Regular readers of this blog (and I know there are one or two of you–Hi, Mom!) may have noticed that I haven’t written one of my project updates for a few months now. Sorry about that. I kind of lost interest in doing it a long time ago, and there hasn’t really been much to report that’s at all interesting. I keep plugging away at everything a little at a time, and everything’s inching toward completion by slow degrees, same as usual.
I think I’m going to try something different. I will continue to post occasional updates from time to time, but I’m not going to try to be regular about it. Instead a post will go up when there’s something interesting to report.
So, having said all that, here’s a little update on things.
Work on Auspicious Light took an unexpected turn a few days ago, followed by an equally unexpected turn around. I had been working on a long passage that I was expecting to be the beginning of the piece, but something didn’t seem quite right about it. After a while, it seemed to me that something was missing, and that something was an introduction. The music I had been writing seemed to need something in front of it.
So I sat down to try to come up with a brief introduction, which came pretty quickly, but then something unexpected happened. The piece seemed, of its own accord, to go of into an entirely different direction than I had intended. It was as if I had accidentally started writing an entirely new piece.
Bad idea! I don’t have time for this!
Today, I started making a few adjustments that I think will make my introduction work with the music I’ve already written. It feels a bit like a carpenter trying to force a badly fitting joint, but I think it will be doable. So, Auspicious Light is still on track.
So, that’s about the most interesting thing that’s happened recently.
While I’m here, I might as well mention a little progress that has taken place on Death Carol. Some weeks ago I worked out two drafts of a sketch for the beginning of the piece. Some interesting things are starting to happen, but at the moment it sounds a little too Gorecki-like to suit me. When I have time to come back to it, I’ll need to try to make it sound a little less Eastern European.
Also in connection with Death Carol, I entered my sketch for the second section in Finale, mainly so I could hear what it sounded like. The texture is still pretty bare-bones at this point, but I’m quite satisfied with it. I’m looking forward to working on it further.
