Henning's Headquarters

[karlhenning]

Oh, mercy, but now I sense these musely itchings to write a substantial work for harpsichord solo, for my friend Paul . . . .

[karlhenning]

Went to a concert of new music (none of it mine — just saying) last night. With a brief intermission, the concert ran two hours, which may have been a shade long. Met at last two "area musicians," as we might say: composer Elizabeth Vercoe, whose music PHB has long championed (and both of her pieces on the program were the top of the offering last night); and a talented, hard-working cellist, Rachel Arnold. Rachel & I have been "friends" on fb a long time (via Dan, he of the intrepid frame drum) but this is the first we've actually met in person.

I owe a couple of people dear to me, a chamber work with cello. I can get to work on these now.

[karlhenning]

Last night's concert opened with . . . the sounds of a motorcycle in the street.

Seriously, it was a warm evening, and it was decided to open the windows of the church (a Presbyterian church in Somerville).  Probably, even if closed the windows would not have kept out much of the noise yeste even.  I enjoyed the Cageian aspects of this, even while I felt sorry for the performers.

Officially, though, last night's program opened with a piano solo piece, played by the composer, which failed to distinguish itself from any of four or six dozen other Klavierstuck jiggers which have peppered the musical landscape since the 1970s.

About half the program was at roughly the same artistic level. And, as I say, it was a two-hour program . . . so even for a composer, accustomed (nor averse) to a high concentration of new music, the evening was something of a trial. I like listening to new music; I don't really enjoy the experience of enduring disposable music . . . .

That said, there were pieces on the program which well repaid attention.  It was a two-hour program, which would have made a tightly impressive 60-minute gripper.

[karlhenning]

Ah, memory lane! Saul advising me on how to Compose Beautifully, complete with exemplary samples from the major composer, Howard Shore!

Clearly, all I need is the inspiration of The Lord of the Calamari Rings!

Well an opinion of another composer is not the same as of an audience.

Anyways,  all I'm saying is that I would have done things a little different.
I just imagine what the entrance of an unexpected voice and theme can do to this piece, I believe it can make it much better then it is now. If you are happy and pleased with the way it is now, that's absolutely fine, after all its your composition, not mine.

There is no fault in learning from the greats, and how they might have done things with similar motifs in music. I didn't ask you to compose like Mendelssohn or Bach, but perhaps to see how they handled similar material in music.

I gave your piece another listen, and I must say that in most compositions there is a sense of beginning lets call it A and then there is a sense of Arriving,  lets call it B. In your work, it sounds as thought the theme of A just revolves within itself and there is no sense of going somewhere.

In my opinion, if you want to achieve a feeling 'arriving' you need to use modulation, and fugal development. That adds a certain complexity and generates interest.

But maybe  its entirely possible that you didn't want to achieve this, and wanted to sort of revolve around this theme, that's your choice, but to me personally its sounds boring. I need to hear something else going on within the piece to find interest to want to continue listening time after time.


Here's an example of what I mean from some modern music.


Howard shore wrote a work called Lothlorien for the film 'The Lord of the Rings', this is basically a chant. Look how cleverly he used modulation to generate interest in the piece. Every time I hear this work its like listening for the first time.

If you listen carefully, the main theme (or introductory theme) ends 1: 15 and a second later at 1:16 a totally unexpected voice enters that gives enormous contrast and beauty to the main opening theme.
No one ever had expected this new theme to come almost out of nowhere, but it did. The ear is so curious and wants to stay along, because who knows what other new surprises are waiting to reveal themselves.

http://www.youtube.com/v/x2Y5EzvaybY

I promise you, that if the same theme would have repeated itself on 1:16 then the piece would have been just like another piece, boring, and uninteresting, I wouldn't even bother listening to it so many times.

I believe that even within simplicity, a certain sense of complexity must exist in order to generate interest.
Look at Bach's first Keyboard Prelude In C major. The motif and the melody is very simple, but he goes through and adventure of keys and modulations, its really amazing, how he was able to achieve complexity within simplify, and I believe that this is the key that separates 'Good compositions' from' Great Compositions'.

Regards,

Saul

[karlhenning]

Hah!

Thanks, Soaring Tortiose!

Interesting assumption; how do you mean?

[Mn Dave]

Hah!

I know quality. Even in atonal honking.

[Cato]

Quote from Saul:

"There is no fault in learning from the greats, and how they might have done things with similar motifs in music. I didn't ask you to compose like Mendelssohn or Bach, but perhaps to see how they handled similar material in music."

Mendelssohn, Bach, and Howard Shore.

The Greats! And the latter even has a heavy bank account!  You cannot argue therefore that Howard Shore is NOT a genius, not after listening to epic scores from e.g. Videodrome, Dead Ringers, and one of my favorites, the classic "I-want-somebody-to-gouge-my-eyes-out-and-stick-them-in-my-ears!" movie Striptease.

And what has happened to Saul anyway?  Perhaps he is busy discovering that C# minor is related to E major!  0:)

[karlhenning]

Dead Ringers . . . I remember mostly being creeped out by that one, I don't remember the music.  I suppose I shall need to revisit it, in order to pay attention to the score : )

[karlhenning]

In other news . . . a Sicilian colleague has been spreading the Instant Encore URL for The Angel Who Bears a Flaming Sword (the concert flute version played by Nicole Chamberlain) among European colleagues. Maybe a European performance will result? . . .

[karlhenning]

Synchronicity?  The same weekend that I post this, I find that another chap who works in the museum shop plays electric guitar.  And we worked together this afternoon, so . . . I gave him the background, asked him if he would be game to play in a chamber group, in a piece I should write after sitting down with him to have him demo the various timbres he works with on his guitar. (Oh, and naturally, I asked him how his reading of regular notation is.)  Something may just happen.

[Szykneij]

Last night's concert opened with . . . the sounds of a motorcycle in the street.

Seriously, it was a warm evening, and it was decided to open the windows of the church (a Presbyterian church in Somerville).

Dang! Wish I had known. I could have walked from home. (And I was just up the street having Tacos at Rudy's!)

[ibanezmonster]

Synchronicity?  The same weekend that I post this, I find that another chap who works in the museum shop plays electric guitar.  And we worked together this afternoon, so . . . I gave him the background, asked him if he would be game to play in a chamber group, in a piece I should write after sitting down with him to have him demo the various timbres he works with on his guitar. (Oh, and naturally, I asked him how his reading of regular notation is.)  Something may just happen.

Man... just too bad I'm not in accessible distance, since I'd definitely play something at one of your recitals if you asked me to.

And what has happened to Saul anyway?  Perhaps he is busy discovering that C# minor is related to E major!  0:)

LOL! 
He is probably working on his 400th composition now... Nocturne no.7 for piano in D Major.
It's probably really in F# Minor, and in 6/8 time (despite a 4/4 marking), and for clarinet instead of piano. Yep, I really said that. Clarinet instead of piano. 


 

[karlhenning]

Inclined to work on both the Cello Sonatina & The Mystic Trumpeter in tandem. The sabbatical must have been entirely the right thing, I feel music a-flowing.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Ah, memory lane! Saul advising me on how to Compose Beautifully, complete with exemplary samples from the major composer, Howard Shore!

Clearly, all I need is the inspiration of The Lord of the Calamari Rings!

The patronising stupidity of the advice reminds me of a classic scene from Ricky Gervais' Extras, where Ian McKellen (Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings) ridicules himself:




http://www.youtube.com/v/nyoWmkhRyp8

[karlhenning]

What a hoot! Thank you, Johan.

Incidentally, I've picked up work again on The Mystic Trumpeter . . . .

[karlhenning]

And for further bemusement, the start of the Cello Sonatina.

Compositionally, I feel great (probably undeservedly). With Sibelius, though, I'm feeling the time of absence . . . I forget what to do to get the tempo marking to appear on the piano staff, too . . . .

[Cato]

LOL! 
"Saul " is probably working on his 400th composition now... Nocturne no.7 for piano in D Major.
It's probably really in F# Minor, and in 6/8 time (despite a 4/4 marking), and for clarinet instead of piano. Yep, I really said that. Clarinet instead of piano. 


 

Really great clarinetists always use 2 staves, right?   

Great to read that you are cranking out the masterpieces!  The electric guitar: have you ever used one before in a work?   

[ibanezmonster]

Really great clarinetists always use 2 staves, right?   

Xenakis solo clarinet works use 14 staves. They almost look like an orchestral score. 
Karl could easily play something like that, couldn't you, Karl? 

[karlhenning]

Great to read that you are cranking out the masterpieces!  The electric guitar: have you ever used one before in a work?   

Never! So the key will be, to learn something, and have a chance of knowing what I'm doing . . . .

[karlhenning]

Xenakis solo clarinet works use 14 staves. They almost look like an orchestral score. 
Karl could easily play something like that, couldn't you, Karl? 

Definitely wouldn't know what I'm doing if I tried that . . . .