Henning's Headquarters

[karlhenning]

Audio for the 17 Nov 09 concert is on line.

[Bogey]

Audio for the 17 Nov 09 concert is on line.

When I have a prolonged time near my computer area, Karl, I will take it in.  Thanks for the link.  Was there an intermission and is the order the same as you played them?

[karlhenning]

We played without intermission, Bill;  and that menu is indeed concert order.

Just heard from Nicole yesterday, and she will be coming to Boston in June.  So we are plotting a couple of performances to coincide with her visit . . . and I should write the last movement of the suite I started out with Heedless Watermelon.

[karlhenning]

Brett has most bravely had his quintet do some reading of Moonrise (with cornets rather than flugelhorns).

[karlhenning]

An appearance of being back to work.

[Bogey]

Have not looked through all the threads, Karl as I have cropped my time here and replaced it with family time (been schooling my kiddos in the art of Battleship ).  I only visit on Friday's as of now and caught your bit about being under the weather.  Hope all is well my friend.

[karlhenning]

Many thanks, Bill!  Things are improving, thanks to a little device.  Miraculous little contraption, really.

[karlhenning]

Progress on Lunar Glare is simply smokin'.

[karlhenning]

A classmate from Wooster and I have recently gotten into a state of re-confirmed contact.  Back when I was in Buffalo, Jeff came to UB to do an interpretive dance to a performance of Ambiguous Strategies by The Fires of Tonawanda (six of us graduate composers who also – and in spite of official discouragement from the head of the composition faculty – continued to play).  That was long ago, of course, but Jeff still does dance;  in fact, he recently went on something of a mini-tour of Ireland, an experience he found both enjoyable and encouraging.

So, in a recent phone chat, Jeff and I agreed that we should try to combine some dance event with live Henningmusick.  Status quo is, I've sent him two discs of a variety of stuff, and his wife Sally (the choreographer between them) already wants to try to use some ten numbers.  This could well happen.

In attempts to pull out of a mentality of inertia (still a good couple of weeks of healing to go with the wound), I started drawing up Lunar Glare, clarinet and harpsichord.  Paul is very taken with the idea in general, and particularly because it seemed to him that the piece could work either with modern tuning, or with the Baroque tuning which he is apt to use most often – thanks to the very easy swap between B-flat (which will work with modern tuning) and A clarinets.

I just started flinging notes onto the page, morally prepared to throw any and all of it out, but in hopes that some of it, at least, might stick.  Perhaps I am susceptible because I haven't been quite myself medically for a while – but I'm actually pretty much liking all of it, and it's reached a point where it feels to me that it is writing itself (one of my favorite experiences).  I told Paul the piece was likely to run to 16 minutes, and he responded very favorably to that.

Paul has also been rehearsing the Passion with Sine Nomine, and after their latest rehearsal (this Monday evening past), he reports that enthusiasm for the piece is running very high.

[karlhenning]

It seems I freaked out my Sibelius playback with recently added tuplets . . . .

[karlhenning]

My ears have been hungrily listening to both Messiaen and Britten this morning . . . which must in some mysterious way(s) be related to my musical occupations in Lunar Glare . . . .

I sent the current state of the draught score to the harpsichordist, Paul, who will read it this week.

[karlhenning]

The news is . . . harpsichordist Paul has read the 16-page draught I sent him of [the current state of] Lunar Glare.  His response has been most gratifyingly enthusiastic.  Musically, he likes it, likes the range of 'stuff' from dry to 'juicy';  technically, it all lies well in the hands.  Quotha: "There isn't anything terribly difficult technically, but it's counting.  Which is fun."

If I finish the piece completely sometime this week, it will be plenty of time.

The Lux Nova Press website (http://www.luxnova.com/) has seen some serious overhaul recently.  And (as a result partly of the November recital, and its audio being listenable on-line at Instant Encore) LNP are keen to get the various versions of The Angel Who Bears a Flaming Sword, Heedless Watermelon & All the Birds in Mondrian's Cage in the pipeline.  So part of my afternoon was spent 'back-saving' those Sibelius files to a version in use by the Press.

Also had a very nice catch-up chat with Cato.

[karlhenning]

First post in a while.

[secondwind]

"a long, slow recovery" . . .

What have I missed?  Sorry to have been oblivious or to seem unconcerned, I just obviously missed something.  Are you okay?

[karlhenning]

You are not oblivious, nor do you seem unconcerned.  Nothing serious, but a post-surgery wound which has been a slow time a-healing.  More weeks of waiting ahead.

[karlhenning]

Largely finished; may need to add some little detail.

[secondwind]

You are not oblivious, nor do you seem unconcerned.  Nothing serious, but a post-surgery wound which has been a slow time a-healing.  More weeks of waiting ahead.

Best wishes for full recovery as soon as realistically possible.  Glad to hear it is not more serious.

[karlhenning]

Thank you, indeed!

[karlhenning]

Having finished, I walk around the pond.

[Luke]

Karl, Lunar Glare looks wonderful! I can't wait to hear it! It seems to be vintage Henning - your usual rhythmic playfulness, your usual way with a sequence of well-imagined and memorable textural ideas. A juicy treat indeed! I was intruiged by the page for solo harpsichord  (bottom of page 4 and most of page 5) where - or am I imagining this - you seem to be playing with various 'shapes' of baroque improvisation, appogiature, turns, mordents inverted and otherwise all abounding here...delightful. And further on, those pages in furious rhythmic unison (from page 11) - did I read somewhere that you'd been listening to Messiaen and had been wondering if any of it had leaked into your piece? In which case, I can't be alone in seeing shades of the 'Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes' from the Quartet for the End of Time here, can I? Though rather than Messiaen's octaves/unisons, your line looks like it is fourths throughout - what a marvellous sound that will make, like the some of the synthesizer patches in Adams' Chamber Symphony, I imagine, which thicken up the keyboard's funky lines into giddy parallel triads....I'm rambling. Anyway, it looks just great!