Henning's Headquarters

[Karl Henning]

Well, a contrast seemed called for ; )

[Karl Henning]

. . . and I got some more work scribbled on this morning's train.

And again.  A little work, a few more measures composed each day, and in a week or so the piece will be done, and I shall almost wonder how I did it . . . .

[Karl Henning]

It's achieving that Zen balance of loving and trusting the self-critical faculties : )

[Lisztianwagner]

Thanks for listening, Ilaria!

My pleasure, Karl. Misapprehension was definitely beautiful, I liked it very much; the combination of the different clarinets was very colourful and original! What a pity the computer sound doesn't do justice to these instruments.....

[Karl Henning]

Thank you, indeed, Ilaria!

Hopefully there will be a performance this autumn, and hopefully, there will be a document of the performance : )

[DavidRoss]

Nice enough as far as I'm concerned, Karl, but as you know I'm partial to orchestral music.

Anne, however -- a chamber musician and flutist, as you may recall -- liked it quite a bit. I didn't tell her what it was, just began playing it in my home office, and after a while she came in to say she liked it very much and wanted to know what it was.   

[Karl Henning]

Thanks, Dave & Anne!

[Karl Henning]

Per this post . . . too easy to get caught up in the busy schedule (and mind you, I've been fairly productive inside and around the busy schedule, of late).  Sometimes, just being forced to sit down, is an invitation to the Muse.

[Karl Henning]

Good news viz. Annabel Lee, if a bit on the amusing side as well:

When I saw Carola in choir yesterday, she said that rehearsal on Saturday had gone well.  They had planned to allot 45 minutes to work on my piece, but wound up spending an hour and a half on it.

Stravinsky tricks, indeed!

[Karl Henning]

Poster

[North Star]

The title of the concert maybe ought to be changed...

[Karl Henning]

Hm, I do see your point (though the title is not my doing). I wonder if the Quartet will modify it?

[Szykneij]

Hm, I do see your point (though the title is not my doing). I wonder if the Quartet will modify it?

I don't think there's any need to modify the title. The true meaning of the poster is pretty clear.

As I mentioned to you earlier, I have another commitment on that date so I'm sorry I can't attend. It should be an interesting venue. I've tried to visit the sheet music store located there on occasion, but their hours of operation and my hours of availability don't seem to line up.

I have a bit of an interest in the history of these parts, so here's a peek at what the place looked like over a century ago from the Szykneij archives --

[Karl Henning]

The Quartet did, as it turns out, elect to re-christen the event.

[Karl Henning]

The odd thing is, I feel certain that I have more sketches from (granted) a couple of weeks ago, but they're not in this notebook. I am sure I did not imagine it . . . .

Anyway, (a) I could recreate those sketches if I find that feel strongly about that material, and (b) the sketches from this week fit better with the movement at this point.

[Karl Henning]

The odd thing is, I feel certain that I have more sketches from (granted) a couple of weeks ago, but they're not in this notebook. I am sure I did not imagine it . . . .

I did not imagine it! but I am dumbfounded as to why I missed it, for the page I sought was indeed in the notebook.

So, I got a bit more composed on the train ride this morning. I feel that the movement (and thus the Sonata as a whole) will reach its end this weekend.

The computer file with the text for "Annabel Lee," indicating that I was planning to set it (at some point), is dated July 2010 . . . .

[Karl Henning]

Thanks! Much better as the Sibelius 7 sound library sounds compared to version 5, over the course of a piece for solo organ the inflexibility of the registration strikes me as a potential negative.

That said, I am hopeful that more than one organist whom I know will want to perform the piece, and a document of any such performance will be a much better ambassador!

[. . .]

You know, I have made a point of always carrying my notebook on my commute, though it isn't every day I "feel" like writing.  Some days, though, just making the very slight effort to open the fool thing is the catalyst.  I opened her up, not even thinking that I had any particular idea to impart to the page, but once the pen was in my hand, I found that I knew a cracking variation of the idea earlier scribbled, further up the page.

And as a consequence, enthusiasm is substantially rekindled.

[. . .]

The really great thing about waking up to Wednesday April the 24^th, is the smoking thought that to-morrow evening, the Libella Quartet will sing Annabel Lee.

[Cato]

Thanks! Much better as the Sibelius 7 sound library sounds compared to version 5, over the course of a piece for solo organ the inflexibility of the registration strikes me as a potential negative.

That said, I am hopeful that more than one organist whom I know will want to perform the piece, and a document of any such performance will be a much better ambassador!


The really great thing about waking up to Wednesday April the 24^th, is the smoking thought that to-morrow evening, the Libella Quartet will sing Annabel Lee.

Would the "string" sounds of the synthesizer give a better impression of the music than the synthesized organ?

And yes, very exciting about tomorrow night!  I suspect you will receive many hip-hip-hoorays tomorrow!   0:)

[Karl Henning]

Thanks!

In separate Annabel Lee news . . . Paul is thinking about using it for Hallowe'en at FCB (!!)

[Karl Henning]

At the venue now. Concert starts in quarter of an hour.