tones, is more a sweet sound than a dissonance.  The unison idea attains a forte climax at roughly the mid-point of the piece, a section marked Vivo ma tranquillo.

The piece begins with a long-breathed dissonant-ish chorale.  This yields place to a brief, lumbering dance, which then ushers in some rather stern counterpoint.  There is a varied return to the opening chorale idea, whose close writing foreshadows the cluster of the final chord of the piece.  There is a hint of the opening unison, and then the vigorous unison (octaves, really) passage aforementioned).  There is a sort of broad march section, which ends by echoing the end of the "vigorous octaves," and then there is a closing chorale.

Divers duos

Good progress, now that I am back on task with The Mysterious Fruit.

And we may have takers for both the Three Things That Begin With ‘C’ and Terpsichore in Marble.  We shall see ....

Fruition

Officially (and at last) back at work on the Op.124.  12 - 14 minutes?  Quite possible.

Maybe it'll just be 10'!

We shall see.

And otherwise

Righteous objections having been raised, against so many clef changes in such brief time, this weekend I had a go at clarifying the notation in the violoncello version of the Op.126 N° 3. We await word advising of the degree (if any) of success these efforts may enjoy.

The fl/cl/pf version of the Fragments of 《 Morning Has Broken 》 should soon be available on line. Chances are good, I should need to create a Sibelius file of the cl/vn/pf original, which will be a light task.

Went to the MFA yesterday, to enjoy the Goya exhibit on its final day. No matter that there were lines we needed to wait in: it was nice to be at the Museum, and not have to work. While in the last line, I saw a Museum employee I knew, who was aghast that my guests and I had had to wait in line.

"Don't they know who you are?" (Not that I am anyone of importance--I am not--but simply because I had served on the Museum staff at least eight years.)

--"No one here knows me anymore." (Matter-of-factly.)

"Are you $#!tt'n' me?! I know you."

--"I appreciate that."

"I'm going upstairs to slap some sense into them."

(Of course, he committed no such intramural impropriety; but one is grateful for the sentiment.)

And, in Other Noisemaking That Day

Different state, same date.

The Choir of First Parish in Brookline (Mass.), under the direction of Keith Kirchoff, singing the première of A Song of Remembrance, Op.123 (11 Nov 2014):

The Noisemakers of November

The Reinhardt Univ. Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of Olivia Kieffer, bravely playing the the première of My Island Home, Op.115 (11 Nov 2014):

Back of the envelope

Homo Erraticus is, I think, an entirely strong album; my ear took to it quite readily, and periodic revisitation has confirmed the initial positive impressions.

That positive experience drove an interest in investigating Thick As a Brick 2. I've only listened to about half of it as yet, so there are grains of salt ready to hand. Thus far, it's not impressing me to the degree that Homo Erraticus has (which still leaves room for TAAB2 to be a perfectly good album). And anyway, if the prior album was the groundwork necessary for Homo Erraticus, then that is (we might almost say) justification enough.

And again, actually listening to the remainder of the album, and then a repeat listen, I may find myself won over.

This post, then, remains inconclusive, and at least partly positive.

The Year in Henningmusick: 2014

More of my music was performed last year than in any year thus far.  This is a trend which I am keen to maintain.

Premières:

Variations on a Basque Carol, Op.126 № 3 (clarinet unaccompanied)
Le tombeau de W.A.G., Op.122 (brass quintet)
In the shadow of the kindly Star, Op.126 № 1 (violin and handbell choir)
Sweetest Ancient Cradle Song, Op. 67 (choir, brass quintet and organ — the original performance years since at First Congo was an abridgement)
The Snow Lay on the Ground, Op.68b (version for children's and adult choirs, handbells, violin solo & organ)
Tiny Wild Avocadoes, Op.125 № 1 & 2 (2 violins & viola)
just what everyone was expecting, Op.114 № 1 (clarinet & marimba)
Song of Remembrance, Op.123 (three-part mixed choir & piano)
My Island Home, Op.115 (percussion ensemble)
Mirage, Op.79a (version for clarinet, vibraphone & piano)
The Mystic Trumpeter, Op.113 № 1 (soprano & clarinet in A)
Musette, Op.118 № 7 (handbell choir)
Le tombeau de W.A.G., Op.122a (arrangement for alto flute, clarinet in A, double-bass & frame drum)
My Lord, What a Morning, Op.118 № 5 (choir and handbells)
I see people walking around like trees, Op.120 (flute, clarinet, double-bass & frame drum)
For God so loved the world, after Op.87 № 9 (choir SATB unaccompanied)
Sonatina for Cello and Piano, Op.105 (violoncello & piano)
Nicodemus brings myrrh & aloes for the burial of the Christ, Op.85 № 4 (violoncello & piano)
Plotting (y is the new x), Op.116 (violin & harpsichord)
When the morning stars sang together, and the sons of God shouted for joy, Op.118 № 1 (shakuhachi & handbell choir)
Divinum mysterium, Op.118 № 2 (unison choir & handbells)
The Crystalline Ship, Op.119 № 1 (mezzo-soprano & baritone saxophone)
Jazz for Nostalgic Squirrels, Op.117 (flute, clarinet, guitar & double-bass)

And now, the lot:

24 Dec 2014.  Variations on a Basque Carol, Op.126 № 3 (première).  Karl Henning, clarinet.  Danvers, MA

14 Dec 2014.  Le tombeau de W.A.G., Op.122 (première);  Sinfonietta, Op.38;  Musette, Op.118 № 7;  In the shadow of the kindly Star, Op.126 № 1 (première);  Sweetest Ancient Cradle Song, Op. 67 (première);  The Snow Lay on the Ground, Op.68b (première).   Rachel Wimmer, violin;  Tim Deik & Mark Napierkowski, trumpet;  Christine Reif, horn;  Luke Deardorff, trombone;  Kevin Carubia, tuba;  Chancel Choir & Handbell Choir of Holy Trinity United Methodist Church (Karl Henning – dir.)  Danvers, MA

12 Nov 2014.  Irreplaceable Doodles, Op.89;  just what everyone was expecting, Op.114 № 1 (première);  Thoreau in Concord Jail, Op.109.  Olivia Kieffer, percussion;  Karl Henning, clarinet.  Atlanta, GA

12 Nov 2014.  Tiny Wild Avocadoes, Op.125 № 1 & 2 (première).  Kevin Horne & Kathy Almquist, violin;  John McLaughlin Williams, viola

11 Nov 2014.  Song of Remembrance, Op.123 (première).  Choir of First Parish in Brookline (Keith Kirchoff – dir.).  Brookline, MA

11 Nov 2014.  My Island Home, Op.115 (première);  Mirage, Op.79a (première).  Reinhardt University Percussion Ensemble (Olivia Kieffer – dir.);  Olivia Kieffer, percussion;  Scott Wesley Hawley, piano;  Karl Henning, clarinet.  Waleska, GA

26 Oct 2014. Love is the Spirit, Op.85 № 3.  Choir of First Parish Wayland (Pauline Oliver – dir.) Wayland, MA

7 Oct 2014.  The Mystic Trumpeter, Op.113 № 1 (première);  Après-mystère, Op.113 № 2.  Evelyn Griffin, soprano, with the k a rl h e nn i ng Ensemble.  King’s Chapel, Boston, MA

26 June 2014. Love is the Spirit, Op.85 № 3.  Choir of First Church Boston (Dr Paul Cienniwa – dir.) Boston, MA

25 June 2014. Love is the Spirit, Op.85 № 3.  Choir of First Church Boston (Dr Paul Cienniwa – dir.) Boston, MA

15 June 2014.  Musette, Op.118 № 7 (première). Handbell Choir of Holy Trinity United Methodist Church (Karl Henning – dir.)  Danvers, MA

7 June 2014.  Le tombeau de W.A.G., Op.122a (première);  I see people walking around like trees, Op.120;  How to Tell (Chasing the Tail of Nothing), Op.103.  The 9^th Ear.    Danvers, MA

6 June 2014.  Le tombeau de W.A.G., Op.122a (première);  I see people walking around like trees, Op.120;  How to Tell (Chasing the Tail of Nothing), Op.103;  Thoreau in Concord Jail, Op.109.  The 9^th Ear.  The Nave, Somerville, MA

1 June 2014.  Magnificat, Op. 87 № 7.  Moderato Cantabile (Nana Tchikhinashvili – dir.)  Magnuskerk in Bellingwolde, The Netherlands

1 June 2014. Love is the Spirit, Op.85 № 3.  Choir of First Church Boston (Dr Paul Cienniwa – dir.) Boston, MA

10 May 2014.  Alleluia in D, Op.48. New Bedford Symphony Chorus (Dr Paul Cienniwa – dir.)  New Bedford, MA

3 May 2014.  Magnificat, Op.87 № 7.  Moderato Cantabile (Nana Tchikhinashvili – dir.)  Walfriduskerk in Hellum, The Netherlands

15 Apr 2014.  I see people walking around like trees, Op.120 (première);  How to Tell (Chasing the Tail of Nothing), Op.103.  The k a rl h e nn i ng Ensemble.  King’s Chapel, Boston, MA

13 Apr 2014.  Kingsfold (When Jesus Left His Father’s Throne), Op.35.  My Lord, What a Morning, Op.118 № 5 (première). Choir & Handbell Choir of Holy Trinity United Methodist Church (Karl Henning – dir.)  Danvers, MA

8 Apr 2014.  Nicodemus brings myrrh & aloes for the burial of the Christ, Op.85 № 4.  Sara Crigger, cello & Anne Marie Padelford, piano.  Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN

6 Apr 2014.  For God so loved the world, after Op.87 № 9 (première).  King’s Chapel Choir, Heinrich Christensen – dir.  Boston, MA

6 Apr 2014.  Sonatina for Cello and Piano, Op.105 (première).  Celeste McGinty, cello & Vytas Baksys, piano.  Rivers School Conservatory, Weston, MA

4 Apr 2014.  Nicodemus brings myrrh & aloes for the burial of the Christ, Op.85 № 4 (première).  Kirstin Seitz Peltz, cello & Vytas Baksys, piano.  Rivers School Conservatory, Weston, MA

30 Mar 2014.  Plotting (y is the new x), Op.116 (première). EmmaLee Holmes Hicks, violin & Paul Cienniwa, harpsichord.  First Church Boston, MA

29 Mar 2014.  Plotting (y is the new x), Op.116 (première). EmmaLee Holmes Hicks, violin & Paul Cienniwa, harpsichord.  Norman Bird Sanctuary, Middletown, RI

23 Mar 2014.  When the morning stars sang together, and the sons of God shouted for joy, Op.118 № 1 (première). Charles Turner, shakuhachi & the Handbell Choir of Holy Trinity United Methodist Church (Karl Henning – dir.) Divinum mysterium, Op.118 № 2 (première). Choir & Handbell Choir of Holy Trinity United Methodist Church (Karl Henning – dir.)  Danvers, MA

14 Mar 2014.  The Crystalline Ship, Op.119 № 1 (première). D’Anna Fortunato, mezzo-soprano & Peter H. Bloom, baritone saxophone.  First Church Boston, MA

9 Feb 2014.  Alleluia in D, Op.48. Choir of Holy Trinity United Methodist Church (Karl Henning – dir.)  Danvers, MA

1 Feb 2014.  Swivels & Bops, Op.97 № 3;  Zen on the Wing, Op.114 № 2; Après-mystère, Op.113 № 2; Jazz for Nostalgic Squirrels, Op.117 (première). Peter H Bloom, flutes;  Karl Henning, clarinet; Jim Dalton, guitar; Charles Turner, double-bass.  The Nave, Somerville, MA

31 Jan 2014.  Swivels & Bops, Op.97 № 3;  Zen on the Wing, Op.114 № 2; Après-mystère, Op.113 № 2; Jazz for Nostalgic Squirrels, Op.117 (première). Peter H Bloom, flutes;  Karl Henning, clarinet; Jim Dalton, guitar; Charles Turner, double-bass.  Danvers, MA

Housekeeping

Submitted two pieces to a call for scores; we shall see.

Marked a page of handbell music, just a couple of hymn tunes really. The funny thing is, I do an arrangement like this, thinking it will be a simple matter.  As I mark the parts for the ringers, though, I find that the notes will require at least one more ringer than we may reliably have for rehearsals.  And as a result, I think, it will actually be easier to compose something new which will only need eight ringers ....

Aside, to a pair of parakeets

It has been a few years since last Peter Lekx and I played The Mousetrap, so this task of rebuilding the score in Sibelius has been a great opportunity to relearn the guts of the piece, inside out.

Though I am the one who says it, it's a damned good piece.

The overall composition is an environment which makes the introduction of quotations from the literature, organic parts of the whole, and not gratuitous "tune-dropping." I'm deeply proud of that musical accomplishment. The music is not "quasi Shostakovich," it is through and through genuine Henning; however, it is certainly a composition which reflects lessons learnt at the knees of the Russian master.

For all the historical disparity of the musical quotations, the piece is a seamless whole. I felt that while rehearsing and performing it on both occasions, in Massachusetts and in Ohio; and I find this impression is amply confirmed by this recent re-immersion into the composition.

The violist here in the Boston area to whom I have recently sent the piece, has responded positively thus far. Watch This Space.

Done with Phase 1

The new (Sibelius) score of the Opus 91 is about done. For the immediate purpose this weekend, that is enough;  but to play it again, fairly extensive cues need to be added to both parts.

Perhaps I shall let that task wait upon completion of The Mysterious Fruit.

Tomorrow, I need to mark some handbell music.

Water Music

Feverishly wasting into Death's haze
lay Isolde beneath Tristan arching,
painfully supporting himself cool-handed,
suckling her with the Life from which
she would soon be weaned.

Suspension-bridgish Tristan oilly encabled
his beloved's spinal column
in parallel arch, with steel tendrils
desperately sweating to bind her afresh
to the banks of the world.

Her labored breaths, birds circling
on collarbone wings, cried to be borne
irrevocably downriver to the treacherous sands
where Life's waters collapse traceless,
mourned only by the wind.

Her avian heart pattered like the wings
of her breath, her gasps moulting, spiraling
unsuspended to icarian waters
wending charonward, her beak madly grappling
her beloved's jointed worms.

The structural Tristan dumbly stretched,
concrete and inert to the fragile wisps
of febrile birdsong until Isolde, unbound,
bounced featherless off the sloping steel cord,
both coolly soft, and weak.

[after Halina Poswiatowska, as translated by Marek Lugowski]

Inching along

Up to p.19 (of 21) of The (old) Mousetrap. Of course, the parts will need rhythmic cues à la Hindemith, and I shall figure that out in Sibelius.

And contact has been made with a violist who comes with the highest recommendation.

The letter I didn't send

Dear D-,

It's a few years since we were last in touch, and you regretted to inform me that your ensemble, dedicated to performing music by living composers, has no use for my work because it does not sound like the music of N., whose work you like. Of course, there's no reason on earth why you shouldn't like N.'s work (met him at Symphony one evening, nice chap); but I could have told you that my work does not sound like his, and spared you the pointless exercise. My music sounds like Henning, not like N., and (with no slight at all to N.) I am well content that this should be so.

Is there any point, do you think, of trying again, and seeing if your ensemble can appreciate the musical merits of my work without (necessarily) finding it somehow wanting, because I do not aspire to imitate some other composer's work?

Cordially yours,
~k.

Building a better Mousetrap

The Mousetrap I originally prepared in Finale; the process of creating a fresh Sibelius edition looks to be a job of 3-4 days (two of them done). Overall, it is music I am deeply proud to have written. I am thinking of making a couple of phrase-connections a little less rushed, inserting a couple of measures here, a couple there; I do not want to lose the measure numbers as a check while I am plugging notes in, though, so I have left (verbal) notes that I can go back to. Not surprisingly, one of those places I have in mind, was a frustratingly rapid page-turn for the clarinetist.

I'm also making a slight reduction of the tempo marking for "the unison dance" official . . . I suppose that instead of [quarter-note] = 120, I could mark it "112-120" rather than just ratchet down to 112 . . . leave it to other performers who perhaps can indeed fly at the original tempo. Lord knows, 112 does not feel at all lazy . . . .

Trap and Bells

About two-thirds done with The [new] Mousetrap;  will "let out" a couple of cadences, relax the connections between phrases.  I think the drama will not be reduced.

For the handbells for next week, two or three of the following:

• Arrangement of the Alleluia in D (per Laureens's suggestion)
• Arrangement of Byrd and Bach which came to me on my walk today
• Arrangement for choir, organ and bells of the famous Tallis hymn, a thought which occurred to during the sermon this morning.

A knavish piece of work

For a brace of reasons, including an introduction to a local violist, I have set to creating a fresh Sibelius edition of the Op.91.  Got about half the job done today ... can I finish tomorrow?  We shall see.

Steady on

Тише едешь, дальше будешь.

Not much snow today, but enough to take thought for one's goings-on. Possibly more snow down in New York, where a friend tells me it is very slushy and slippery.

Be careful! It's good weather not to be in a hurry ... and so few New Yorkers have a talent for not being in a hurry ....

—lol .. So true!!

Erosion of the Brand Dept.

Overall, I enjoy Tomorrow Never Dies, and (late though I came to viewing his Bond movies) Pierce Brosnan strikes me as reasonably good in the role.

That much said, it's hard to believe they actually had Moneypenny crack the antic cunning linguist joke (though the subsequent exchange with M nearly redeems it), nor that they made Dame Judi Dench speak that pump her for information line.

Re-Zappa-capitulation

The 13 Days of Zappaness (2014)

Day 1: “Planet X” (from Uncle Meat)
Day 2: “What’s New in Baltimore?” (from Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention)
Day 3: “Moggio” (Zappa Plays Zappa), and Dweezil explains the origin of the title
Day 4: “Twenty Small Cigars” (from Chunga’s Revenge)
Day 5: “Manx Needs Women” (from Zappa in New York)
Days 6 & 7: “Igor’s Boogie,” Phases I & II (from Burnt Weenie Sandwich) 
Day 8: “The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue” (from The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life)
Day 9: (Birthday Edition): “Watermelon in Easter Hay” (from Joe’s Garage)
Day 10: “The Gumbo Variations” (from Hot Rats)
Day 11: “Help, I’m a Rock” (from Freak Out!)
Day 12: “Eat That Question” (from Grand Wazoo)
Day 13: “The Deathless Horsie” (live in Munich)

Though we seemed to sleep

While freely admitting that the performance ought to have been better (methinks I hear a wag emend that to ought to have been good) I did play my Variations on a Basque Carol on Christmas Eve. My arguably sub-par execution notwithstanding, I think it a good piece, and insofar as I did any creative work over this restful holiday period, it was the ancillary task of adapting this brief work for (by turns) flute, violin, cello, viola, and mandolin. In all cases, of course, I had capable colleagues in mind to send the adaptation, fresh off the e-press.

Response has been swift and gratifying:

[violin]

Looks really good and a whole lot of fun!

[flute]

The Basque Carol Variations sound terrific and are perfectly flutist-friendly. Audience-friendly too! Congrats on another solid contribution to the repertoire.

[mandolin]

Lovely piece! Thanks for sending it (and writing it — we need more mandolin rep. ESPECIALLY by non-mandolinists). 

No issues. It is all eminently playable and not overly difficult. 

One clarification: Written slurs like meas. 5, 13 etc. — can I assume these are L.H. slurs ("pull-offs" and "hammer-ons" in guitar parlance)? If so, you may want to make that explicit (in English, or prose at any rate) — that is not typical classical mandolin technique, though they are quite effective nonetheless. 

The notation is quite clear and more detailed than a mandolinist would do — hence the need for non-mandolinist composers to write for the instrument. To model best practices as well as provide us with new music.

Understandable confusion

I was exhilarated at hearing that Elliott Carter was the villain in a James Bond movie. But it was some fictional media goon named Carver, instead.