Ottevanger's Omphaloskeptic Outpost

[lukeottevanger]

And donning a pair of rubber gloves too, I hope.

(For everyone else- I've sent Karl a copy of the still-very-much-unfinished score + MIDI mock-up of my piece, for a much-needed bit of fellow-composerly advice/reassurance; when the piece is complete, you'll all get to see it straightaway)

[karlhenning]

Oven mitts, for this is hot stuff, indeed 

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

And donning a pair of rubber gloves too, I hope.

(For everyone else- I've sent Karl a copy of the still-very-much-unfinished score + MIDI mock-up of my piece, for a much-needed bit of fellow-composerly advice/reassurance; when the piece is complete, you'll all get to see it straightaway)

I don't expect this 'much-needed bit of fellow-composerly advice/reassurance' will become public domain? I have a keen interest in the artistic process...

[lukeottevanger]

Oven mitts, for this is hot stuff, indeed 

If it gets too bad there's always this option:

[karlhenning]

The attentive looking-o'er has begun.  Will report in the morning.

[Guido]

The attentive looking-o'er has begun.  Will report in the morning.

Has morning broken? What news from the Outpost, Karl?

[karlhenning]

Guido, this is the first day I've been able to sleep later than six! 

I liked the brace of pieces immediately, and needed some 'absorptive' time.  And (as I anticipated) the liking has increased with familiarity.

[I feel Luke's pain w/r/t the MIDI, absolutely . . . he has scored it with an ear for lovely, spare subtleties, and MIDI responds with "squawk."]

The Elegy feels to me like a speaker waiting to catch his breath; then, having found his voice, he is content to weigh his words, and let each syllable possess meaning.  (And I do hope Luke doesn't mind my indulging in such an illustration, for I myself know its shortcomings . . . .)  It is a delicate fabric of chaste understatement, with fleeting passages of warm chorales in the brass and then the strings;  and I am sure I am only waiting in line behind the composer in eagerness to hear this played by actual players rather than the necessarily short-falling electronic shadow.

(My one scoring concern is the flutes in mm. 43-44, Luke . . . I don't think they can manage a true forte down there, and they may be apt to be covered by the clarinets and brass, which can be perfectly strong there.)

The Ascent (which I read yet in uncompleted form) plays out in a very satisfying 'narrative'.  It opens with a fine intensity and focus, in which it begins not so much as a contrast to the Elegy, but as an energized outgrowth thereform;  I especially like the irregular subdivision of the seven . . . that will be tricky for a large ensemble, but it is entirely manageable (and will ensure that they work it out, for performance).  (Great cantabile trombone solo;  I could see that being some listeners' favorite take-away from an initial hearing.)  The contrasting section with flute, piano, and mallets is an expert stroke.  And the transformed return to A ideas is marvelous, with the new ostinato in five.

A wonderful brace of pieces, and I am very excited that an occasion has arisen for them!

Luke, have you finished the Ascent yet?

[lukeottevanger]

Guido, this is the first day I've been able to sleep later than six! 

I liked the brace of pieces immediately, and needed some 'absorptive' time.  And (as I anticipated) the liking has increased with familiarity.

[I feel Luke's pain w/r/t the MIDI, absolutely . . . he has scored it with an ear for lovely, spare subtleties, and MIDI responds with "squawk."]

The Elegy feels to me like a speaker waiting to catch his breath; then, having found his voice, he is content to weigh his words, and let each syllable possess meaning.  (And I do hope Luke doesn't mind my indulging in such an illustration, for I myself know its shortcomings . . . .)  It is a delicate fabric of chaste understatement, with fleeting passages of warm chorales in the brass and then the strings;  and I am sure I am only waiting in line behind the composer in eagerness to hear this played by actual players rather than the necessarily short-falling electronic shadow.

(My one scoring concern is the flutes in mm. 43-44, Luke . . . I don't think they can manage a true forte down there, and they may be apt to be covered by the clarinets and brass, which can be perfectly strong there.)

The Ascent (which I read yet in uncompleted form) plays out in a very satisfying 'narrative'.  It opens with a fine intensity and focus, in which it begins not so much as a contrast to the Elegy, but as an energized outgrowth thereform;  I especially like the irregular subdivision of the seven . . . that will be tricky for a large ensemble, but it is entirely manageable (and will ensure that they work it out, for performance).  (Great cantabile trombone solo;  I could see that being some listeners' favorite take-away from an initial hearing.)  The contrasting section with flute, piano, and mallets is an expert stroke.  And the transformed return to A ideas is marvelous, with the new ostinato in five.

A wonderful brace of pieces, and I am very excited that an occasion has arisen for them!

Luke, have you finished the Ascent yet?

Not yet - I've rather lost impetus. I've made a few attempts at it, but none are quite right, so experience teaches me it's best just to wait a few days.

Thanks for your generous comments, Karl, and of course for taking the time to peruse the piece so thoroughly. I share your worry that an orchestra may struggle with coordinating various sections of 'Ascent' - and yet I can also see no real rhythmical problems inherent in the parts themselves. It's a conundrum - the thing seems perfectly simple to me, and yet I know how any distrust of a composer amongst the members of an ensemble can quickly spread so that what ought to be a pretty lucid playing around with metre becomes perceived as much more thorny than it really is.

Re the flutes in bar 43-4 - the idea here is that they are merely a constituent part of the texture, but that as the other instruments fade out they become more prominent - at the end of 44, only flutes and clarinets are playing. It might be a good idea to mark the clarinets down a shade, however - I take the point!

Many thanks again 

[karlhenning]

. . . I share your worry that an orchestra may struggle with coordinating various sections of 'Ascent' - and yet I can also see no real rhythmical problems inherent in the parts themselves. It's a conundrum - the thing seems perfectly simple to me, and yet I know how any distrust of a composer amongst the members of an ensemble can quickly spread so that what ought to be a pretty lucid playing around with metre becomes perceived as much more thorny than it really is.

It's well written, well 'assembled' . . . it's just going to be one of those cases where the group will need a little patience and application to fit it all together properly.  With your lazier sort of group, the attitude is going to be a bit like, "Well, we never have this much trouble putting Beethoven together . . . ." (and the attendant, "Well, but nobody nowadays writes like that, do they?")  But I trust the outfit under advisement is not so scurvy a lot 

Re the flutes in bar 43-4 - the idea here is that they are merely a constituent part of the texture, but that as the other instruments fade out they become more prominent - at the end of 44, only flutes and clarinets are playing. It might be a good idea to mark the clarinets down a shade, however - I take the point!

That should serve.

Fun piano writing in the score, too!

[Guido]

Thanks for the report Karl - really looking forward to hearing this. 

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Thanks for the report Karl - really looking forward to hearing this. 

My internet connection slowed down to a crawl yesterday evening (from 1700 k to 40...). So, a bit belatedly, I fully endorse Guido's message!

[lukeottevanger]

Just the place to introduce my new avatar.

It looks like a Zen ensō, I think, but with a central point which calls to mind the Void, the Self, the ineffable centre of experience. All important concepts to me and my music.....

But actually, my 4-year old Felix did it at school today (his fifth day of school). I asked him what it was. Like the Zen sensei he is, Felix-roshi enigmatically replied:

Nothing.

[karlhenning]

I may be overanalyzing the matter, of course; but I see the outline and stylized pupil of an eye.

[lukeottevanger]

I did ask, but apparently not...

[greg]

I may be overanalyzing the matter, of course; but I see the outline and stylized pupil of an eye.

Either that, or a circle with a dot in the middle.

[lukeottevanger]

Hush your mouth.    I love my new av. It was always going to take a lot for me to change the old one, but when I saw Felix's perfect circle - like Giotto's, I feel  0:) - I knew that here was the new one, alright. 

[karlhenning]

Greg seems pretty easy in the matter of circles . . . .

[Joe_Campbell]

Hush your mouth.    I love my new av. It was always going to take a lot for me to change the old one, but when I saw Felix's perfect circle - like Giotto's, I feel  0:) - I knew that here was the new one, alright. 

What was your old avatar anyways?

[M forever]

I may be overanalyzing the matter, of course; but I see the outline and stylized pupil of an eye.

No, you don't. What every guy sees first in that picture is, of course, a t-i-t, nothing else.

But actually, my 4-year old Felix did it at school today (his fifth day of school). I asked him what it was. Like the Zen sensei he is, Felix-roshi enigmatically replied:

Nothing.

A Zen teacher would actually say: what does it tell you that it is?

[lukeottevanger]

The most famous conversation in the history of Zen: Bodhidharma expounds the new philosophy for the first time, c. 475 AD:

Emperor Wu: I've built thousands of temples in my country, how much merit I've accumulated?

Bodhidharma: Nothing.

Emperor Wu: I've endowed thousands of monks in my country, how much merit I've accumulated?

Bodhidharma: Nothing.

Emperor Wu: I've published thousands of Buddhist scriptures in my country, how much merit I've accumulated?

Bodhidharma: Nothing

Emperor Wu: Well what is the fundamental of Buddhism?

Bodhidharma: Nothing, just emptiness, vast emptiness [mu]

Emperor Wu: You think who you are?

Bodhidharma: I have no idea