Fuchsia Minor

I get it as a slogan to market your cheese, but I cannot help chuckling at the phrase
“masters of natural aging,” maybe because I’m happily an amateur ....
Porridger’s Almanack (Breakfast of Ganglions)

I cannot go back to your land of gloom.
— Captain Beefheart, “Frownland”

The gloss/expansion of August Haze (flute unaccompanied) into a brief tone-poem for chamber orchestra titled For You, Fuchsia went fairly smoothly. In contemplating a quartet adaptation of the piece (two flutes, alto saxophone and double-bass) I decided to begin from the chamber orchestra version, because I added contrapuntal material which will serve the quartet version well. This process was a bit of a chore (essentially a question of voice 1 vs. voice 2 in Sibelius) and here or there it was necessary to make adjustments to adapt a line for the saxophone. As I was chuffing along, I was conscious that I was focusing insufficient attention upon the double-bass. I came soon to understand that I would really need to write a part as interesting for the bassist as the upper lines are for the winds. This was the lion’s share of y work this afteroon/evening. And as happened with “Grand Fuchsia” whatever twinges of misgiving may have spooked me during the task melted all away as I reviewed the exported sound file.

Tomorrow or Wednesday/Thursday I will prepare the parts so that I can share the piece with members of the ensemble.