An Idle Thought or a Working Notion?

What could I say to the wife?

“Darling, I just thought it was time for another passacaglia ....”

Porridger’s Almanack (Breakfast of Ganglions)

It’s a sitcom, Jack—you’re not defining pi.

— Mercedes Ruehl to Jeff Bridges in The Fisher King

I mentioned, in my post on the weekend, attending the CRWE concert. I did not speak long with Matt. At the intermission, I restricted myself to congratulating him and the trumpet soloist on a splendid first half of the program. It was not a time for any extended chat, as he was naturally preoccupied with the half-hour piece on the second half of the concert. Nor was he at great liberty at the concert’s end, though that too is fine. Our outgoing dialogue was: 
KH: Matt, I meant just to say that I’m working on a shorter piece
—MM: One which isn’t half a program?
KH: Exactly, though I hope you may still consider the Symphony.

Now, the piece I was speaking of is the Opus 200 on which I have glancingly posted earlier. A curious thought of entirely different ilk, though, has also crossed the Henning mind.

The deep background of this alternative thought reaches back to the experience in a Regional Band Concert in which “the other group” played Wm Schuman’s orchestration of Chas Ives’ Variations on “America” (an organ piece.) Somehow, what came to mind was the last piece I wrote for my friend Barbara Otto, et tenebræ super faciem abyssi. Shall I arrange this for wind band of CRWE’s instrumentation? The question is still open. In opening it up, I have cursitorily o’erlooked the Ur-text. First thought: the organ piece is only four minutes, so I would most likely expand it to eight minutes (both so that it have enough weight to justify the investment of rehearsal, and to make it easier to assure that I have employment for all the musicians. Second thought, the arrangement should therefore have an independent Opus number. The rest of this week is on the busy side, so that’s all the thought for now.