Wrapping up February

Fixin' to send a score to a call for saxophone quartet.

After which, I think the fl/cl/db/frame drum piece will be ready for finishment.

Greatly enjoying Malcolm MacDonald's book on Schoenberg.

Order of Business

Going to teach my choir to chant Psalm 51 this evening, zaba zaba zoo....

Insufficiently Dysfunctional

Yesterday saw substantial progress on the quartet, whose provisional title had been Dysfunction & Outright Extortion. The piece is a sort of introduction and allegro, to last a total of 5 or 6 minutes; and the Andante introduction was pretty much finished as of Monday. (It would have served all right for dysfunction, although it is in fact perfectly coherent . . . .) For "outright extortion," I actually envision nimble, high-energy music...but that second section of the piece has emerged as more of a slow burn, marked Allegro non troppo. And so, in the back of my mind, I already knew that the music was assuming a character out of step with the title. (Though it is a good title, and requires music to match.)

The Clincher was: last night I "played" the 9/8 section (at first; we did later get around to The Entire Piece So Far) for the artists in my life, who like it much. Of course, I was asked if the piece has a title.

It simply would not do to give a title which we would all understand is unsuited . . . so I responded with the invitatory, "What do you suggest?" "I don't know...something mysterious."

And she's perfectly right, of course.

So I have three prospective titles which crowded in upon the study of my imagination last night . . . .

Onward

Good progress on the April quartet, and my "focus group" have responded warmly. I hope to finish (or to get close) tomorrow.

Thanks to Paul, who found an orthographic anomaly in Plotting, and as a result, we've agreed on an altered note...a fleeting musical instant, the difference discernible only to Paul & myself...and to that listener in the distant (not to say, unforeseeable) future who will listen to the piece at least five times.

Mild disappointment with some of Slava's Prokofiev symphonies...more detail to follow. I still enjoy the recordings, the music;  but I find a few of the choices questionable.

Enjoying greatly the Levine/CSO recording (from the 90s) of the Prokofiev Opp. 25 & 100. Also: the box of Pierre Hantaï....though Doctor Bull's Good Night more than half sounds like an elixir...and I think the faux interview with Telemann impossibly twee. (I should have liked proper notes, really...I'm trying to think better of Telemann.)

Briefly

Some more progress on the quartet.

Rehearsal went well yesterday with both bell pieces.

Good word has come in on the saxophone choir arrangement of the Intermezzo.

Jim tells me I've not given him anything unidiomatic to the mandocello.

Have sent JW the completed movements of the Mass, and the Passion (again, I think).

And on Saturday my ears drank in an interesting pipedream whose theme was the Mass. One never know, do one?

Outright participation

Some progress on Dysfunction & Outright Extortion. It's been a busy week, and in good ways.  Still, I have gotten at least a little work done each day ... and in fact progressively more work each day.  It is a fun piece to write, & I hope it proves to be a fun piece to play, too.

A new piece FOR us

David Leone of Nashville has written a piece for Peter H. Bloom and me to play together, with fixed media.  I like the piece very well, and will scheme a place and date to perform this later this year.