Henning's Headquarters

[Karl Henning]

New to YouTube (unlisted) as I wanted a conductor colleague to have ready access:

http://www.youtube.com/v/gArB8ytk0oM

[Mirror Image]

Revisiting these:

http://www.youtube.com/v/UmR1AU1fXIA

http://www.youtube.com/v/00Zqx0uiNdM

Wow, Karl. These selections are wonderful. Great job! Some viewer on YT mentioned there were Copland-like sonorities here and it's difficult not to disagree. I could be wrong, but I think it has to do with the spacing of the music itself --- it kind of has that breath to it that is somewhat similar to Copland's. Of course, there's also the possibility I'm crazy.

[Karl Henning]

Many thanks!

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[Mirror Image]

Many thanks!

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

My pleasure, Dr. Henning.

[Karl Henning]

Out of the blue (which may just be the vehicle) I got an e-mail message from an organist expressing interest in serving at our church.  A quick search suggests that she knows her stuff.  We shall see!

We do have subs scheduled through the end of October, although we do have two Thursday evening choir rehearsals which could serve as a sort of audition.

Our first choir rehearsal of the season is . . . tomorrow evening, and I am planning to run it sans accompanist.

[Karl Henning]

Many of the anthems which I have scheduled for September & October, we have sung more than once before;  so there is a lot of rehearsal I can do which is just singing the part along with the choir.  For my "torch song" version of I Want Jesus to Walk With Me (which we sang the last-ish Sunday before the choir disbanded for summer), and for Allen Webber's arrangement of Come, Thou Font (on a tune which is not St James's Air), I will have MIDI piano which I can play from my phone, via bluetooth, on a portable speaker.  (No, but really.)  We shall see how it goes!

[Karl Henning]

Excellent rehearsal tonight. Kurosawa's Scarecrow sounds lovely, as does the flute duet, Neither do I condemn thee. We rehearse the Tiny Wild Avocadoes this Tuesday.

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[Rons_talking]

New to YouTube (unlisted) as I wanted a conductor colleague to have ready access:

http://www.youtube.com/v/gArB8ytk0oM

Really nice, Karl! I like your use of layering and discontinuity as well as the crystal clear percussion.

[Karl Henning]

Many thanks!

[Karl Henning]

Coming Soon

[Mahlerian]

Unfortunately, I won't even be in the US that day, so I can't make it.  I hope it goes well, though!

[Karl Henning]

Thanks!

One of these days, I'll see about streaming . . . .

[Karl Henning]

Coming soon:

[Karl Henning]

Carol and Peter are entirely into it!

[Cato]

Coming soon:

Looks cool, would be a nice concert to attend 


Great to see "Neither do I Condemn Thee" in there, that's a really awesome duo 

AMEN!   0:)   Let's hope for a great turnout!   

[Karl Henning]

In spite of quite a few absentees, last night's Triad rehearsal was productive.  (And with our improved process, notes from the rehearsal should bring our absentees up to speed for next week's rehearsal.)  For the bigger of the two pieces I am directing, last night I avoided the 4:3 challenges, and concentrated on three pages of a more straightforward passage.  My own Gloria is coming along nicely.  All in all, pleased with where we are at this point in our rehearsal cycle.

Ask me again after rehearsal on the 2^nd   

[Karl Henning]

Very nearly in the air, back to the Town of the Pulse.  A brief but sweet visit with a dear old friend from UVa days...and in our catching up, he mentioned a violinist from that era, of whom I've not thought in decades. So, yes, I've found an e-mail address, and shot yet another arrow in the air.

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[Hammerklavier]

Hi Karl,

I tried to send you a PM, but your inbox was full!  So, I'm going straight to the Henning Headquarters...

I've been listening to several of your compositions on YouTube.  As an amateur composer trying to improve at writing music, I'm fascinated to learn more about the compositional techniques and philosophies of other more refined and talented composers.  I have a few questions for you on your approach to composing, if you're up for it. 

1) As I learn about counterpoint and study species counterpoint, I'm learning about a variety of "rules" designed to produce strong counterpoint.  Given how contrapuntal much of your music sounds while featuring modern harmony, I'm curious as to how loyal you are to some of the old rules (such as, avoid parallel fifths, avoid similar motion into an octave, etc...).  As you aspire towards rich counterpoint, what sorts of rules have you created for yourself?

2) Observing that your works often feature modern harmony, I'd be interested in learning more about how you approach chord structures.  Do you subject your music to extensive harmonic analysis, or do you write your harmonies in a more freely intuitive sort of way?  When working with modern harmony, how often do you find yourself revisiting the voicing/inversions of your chords, or thinking to yourself, "this chord progression is wrong"?  How do you know that a chord or chord progression is now "correct" in your mind?

I greatly appreciate your thoughts!

Thanks,
Pete

[Karl Henning]

Hi, Pete.

Thanks for listening, first off!

And I am happy to answer (or otherwise ruminate upon) your questions, but they deserve a little deliberation.  I have a rehearsal this evening, so I shall reply properly either later this evening or first thing tomorrow morning.

[Karl Henning]

I've been listening to several of your compositions on YouTube.  As an amateur composer trying to improve at writing music, I'm fascinated to learn more about the compositional techniques and philosophies of other more refined and talented composers.  I have a few questions for you on your approach to composing, if you're up for it. 

1) As I learn about counterpoint and study species counterpoint, I'm learning about a variety of "rules" designed to produce strong counterpoint.  Given how contrapuntal much of your music sounds while featuring modern harmony, I'm curious as to how loyal you are to some of the old rules (such as, avoid parallel fifths, avoid similar motion into an octave, etc...).  As you aspire towards rich counterpoint, what sorts of rules have you created for yourself?

2) Observing that your works often feature modern harmony, I'd be interested in learning more about how you approach chord structures.  Do you subject your music to extensive harmonic analysis, or do you write your harmonies in a more freely intuitive sort of way?  When working with modern harmony, how often do you find yourself revisiting the voicing/inversions of your chords, or thinking to yourself, "this chord progression is wrong"?  How do you know that a chord or chord progression is now "correct" in your mind?

The traditional rules remain for me a handy reference point, as I take their core musical goals to be (1) independence of the voices, and (2) to avoid what sounds jarring.  When I am writing for unaccompanied choir, I may hew more closely to the old rules, than I might within a richer, purely instrumental texture, especially as I sing in choirs myself, and am alive to how well the music "sings."  That said, I don't mind making the degree of independence the voices may enjoy from one another, one of the rhetorical elements;  and a given piece may be an environment in which the occasional parallelism may be an agreeable sort of jarring.

I am always keenly aware of the harmonic dimension of my work, the chordal materials.  And, I have an eye to the architecture of the music, in terms of moving through different "key" regions.

Although I often use more complicated (less near Common Practice, anyway) chords, in some ways my management of harmonic materials can basically be illustrated in the comparison between the V- I and IV - I cadences:

1. Similarities:  two chords of the same structure in each cadence;  one tone in common between the two chords in each cadence.

2.  Difference:  the common tone in the IV - I cadence is the tonic.  Is that why the plagal cadence is "less strong"—that there is no "dynamic arrival" onto the tonic note?