Henning's Headquarters

[karlhenning]

Recital today, too:

ADDITIONAL ENGAGEMENT!! CAVING IN TO POPULAR DEMAND!!

Bullish Upticks (IIb)

The Irrationally Exuberant Music of Karl Henning

Blue Shamrock, Opus 63 (2002) clarinet solo
The Angel Who Bears a Flaming Sword, Opus 94a (2008) alto flute – Premiere
Irreplaceable Doodles, Opus 89 (2007) clarinet solo
Heedless Watermelon, Opus 97 (2009) flute & clarinet – Premiere

Peter H. Bloom, flutes
Karl Henning, clarinet

Wednesday, 29 July 2009
12:15pm
West End Branch, Boston Public Library
151 Cambridge Street, Boston
Free & Open to the Public.

When the going gets tough, the tough get composing.

[DavidW]

Playing at a library eh?  Won't they ask to quiet down?

[karlhenning]

 

[zamyrabyrd]

Just stumbled on HH...what a delightful sounding program!!
Have a nice time, y'all!!
ZB

[karlhenning]

Thanks, ZB!

[Brian]

Karl, I listened to the Watermelon Sans Heed last night during a baseball game ( ) and then afterwards to give it a fairer chance ... maybe, just maybe, my favorite Henning so far; I actually could hear a full symphony orchestra in my head asking if they could please play the first minute or so - although the rest of the work might not work so well arranged for the "big band"...

Wonderful and hope you had a marvelous time at the library!

[greg]

Any chance you could upload the score?

[karlhenning]

With pleasure (and thanks to Davey & Brian for taking so affectionately to the piece, too!)

[ChamberNut]

With pleasure (and thanks to Davey & Brian for taking so affectionately to the piece, too!)

Man, I really need to take a full music theory course, so I understand scores better! 

[karlhenning]

May wind up tossing it all out, but it is still progress upon the circularity of 'considering notes'.

[Dr. Dread]

Hundreds of highways head to Henning Hall.

[karlhenning]

 

[karlhenning]

One of the highways, was the thought of Lutosławski, on a train out of St Petersburg. (Cello ensemble version, now finished.)

[karlhenning]

One of the highways, was the thought of Lutosławski, on a train out of St Petersburg. (Cello ensemble version, now finished.)

May need some fine-tuning . . . I have to double-check to see if I missed any expression-mark 'transfers' from the Ur-text; and in all events, I breathlessly await word from Audrey. The Marginalia (back in April) she immediately confirmed as perfectly suitable. One of the doubts I entertained in proposing an ensemble arrangement of Lutosławski's Lullaby, was the metrical agility (for a student ensemble), but Audrey reassured me on that point. I think the unanimity of gesture through the group for most of the piece will largely assist them in learning to feel the various subdivisions . . . 7/8 not simply as [ 4/8 + 3/8 ], but as [ 7/16 + 7/16 ] . . . and then, where it begins by establishing:

[ [ 4/16 + 3/16 ] + [ 4/16 + 3/16 ] ]

. . . this gives way at times both to a 7/8 which is [ 4/16 + 6/16 + 4/16 ], and to 11/16 = [ 4/16 + 4/16 + 3/16 ].

The long and the short of it, I think, is that they won't be able to sight-read it, but with a little rehearsal, they'll all get the knack of it, and it will all lock into place.

[karlhenning]

Rolling with Wolferl, Carl & Kurt.

[karlhenning]

The seven composers who have been my strongest overall influences, from the days I was studying the craft of composition, have been:  Bach, Beethoven, Berlioz, Chopin, Sibelius, Hindemith & Stravinsky.  Three pop artists whose influence upon my musical outlook is at times nearly as pervasive are:  Genesis, King Crimson & Zappa.

(Not to derail the thread too much, but I cannot resist...)

What elements of these 7 composers that you have listed do you you think influence you the most? (For example, the orchestration of Berlioz? The rhythms of Stravinsky?) And why these 7 in particular, do you think?

For the most part, I don't have a tidy, helpful answer to the "what elements" query.  One general thing I particular get from Chopin, is the simultaneous presence of classical nerve/infrastructure, and Romantic "apparent impetuosity."  On the whole, same idea (although his era and overall sensibilty are entirely different) with Hindemith.

Contrariwise, the "why these 7 in particular" is an easy question to answer:  they were part of my curriculum.  Several works of Bach, Beethoven, Chopin & Stravinsky were the subject of extended, in-depth analysis in the composition studio — and it was work which withstood the sustained scrutiny.  I always liked a good deal of Berlioz, Sibelius & Hindemith, and although their works were not assigned to me, I applied the same scrutiny on my own initiative.

To those seven composers & three pop artists, I should add Five Works:

Debussy, Sonate pour flûte, alto et harpe
Nielsen, Clarinet Concerto
Messiaen, Quatuor pour le fin du temps
Shostakovich, Tenth Symphony
Reich, The Desert Music

[Tapkaara]

(Not to derail the thread too much, but I cannot resist...)

What elements of these 7 composers that you have listed do you you think influence you the most? (For example, the orchestration of Berlioz? The rhythms of Stravinsky?) And why these 7 in particular, do you think?

For the most part, I don't have a tidy, helpful answer to the "what elements" query.  One general thing I particular get from Chopin, is the simultaneous presence of classical nerve/infrastructure, and Romantic "apparent impetuosity."  On the whole, same idea (although his era and overall sensibilty are entirely different) with Hindemith.

Contrariwise, the "why these 7 in particular" is an easy question to answer:  they were part of my curriculum.  Several works of Bach, Beethoven, Chopin & Stravinsky were the subject of extended, in-depth analysis in the composition studio — and it was work which withstood the sustained scrutiny.  I always liked a good deal of Berlioz, Sibelius & Hindemith, and although their works were not assigned to me, I applied the same scrutiny on my own initiative.

To those seven composers & three pop artists, I should add Five Works:

Debussy, Sonate pour flûte, alto et harpe
Nielsen, Clarinet Concerto
Messiaen, Quatuor pour le fin du temps
Shostakovich, Tenth Symphony
Reich, The Desert Music

Thank you very much for your answer.

As you know, I am a big-time Sibeliophile, so, I am curious what elements of his idiom you admire and that you have tried to incorporate in to your own works. Do you believe his music also "withstands sustained scrutiny?"

[karlhenning]

I don't think I've deliberately incorporated specific Sibelian elements into my work;  which maybe sounds as though there's no influence.  There is, really, but it's tough to pin down.

Yes, I certainly find that his music holds up under the limelight 

[karlhenning]

The Opus 32a is now available at Lux Nova Press.

[karlhenning]

Repeated thanks to Mark, Stephen, Mike, Davey & Pepper!