17 August 2013

Fresh morning

It's not quite what I was thinking
(yesterday) that I should need to do (today). I've been revisiting the clarinet part for mm. 440-501 of The Mystic Trumpeter. My thought yesterday (possibly optimistic) was that the "new" clarinet line needed only some fine-tuning; and basically, that has held true--the essential harmony of the clarinet's counterpoint to the voice remains as I wrote it Thursday. Yet, as I combed through the score this morning, scarcely a measure remains unchanged from the Thursday version. These new alterations are of three types:

1. Rhythmic changes / "activations" to assist the overall flow of the passage (which is Largo, but shouldn't crawl to a seeming stop)

2. Changes so that there are closer ties (apparent imitation) between the two lines

3. Something which I've neglected this past week, but meant for this section from the beginning: echoes of the clarinet fanfare from the very opening of the piece

To judge by all the ink I've strewn this morning, it might seem that I've overstepped my stated aim of "fine-tuning"; but the emerging new version feels to me both an organic improvement upon the Thursday draught, and a significant artistic gain for the piece.

Well, well, we shall see if I still feel that way when I review the lot this evening.

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