Henning's Headquarters

[karlhenning]

The artist for whom I generated those 'sonic swatches' has responded generally well.  More work (and work/play) to be done.

On the bus this morning I started a fresh sketch for How to Tell (Chasing the Tail of Nothing) . . . I had the idea of adding bongos to the ato flute, clarinet and cello.  Will make it (with or without percussion) a ten-minute piece, and the rest of the 19 May program will be new pieces written for Peter Bloom and me by a couple of Boston-area composers.

Paul gave me a disc yesterday with the recent performance of Love Is the Spirit. I suspect the disc is one huge track, and that I'll need (a) to rip that huge track, and then (b) extract the choral offering with the aid of Audacity.  When I shall have done that, I'll load it up to ReverbNation . . . time I tossed some new material up there.

[karlhenning]

The percussionist confirms that he is on board; he owns no bongos, though, so we're going to meet on Saturday.  I am sure he has noisemakers which will serve just fine as a substitute.

[karlhenning]

Happy to say that, now that I am sure it is a quartet, work on How to Tell (Chasing the Tail of Nothing) is proceeding nicely . . . benefiting in part from all these sketches I accumulated over the past two months . . . .

[karlhenning]

Happy to say that, now that I am sure it is a quartet. . . .

Stop right there! Enter stage left the old Russian proverb, If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans!

Had a very nice meeting on Saturday with Dan (percussionist friend), and we decided on frame drum;  many of the sounds were not news to me (I puttered, untutored, with a frame drum while at St Paul's) but it was esepcially helpful to work out notation.

Later that day, though, a message came from the cellist, she may not be available (co-worker at the day job has fallen ill).  Of course, we're at a point where the piece just needs to be written, and it won't do to write it to include cello, and then find that there's none . . . so, with solid commitment from the flutist and percussionist, I decided it will be a trio, and let's get to work.

Of course, there was no work done yesterday . . . had a fun day of (first) subbing as a tenor in the FCB choir (the Randall Thomson Allelluia, and that ol' chorus by Handel), and then a coasting sort of day at the Museum.  Spent the evening watching Rabbit-Proof Fence, "The Fugitive" (an sentimental but non-saccharine episode of The Twilight Zone), and then a couple of episodes from Season 1 of The Addams Family with the ladies (who have taken to it quite nicely).  Then, while the cranium was in near contact with the pillow, I suddenly heard how I must write How to Tell (Chasing the Tail of Nothing). Got quite a bit written on the bus this morning.

[karlhenning]

This is surprisingly apt listening, now!  I feel a bit as if that was pretty much my method with The Mousetrap . . . and this week, I am feeling on the lines of If Schnittke can do that for an almost 70-minute symphony, I should be able to manage a ten-minute trio . . . .

[karlhenning]

A little more work laid down so far today.

[Lethevich]

This is surprisingly apt listening, now!  I feel a bit as if that was pretty much my method with The Mousetrap . . . and this week, I am feeling on the lines of If Schnittke can do that for an almost 70-minute symphony, I should be able to manage a ten-minute trio . . . .

I've tried editing the url of that (which is broken for me), but it remains super mangled however I try.

[karlhenning]

Oops, will fix it ...

[karlhenning]

Fixed.

This is surprisingly apt listening, now!  I feel a bit as if that was pretty much my method with The Mousetrap . . . and this week, I am feeling on the lines of If Schnittke can do that for an almost 70-minute symphony, I should be able to manage a ten-minute trio . . . .

[karlhenning]

Since we had to strike Castelo dos anjos from the 19 May program, and I had assured Boston-area composer and friend-of-a-friend Frank Warren (well, originally a friend-of-a-friend, now plain friend) — who, after attending a recital or two which we've played, set to writing a set of some 8 duets for Peter Bloom and me — that we should be able to program his pieces sometime this side of summer . . . it seems obvious and suitable to plug those duets into the May concert.

That still leaves a little room, so 4-5 weeks ago, while catching up over a pint, I invited Joe Fear (composer and chorister, whom I met during "the Ed Broms years" at St Paul's) to write something, too.

Met with Joe again this past Wednesday, and he showed me the beginning of a piece which he's planning to take 3-5 minutes, sort of a Scelsi-ish worriting of a single note, which should be fun to play.

Got a message from Peter himself yesterday with his availability, so the scheduling of rehearsals is imminent.

[DavidW]

I'm sorry... but you have a friend named Joe Fear?  Sounds like the name of a serial killer!

[Cato]

I'm sorry... but you have a friend named Joe Fear? Sounds like the name of a serial killer!

Only in a bad novel, like one of Stephen King's.  Whoops!  Wait!  He's a multi-millionaire: he must not be a bad novelist.

He must be one bad novelist! 

[DavidW]

Haha!  Yeah I can see it now serial killer stalks the seedy town... of... Bangor, Maine.

[Cato]

Haha!  Yeah I can see it now serial killer stalks the seedy town... of... Bangor, Maine.

"When little Joey Fear saw his mother plummet from Bangor's town hall, his anger toward Bangor was seeded deep, deep, in his heart, and it waited for years, for just the right moment, the moment when his mother's soul would sprout back to life and seek vengeance, a terrible bloody and bizarre vengeance on all the Bangorians, or Bangorites, or just plain Bangors who had driven little Joey Fear's mother to a terrible blacktopped death on the town square."

[karlhenning]

No, no, Joe's from St Louis! Really!

[karlhenning]

Just chatted with Peter on the phone . . . first chance I've had to tell him that, basically, since Castelo dos anjos was dropped from the program, we've got these fl/cl duets to fill out the program.  I knew he'd be up for it, but he surprised even me a bit by the degree of enthusiasm.  To be sure, Frank & Joe wrote the pieces for us, and Peter has had pieces written for him no few times before . . . but he spoke as if I'd really given him news as big, almost, as the R. W.

He's such a great guy to work with!

[karlhenning]

Just set rehearsal times with Peter, and at some point I should hear from the percussionist (Dan) about his availability.

So whetever else betide, my clarinet will get practiced, and there will be a show.

[karlhenning]

Did I mention that the First Church choir will sing Bless the Lord, O My Soul on Sunday the 15th?

And word is in from the west coast of a professional violist who has responded kindly to the WVSitW. He may take an interest, too, in the viola version of the Sonatina sopra « Veni, Emmanuel ».

[karlhenning]

Start of the "rebooted" trio.

[karlhenning]

Got some more work done on the trio this morning on the bus. Really grateful to these chaps for agreeing to play, I feel the old enthusiasm rekindling.

And word is in that the Sonatina sopra « Veni, Emmanuel » has been forwarded to the violist. Maybe he won't like it at all. Or, maybe he'll like it.