The Beauty, Sadness and Fluidity of It All

 Once on a time I heard someone—a musician (!!!)—say, “... the best virtuosi in Hollywood, which is to say, the best virtuosi in the world.” The combination of fatuity and tunnel-vision here is of an exceptional order.

Porridger’s Almanack (Breakfast of Ganglions)

“Where did you find this guy?” I whispered to Ludlow as the preacher fumbled through his Bible looking for some verse he’d forgotten to mark.

“Who do you want on two days’ notice?” my stepbrother replied. “Billy Graham?”

The wedding cake was a little dry, but I did think the black crepe paper Ludlow’s wife had hung from the ceiling was a nice touch. "Lincoln’s funeral probably looked a lot like this,” I said to Ludlow.

— Lewis Grizzard, If I Ever Get Back to Georgia, I’m Gonna Nail My Feet to the Ground

Kevin Scott has just sent me the finished piece. Over these past several weeks, the cloud of an old friend’s imminent passing has shadowed the composer. This friend having now regrettably shuffled off this mortal coil, the piece is more overtly a memorial than at first the composer planned. It’s a beautiful piece, elegantly written. It also sets me a bit of a puzzle. I probably asked for a 4-6-minute minute piece, and  Minchah runs eleven minutes. Plan A for the program:

Robert Gross, Four’s the Charm (première) [5:30]

Karl Henning, Amorphous and Forward-Looking, Op. 196c [6:00]

Henning, A Dance Floor for the Introverted, Op. 178 № 2 [5:30]

Kevin Scott, Minchah (première) [11:00]

Henning, Lamentatio pro sorore sua, Op. 202a (première) [3:15]

Henning, Peace! The Charm's Wound Up, Op. 204 (première) [4:00]

Henning, Moose on the Loose, Op.165a [6:15]

Henning, Nostalgia Ain't What It Used to Be, Op. 191c [2:30]

... will not do for King’s, as it runs 44 minutes. Let me be clear: re-configuring the program to accommodate Kevin’s, beautiful piece is a privilege and a puzzle, not a problem, save in a mathematical sense

My immediate thought: bump Moose on the Loose to April. Probably do the same with Amorphous and Forward-Looking. That trims the program to 30-ish minutes, which is perfect:

14 Oct @ King’s Chapel, Plan B

Charms and Offertories

Robert Gross, Four’s the Charm (première) [5:30]

Karl Henning, A Dance Floor for the Introverted, Op. 178 № 2 [5:30]

Kevin Scott, Minchah (première) [11:00]

Henning, Lamentatio pro sorore sua, Op. 202a (première) [3:15]

Henning, Peace! The Charm’s Wound Up, Op. 204 (première) [4:00]

Henning, Nostalgia Ain’t What It Used to Be, Op. 191c [2:30]

With Robert’s piece, I am waiting for our first rehearsal (Saturday the 27^th) to see if the band feel that we can put it together in such short order.  Kevin’s piece, technically, I think should be manageable, although I will see what the band have to say.

On the theme of Ensemble feedback, when I spoke with Greta t’other day, she told me she had been practicing the Lamentatio, and her enthusiasm for the piece was highly gratifying.

I’ve knocked off nine pages of the Op. 61, so I’m better than half done and on track.

Last night, out of sheer discipline, I think, I also composed a minute of guitar music last night,  but my brain felt so out of it, it may have been the compositional equivalent of sleep-walking and I need to review it now to see if I think that it’s any good.