Henning's Headquarters

[Karl Henning]

[Karl Henning]

Engraving job update: Four pages down, 13 to go. Counting on not working any on Therapy Day, tomorrow.

[Karl Henning]

[Karl Henning]

Thank you for applying to the Civic Fellows 2025 Call for Scores. We look forward to reviewing your submission. If selected for the call, you will hear from us by Friday, March 14.

[Checks notes]

Oh, yes, I re-scored Dark Side of the Sun for that call.

[Karl Henning]

If selected for the call, you will hear from us by Friday, March 14.

Which I suppose means that my piece migjt not be selected, and if not, I will hear nothing. Ah well.

[Kalevala]

Which I suppose means that my piece might not be selected, and if not, I will hear nothing. Ah well.

They really should let you know either way, me thinks.  Or, one thought, do they get so many submissions and have so little staff, that that would be extremely difficult?  Will they announce it on their website (so that one could check)?

K

[Karl Henning]

They really should let you know either way, me thinks.  Or, one thought, do they get so many submissions and have so little staff, that that would be extremely difficult?  Will they announce it on their website (so that one could check)?

K

Chances are they'll send a general "sorry" e-mail to all the unchosen. And perhaps they're just declining to commit to that action by the 14th. Anyway, my piece may ne selected yet. You never know.

[Cato]

Chances are they'll send a general "sorry" e-mail to all the unchosen. And perhaps they're just declining to commit to that action by the 14th. Anyway, my piece may ne selected yet. You never know.

I understand the immense frustration via my literary creations!

Book agents and publishers stopped sending even form rejection letters years ago: they almost always want just a sample through e-mail, or worse, they refuse e-mails and have a lengthy form to fill out, which has little to do with one's story, and too often the form has a glitch in it, etc. etc. etc. and then they have rules about formatting, fonts, margins, etc. etc. etc.

I have decided that I should spend most of my time creating my stories, rather than spending hours fooling around with forms and fiddling with minor details, which have nothing to do with the story! 

So, anyway, it is high time for someone with open ears to give your works a chance...and pay you for the opportunity to play them!    

[Karl Henning]

Good Henning Ensemble rehearsal this morning (it pretty much wiped me out...I'm still recouping from PT yesterday. We had the full quartet, so we read Alan's revised Quiet Girl (everyone approves) and Dark Side of the Sun. Reasonable concern was expressed that the program is too C Flutey, so I was asked to remove one of the C Flutes from Hooch and swap in a Clarinet. The other item of business was finding concert dates that work for everybody, so now I reach back out to the Library.

Now, we've got:

Hooch at the Hop?

Music for the un-Hip Hop, Op. 178 (two flutes) 6:00
Yesterday's Snow, Op. 160a (two C flutes and Bass Clarinet) 6:00
Surfing an Earthquake, Op. 190 (three flutes) 6:00
Snootful of Hooch, Op. 159b (C flute, Alto Flute and B-flat Clarinet) 6:30
Amorphous and Forward-Looking, Op. 196 (C flute, Alto Flute and Bass Clarinet) 5:00

My other homework basically involves improving page turns in a couple of parts.

[Karl Henning]

So, the improbable speed of creating this piece comes from my decision to adapt the string fugato which has been sitting around. This work in turn will help expand the string version. Another way of putting it is: the need to create this piece refreshed inspiration with the old sketch. It is ironically both an expansion (duration-wise) and a reduction (texturally, to three voices.) Sound file courtesy of @krummholz
https://audio.com/karl-henning-1/audio/op-196-amorphous-forward-looking

[Karl Henning]

So, the improbable speed of creating this piece comes from my decision to adapt the string fugato which has been sitting around. This work in turn will help expand the string version. Another way of putting it is: the need to create this piece refreshed inspiration with the old sketch. It is ironically both an expansion (duration-wise) and a reduction (texturally, to three voices.) Sound file courtesy of @krummholz
https://audio.com/karl-henning-1/audio/op-196-amorphous-forward-looking

Oh, the score ....

[Karl Henning]

Music for the Un-Hip Hop is relentlessly busy, which exacerbated the annoyance that the composer (ahem) gave both of the flutists lousy page-turns. In creating manageable page turns I added some material here and there, so it's both brand-new and much the same piece.

https://audio.com/karl-henning-1/audio/op178-music-for-the-un-hip-hop-1-mar-25

[Cato]

Music for the Un-Hip Hop is relentlessly busy, which exacerbated the annoyance that the composer (ahem) gave both of the flutists lousy page-turns. In creating manageable page turns I added some material here and there, so it's both brand-new and much the same piece.

https://audio.com/karl-henning-1/audio/op178-music-for-the-un-hip-hop-1-mar-25

Thanks for the links!  I will try to read the score later: it is time to go to church!  😇

[Karl Henning]

Engraving job update: six pages down, eleven to go.

[Cato]

Music for the Un-Hip Hop is relentlessly busy, which exacerbated the annoyance that the composer (ahem) gave both of the flutists lousy page-turns. In creating manageable page turns I added some material here and there, so it's both brand-new and much the same piece.

https://audio.com/karl-henning-1/audio/op178-music-for-the-un-hip-hop-1-mar-25

A fun, whirlwind ride!   I note that the MIDI does not follow the score to slow things down for the final bars: that Ritardando at the end will be an excellent touch in performance!

[Karl Henning]

Engraving job update: ten pages down, seven to go.

[Karl Henning]

Between the demise of Triad and my dismissal as church music director, I've not felt any motivation toward choral music for a while. Something unusual has happened to drive that funk away. On Facebook (all its flaws notwithstanding) I'm friends with David Ossman of the Firesign Theatre. I met David and Philip Proctor backstage after a show they performed at the Library of Congress. Anyway, he posted a poem on Facebook. Asks I, If a composer wished to set this to music, Mr O. how might one secure permission? He replied, Karl Henning One only needs to ask. Well, I didn't want to proceed without a willing musical collaborator, so I reached out to Triad alumnus Julian Bryson, Director of Choral Activities at Jacksonville University. I wrote that I want to write him a piece for choir and single-line instrument, and asked what instrument would be best. It turns out brass is easiest for him, so I settled quickly on trombone.

The text:

Let the fire move pass on
when love is in retreat
What to do? The question
nags and moments separate
Time goes soft Through an opening I hear you
and the silent bells We don't know what to say
Break off the conversation

Retreat resist
The rear guard runs and ducks firing toward the air
Strategy is firm but friendly

Stay low! Keep me at a distance! Say nothing!
Watch the fire move pass on
as love retreats across the face of Heaven

[Karl Henning]

Oh, how I hate it when a freak click makes mysterious changes to the score, and it's a damned Rubik's cube trying to figure out how to restore order. Damn, damn, damn.

[Karl Henning]

And it's a bit more of a puzzle because it's not my piece. Okay. Rant over.

[Karl Henning]

Got that page done and it didn't kill me.