...everybody knows that this is the midst of the disillusionment and heartbreak season, and with the recent outbreak of that suicidal strain of despair up in Boston, well, you’d better keep a close watch on your emotions. So, remember the seven danger signals of depression ... that’s a general and lasting feeling of hopelessness, inability to concentrate, loss of self-esteem, fear of rejection, misdirected anger, feelings of guilt and extreme dependency on others. At the first sign of these symptoms, friends, follow these simple rules: keep working, drink as much as possible and take your television's advice. And you know, more TVs recommend an amazing, new psychic breakthrough than any other, and that’s Confidenz in the System, fast, safe and guaranteed by constant federal control,Confidenz in the System will keep them in power longer, longer, longer, and tend to come and obscure the miseries of disillusionment and despair. Confidenz in the System. In easy-to-swallow propaganda form, a new fast-acting thought-control. So have some today.
— David Ossman
I was thinking of “Tomorrow Never Knows” ostensibly by the Beatles and wondered, What if anything are Paul and George doing on this number? Not surprisingly, the game in Retreat has been, “hold to the source where it serves the text. Where it does not, do otherwise.” One especially good thing is, the final cadence serves very nicely. So nicely, in fact, that where I was originally thinking of having the trombone close the piece out (as it introduces the piece) that choral cadence will indeed be the end. I finished the approach thereunto yesterday morning. Although I was second-guessing myself right and left, two colleagues talked me down off the ledge by expressing their reasoned musical approbation of the score. Triad alumnus Julian Bryson, my collaborator in bringing such a piece to performance, responded, I think this looks really cool! I can’t wait to dive in more carefully. I just took a quick glance at the score, but I’ll spend a bit more time with it when I can. I love the canon that grows so slowly through the range. It reminds me of “Choose Something Like a Star,” but a bit more ominous. Later today I shall remit the score to the author, David Ossman. Rehearsal yesterday with the lean, mean trio version of the Henning Ensemble was excellent. I t was highly gratifying to hear at last both Snootful of Hooch and Music for the Un-Hip Hop. Of the latter, flutist Carol Epple emphasized to me that while it is not easy, it is great fun to play. On a completely separate topic (program notes) I remarked on-line to my colleague Robt Gross, Some days I think my go-to program note should be: “The fact is, I wrote the notes I wanted to hear.” The Un-Hip Hop exemplifies my compositional method of writing a piece which I would find fun to play. My band-mates especially complimented my scoring in the adapted Yesterday’s Snow. Oh, and it was great to hear Surfing an Earthquake and Amorphous and Forward-Looking. I now have homework which must wait until tomorrow: adding breath marks to the Fantasy on When Jesus Wept.
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