It’s been a busy week. Tuesday I spent the day designing the upcoming May 19th Grace notes. I was thinking of reviving a version of “Dead Man’s Pants.” I spent a lot of time on Tuesday sifting through years of compositions both on my computer and real copies. It’s surprising how much music I have written over the years. And it’s all very disorganized. I finally found “Dead Man’s Pants” on my hard drive. It quickly became clear to me that revitalizing it would be a major project both for me as the rearranger and for my players.
“Dead Man’s Pants” is a much denser and more complicated composition than I remembered. This doesn’t fall in line with my idea of having a fun recital both for players and listeners. So I decided to drop it.
I still have a some interesting stuff in mind. I sent out an email to all the musicians with a rough draft of the May recital. Everyone seemed amenable to my plans so far.
Wednesday was spent doing church things primarily. We had a staff luncheon and I met with Jen beforehand. Eileen was kind enough to file all the Easter music for me and then hand out the stuff the choir needs for this Sunday. I practiced organ.
We had an intense but fruitful choir rehearsal. I continue to challenge the group and the people who show up tend to rise to this.
Today I am predictably exhausted. I met with the piano trio and we discussed the May recital and played through some of the material I have in mind. They seemed tired as well but pumped for this gig.
I have decided to end the recital with an old composition called “Drek.” It interests me because I have always been fond of this extremely simple little piece I wrote not long after I began playing in coffee houses after quitting “Our Lady of the Lake” to do just that. I have spent the last hour or so beginning a full score of a transcription of the old piece for this new group of players. I have scored it for Alto Sax, Violin, Cello, Piano, and Marimba.
I haven’t really changed it, except I want to give Jordan and myself a chance to do a little improv in it. I will invite the other players but don’t expect them to jump in since improvising isn’t something they enjoy or do that much.
I’m interested in the Arvo Pärt feel this piece has for me now. it’s so simple that it barely has much musical motion but it is in sync with the minimalist feel. I’m not sure if I had heard any Pärt when I wrote it. I was aware of Glass, Reich, and Adams but I don’t remember thinking that I was writing in their style at the time.
I will be interested to see how it hits the rest of the players and the audience.
Imagining America in 2024 – The New York Times
The New York Times commissioned 15 playwrights to write very short little pieces about America in the year 2024. I’ve read a couple and they’r kind of fun. I haven’t taken advantage of all the bells and whistles online (Videos of performances by Nathan Lane and John Lithgow), but I hope to before they go away.
Unseen Clockwork Orange ‘sequel’ by Anthony Burgess unearthed – BBC News
NYTimes: On L.G.B.T. Rights, the Supreme Court Asks the Question
The Mueller Report Was My Tipping Point
Egyptian Koshari Recipe | The Mediterranean Dis
My brother mentioned Koshari on the phone to me. I found this recipe and then adapted it to not use pasta. I loved it but it was a bit spicy for Eileen.