Henning's Headquarters

[secondwind]

Elgarian
E.W.A.D.T.H.S.

Dear Sir,

Would you be able to supply swivels and bops (in any quantity) to us at the School for the S & B Impaired?  Thanking you in advance,

Nonswiv Bopless, PhD

[karlhenning]

Can't compress these bops; I don't advise anyone even to try.

[Elgarian]

Would you be able to supply swivels and bops (in any quantity) to us at the School for the S & B Impaired?  Thanking you in advance,

Nonswiv Bopless, PhD

Dear Dr Bopless,

We are of course willing to supply such swivels and bops as you require, depending upon receipt of your assurance (and the necessary documention) that appropriate safety features are in place on the premises where the swivels and bops will be released. Our swivels and bops are indeed of the compressible variety (at least in principle), but they are still almost as dangerous as those which Dr Henning will shortly be unleashing upon the World.
Yours faithfully,
Bopling Swivelton,
Sales and Safety Manager, E.W.A.D.T.H.S.

[karlhenning]

Busy morning. I might have practiced the clarinet (something I certainly need to do), but Maria was up late painting, so I mustn't disturb the slumbering artists. Sent clarinet/organ music to Bill Goodwin for us to play next week;  sent Gaze Transfixt & Lutosławski's Lullaby to two different pianists . . . maybe one of them will actually play the pieces, who knows;  sent "Pasha's motet" (Love Is the Spirit) to a friend who (I too seldom remember) is assistant music director of a Unitarian parish on the North Shore, so this text is (or, should be) an easy pitch.

(And I will practice when I get back home this evening.)

[secondwind]

Dear Dr Bopless,

We are of course willing to supply such swivels and bops as you require, depending upon receipt of your assurance (and the necessary documention) that appropriate safety features are in place on the premises where the swivels and bops will be released. Our swivels and bops are indeed of the compressible variety (at least in principle), but they are still almost as dangerous as those which Dr Henning will shortly be unleashing upon the World.
Yours faithfully,
Bopling Swivelton,
Sales and Safety Manager, E.W.A.D.T.H.S.

Dear Mr. Swivelton,

Our current safety procedures require hard hats, safety goggles, and hearing protection with special S & B filters for anyone within 50 feet of S & B activity.  Do you think full body armor should be added?  Nervous system surge protectors?  Melatonin-reducing joy-inhibitors?  It is hard to know where to draw the line.  Do you know what safety procedures are standard for the notoriously dangerous Henningmusick events?

Respectfully yours,

Dr. Bopless

[greg]

I don't know what in the world you two are talking about, but somehow I find it hilarious.

Sincerely,

Dr. Swivelbop

[Elgarian]

Dear Mr. Swivelton,

Our current safety procedures require hard hats, safety goggles, and hearing protection with special S & B filters for anyone within 50 feet of S & B activity.  Do you think full body armor should be added?  Nervous system surge protectors?  Melatonin-reducing joy-inhibitors?  It is hard to know where to draw the line.  Do you know what safety procedures are standard for the notoriously dangerous Henningmusick events?

Respectfully yours,

Dr. Bopless

Dear Dr Bopless,

My understanding (based on extended consultation with Dr Henning's representatives lasting for at least five minutes, including the teabreak) is that we are in uncharted territory here. Our own experiments suggest that an initial release of 50 megabops (far less than the estimated impact of Dr Henning's proposed release on 12 May) will result in the total flattening of countryside across a radius of several kilometres. If we add in to this the likely effect of SSA (significant swivel activity), then total evacuation of the surrounding area seems to be the minimum requirement (always excepting, of course, the audience itself, who will be shielded from these effects by Dr Henning's Patented Personal Bop Protector and Swivel Guard).

Be assured of our best attention always,
Yrs, etc.
Bopling Swivelton, B.Mus. (failed)

[karlhenning]

Bop management continues unfettered (let alone uncompressed) this afternoon.

[secondwind]

Dear Mr. Swivelton,

in light of your most recent communication, we have concluded that we have badly underestimated the potential impact of the upcoming May 12 event.  Has any consideration been given to the possible disruption of air travel in and around the northeastern United States?  Have there been studies of the impact of swivels and bops of such intensity and duration on wireless communications?  Satellite transmissions?

Yours truly,

Dr. Bopless

[Scarpia]

I'm having flashbacks to Ionia.

[Elgarian]

Dear Mr. Swivelton,

in light of your most recent communication, we have concluded that we have badly underestimated the potential impact of the upcoming May 12 event.  Has any consideration been given to the possible disruption of air travel in and around the northeastern United States?  Have there been studies of the impact of swivels and bops of such intensity and duration on wireless communications?  Satellite transmissions?

Yours truly,

Dr. Bopless

Dear Dr Bopless,

I have passed your questions to our scientific advisors, who are anxious to reassure you that swivels and bops are acoustic phenomena, and will therefore have no direct effect on wireless communication and satellite transmissions (other than the total destruction, by purely mechanical vibration, of all radio aerials, installations, and indeed all physical constructions of any kind whatsoever within the destruction zone).

To those who already have tickets for the May 12 event, we advise that they may experience difficulties finding traditional transportation to their homes afterwards, and should make appropriate alternative arrangements. (This will not of course be a problem for those whose homes lie within the destruction zone, for there will no longer be anywhere for them to go.)

Assuring you of our best attention at all times,

B. Swivelton, A.S.O.S.C. (Advisor to the Snake Oil Salesmen's Confederation)

[karlhenning]

Program notes for tomorrow.

[Elgarian]

All kidding aside for the moment - here's wishing you all the very best for tomorrow's performance, Karl.

[secondwind]

Yes, Karl.  Break a . . . well, reed or whatever. . . you know, good luck!  I wish you a large and attentive audience.  Wish I could be there.  One of these days, maybe I'll make it up to Boston.  Until then, I'm looking forward to the recording!

[karlhenning]

Thanks! We had a smokin' dress rehearsal this afternoon. Tomorrow should be good.

[karlhenning]

Tuesday, May 18, 2010, 12:15pm

KING'S CHAPEL PRESENTS
Cool Breezes:  Music of Karl Henning

Peter H. Bloom, flute
Karl Henning, clarinet
King's Chapel
Corner of School & Tremont Streets, Boston

Irreplaceable Doodles, Opus 89
Here You Go / Hear You Go, Opus 101 (première)
Heedless Watermelon, Opus 97 № 1
All the Birds in Mondrian's Garden, Opus 97 № 2
Swivels & Bops, Opus 97 № 3

Free will donation

[karlhenning]

We came, we saw, we bopped.

[Elgarian]

We came, we saw, we bopped.

Well it can hardly be a coincidence: all your swivels and bops have swooshed across the Atlantic and seem to have transformed our leading politicians into real people with a sense of hope and fairness, imbued with a new spirit of helpful collaboration. Not a bad outcome by any means - thanks Karl.

[secondwind]

Well it can hardly be a coincidence: all your swivels and bops have swooshed across the Atlantic and seem to have transformed our leading politicians into real people with a sense of hope and fairness, imbued with a new spirit of helpful collaboration. Not a bad outcome by any means - thanks Karl.

Veni, swivi, bopi. . .
I felt the blast from here.  I can only hope for the effect on US politicians to be half as good!  Congratulations, Karl.

[Bogey]