Henning's Headquarters

Started by BachQ, April 07, 2007, 12:21:26 PM

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Lilas Pastia

I'm sure he has others. We all do ;).

Haffner

Quote from: karlhenning on March 04, 2008, 08:00:38 AM
Breakbeat hardcore


Proof! The breakbeat hardcore sensation, Out in the Sun

[mp3=200,20,0,center]http://www.gesprek.net/hendrik/Henning/Instrumental/09%20-%20Track%20%209.mp3[/mp3]


This is really interesting. The score must be fascinating.

karlhenning

Quote from: Haffner on April 14, 2008, 08:26:17 AM

This is really interesting. The score must be fascinating.

You are kind, Andy.  I shall send a score.

karlhenning

Working on a passage along a sort of "construction' methodology which I sometimes find both useful and instructive.  I'm about four minutes into a piece which has already established the Lydian mode as one of its tonal ambits.  I decided I wanted to putter with some block chords, so I started with a pentachord which is a subset of the Lydian mode, and a chord with which I've worked more than once in the past: D, E, G#, B, F#

Perhaps as I putter this may change downstream, but to start I want to see what I can do with a series of pentachords which are all either transpositions of this, or inversion.  And I want the chord sequence to hinge on a bass line.  I wrote a bass line, fairly wilfully chromatic . . . and indeed (as it befell) eleven of the twelve pitch-classes turn up: D, E-flat, F, F#, A, B-flat, C, C#, E, G, A-flat . . . not octatonic, of course (since we've got eleven pitches represented) but 'locally octatonic,' we might say.

Then, I made a game of 'building' a series of pentachords which include the bass notes.

Now (or rather, on the bus this morning) I took back up the matter of rhythm . . . and work goes on . . . .

greg

#384
Quote from: karlhenning on April 15, 2008, 05:55:32 AM
Working on a passage along a sort of "construction' methodology which I sometimes find both useful and instructive.  I'm about four minutes into a piece which has already established the Lydian mode as one of its tonal ambits.  I decided I wanted to putter with some block chords, so I started with a pentachord which is a subset of the Lydian mode, and a chord with which I've worked more than once in the past: D, E, G#, B, F#

Perhaps as I putter this may change downstream, but to start I want to see what I can do with a series of pentachords which are all either transpositions of this, or inversion.  And I want the chord sequence to hinge on a bass line.  I wrote a bass line, fairly wilfully chromatic . . . and indeed (as it befell) eleven of the twelve pitch-classes turn up: D, E-flat, F, F#, A, B-flat, C, C#, E, G, A-flat . . . not octatonic, of course (since we've got eleven pitches represented) but 'locally octatonic,' we might say.

Then, I made a game of 'building' a series of pentachords which include the bass notes.

Now (or rather, on the bus this morning) I took back up the matter of rhythm . . . and work goes on . . . .
Which piece is this for?


"Locally octatonic"... interesting. Is this somewhat similar or the opposite?


My idea:


(ascending) A C - D F - G Bb - C Eb etc.   

it's sort of like an infinite scale, the closest thing I can think of are certain uses of Xenakis' scale. It's something I've thought of (maybe you remember?) from playing the same two notes on the guitar and going up the next string in a pattern- the unique thing is that it doesn't connect at the octave.

Someone pointed out it's actually the circle of 4ths or 5ths with an added note (or two).

greg

Could you explain certain techniques that you have used for Out in the Sun? (or refer to previous posts)?

karlhenning

#386
Quote from: GGGGRRREEG on April 15, 2008, 03:11:25 PM
"Locally octatonic"... interesting. Is this somewhat similar or the opposite?

Well, what I mean is that the tetrachord D, E-flat, F, F# [0,1,3,4] is characteristic of the octatonic scale;  to finish it (as an octatonic scale), you would compliment it with a transposition of the same [0,1,3,4] tetrachord, in this case at the tritone: G#, A, B, C . . . but I transpose it "wrong" (wrong for the octatonic scale, I mean), to A, B-flat, C, C# . . . then the line continues E, G, A-flat which is a transposition of a subset of the same tetrachord.

Quote from: Greg
My idea:

(ascending) A C - D F - G Bb - C Eb etc.   

it's sort of like an infinite scale, the closest thing I can think of are certain uses of Xenakis' scale. It's something I've thought of (maybe you remember?) from playing the same two notes on the guitar and going up the next string in a pattern- the unique thing is that it doesn't connect at the octave.

Someone pointed out it's actually the circle of 4ths or 5ths with an added note (or two).

Or, even more accurately, two interlocking circles of fifths:  [ A - D - G - C - F ... ] + [ C - F - B-flat - E-flat - A-flat ... ]

karlhenning

Quote from: GGGGRRREEG on April 15, 2008, 03:48:26 PM
Could you explain certain techniques that you have used for Out in the Sun? (or refer to previous posts)?

Did you have any specific questions?  Otherwise, I'm apt to just gab about the piece, of course.  8)

karlhenning

Quote from: GGGGRRREEG on April 15, 2008, 03:11:25 PM
Quote from: karlWorking on a passage along a sort of "construction' methodology which I sometimes find both useful and instructive.  I'm about four minutes into a piece which has already established the Lydian mode as one of its tonal ambits.  I decided I wanted to putter with some block chords, so I started with a pentachord which is a subset of the Lydian mode, and a chord with which I've worked more than once in the past: D, E, G#, B, F#

Perhaps as I putter this may change downstream, but to start I want to see what I can do with a series of pentachords which are all either transpositions of this, or inversion.  And I want the chord sequence to hinge on a bass line.  I wrote a bass line, fairly wilfully chromatic . . . and indeed (as it befell) eleven of the twelve pitch-classes turn up: D, E-flat, F, F#, A, B-flat, C, C#, E, G, A-flat . . . not octatonic, of course (since we've got eleven pitches represented) but 'locally octatonic,' we might say.

Then, I made a game of 'building' a series of pentachords which include the bass notes.

Which piece is this for?

Prelude for Brett's wedding;  this section is organ and brass quintet.  I worked some more on the rhythm of this section, on the bus ride this morning.  In general what happens (in this section) is, the organ and brass start out together, both rhythmically and in terms of harmonic content; then the two elements split apart, and are in a kind of counterpoint.

greg

Quote from: karlhenning on April 15, 2008, 05:53:46 PM
Well, what I mean is that the tetrachord D, E-flat, F, F# [0,1,3,4] is characteristic of the octatonic scale;  to finish it (as an octatonic scale), you would compliment it with a transposition of the same [0,1,3,4] tetrachord, in this case at the tritone: G#, A, B, C . . . but I transpose it "wrong" (wrong for the octatonic scale, I mean), to A, B-flat, C, C# . . . then the line continues E, G, A-flat which is a transposition of a subset of the same tetrachord.

Or, even more accurately, two interlocking circles of fifths:  [ A - D - G - C - F ... ] + [ C - F - B-flat - E-flat - A-flat ... ]
This sounds similar to Xenakis' sieve technique, although I can't remember the details about how he constructs it.


Quote from: karlhenning on April 16, 2008, 03:51:38 AM
Which piece is this for?


Prelude for Brett's wedding;  this section is organ and brass quintet.  I worked some more on the rhythm of this section, on the bus ride this morning.  In general what happens (in this section) is, the organ and brass start out together, both rhythmically and in terms of harmonic content; then the two elements split apart, and are in a kind of counterpoint.
Hmmmmmm i think i can imagine it, vaguely



Quote from: karlhenning on April 15, 2008, 06:00:04 PM
Did you have any specific questions?  Otherwise, I'm apt to just gab about the piece, of course.  8)
I see that it's heavily contrapuntal, especially in the beginning. Are there other really important subjects besides the first (which the alto sax begins with) that aren't quite as easily seen?

karlhenning

Rehearsal last night at St Paul's was pretty good. Ideally (and, mind you, not at all the impossible sort of ideally, for the record) I should have liked for us to read Nuhro from start to finish, at some point last night. We did not do that, but instead took various challenging sections of the piece in turn, not quite looking at all the piece, even piecemeal. As it turned out, there was enough 'institutional memory' of the piece among the choir, that as we focused on the more rhythmically challenging passages, they fell into place quite readily. (Hey! Seems I don't write such impossible music, after all!)

I mean, I knew that the piece would be much easier to put together (put back together) now, with a choir who have sung the piece before (even so long ago, at this point) than teaching it to a choir new to the piece, and 'cold'; but actually experiencing this 'enhanced aptitude' for the piece, and the ease of re-acquisition, was very stimulating. The choir, too, got a charge out of this; one of the sopranos right away chimed in, "It is so nice coming back to this." And perhaps two of the choristers were completely new to the piece (and its counting demands) last night, but within the fold of a choir who pretty much knew it, they in turn were acquiring the piece rapidly . . . and after all, the piece is (I may say without immodesty, I think) an attractive bit of choral writing, and everyone at last night's rehearsal were immediately 'into' it.

I am still going to want to run it from start to finish at next Wednesday's rehearsal; which (come to think of it) I will discreetly mention to Ed . . .

We also made fairly quick (if, as yet, still unpolished) work of Pascha nostrum last night; that will fall into place much more readily, of course, than the subtle intricacies of Nuhro.

All in all, the composer is pleased.

karlhenning

It seems that a quintet in LA may read my Moonrise tomorrow.

greg

hopefully they play it, too  ;)

karlhenning

Well, I think that will happen, if they take a liking to it in the reading.  The trombonist of the quintet seemed enthusiastic about the piece from the look of the score.

Lilas Pastia

Hopefully a tape will be made  :D.

In the mood for Henning's Hodie, my favourite piece so far 0:).

Catison

Quote from: karlhenning on May 02, 2008, 11:26:56 AM
Well, I think that will happen, if they take a liking to it in the reading.  The trombonist of the quintet seemed enthusiastic about the piece from the look of the score.

That's good news.  My quintet has put the Sinfonietta on the back burner for now.  I hope we can pick it back up for our Fall concert.
-Brett

Harry

Dear friends and Karl, let it be known that through some small effort on my side, Karl's Magnificat will be performed in Holland on the 24 and 31 of May 2008, by a very good Choir.
I have played many times through the score of this piece, and my admiration is growing every time. A fine and well written choir work, of great dimensions, so congratulations Karl, well done.
It will be recorded and possibly filmed, and I am sure copies will be available either through Karl, or me. :)

Lilas Pastia


karlhenning

With characteristic modesty, Harry has understated his considerable and vital efforts.  André, too, knows how easy a piece the Magnificat is not  8)

Dank u wel, mijn vriend!

Cato

Hi!  Cato's back in action!

Karl: After quickly skimming the last pages, I wonder if you had Rimsky-Korsakov's use of the octatonic scale in your corpus callosum.

Also, the discussion reminded me of Avenir de Monfred's ideas in his book The New Diatonic Modal Principle of Relative Music.

Yay team!  Performances from California    8)     to Holland!    0:)

(To be sure, some people would put   :o     after California, but...)   ;)
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)