Not really doing what you’d term ‘fabulously’ at this at the moment. The weekend wiped me out more than expected and today was another recovery day, this time interrupted by the possibility of being taken by the employment monster, not once but twice! Both of which evaporated almost as swiftly as they turned up which is probably just as well, given that I have no clue which box or suitcase my interview-worthy clothes are in…
However, I’m still pushing onwards, albeit in small steps. Last night, as you know, Pink Noise ran through the part of Ladders of Escape I’d done at their rehearsal and today I listened to the recording of it (isn’t the Internet wonderful?!). Overall I’m pretty pleased with it – the dissonances worked well, especially when between two instruments, the multiphonics mostly worked well (with one switch where I’d written a multiphonic for the tenor which turned out to not work and so had to be switched to the treble) and the small snippets of melody I’m very pleased with. Only one bit was immediately glaringly not working, which was a staggered chord across all four players. The staggering worked OK but the chord itself is All Wrong, so I’m going to revisit that and see what I can do with it.
It’s great to hear the piece on the recorders so early on though because it shows me that I’m on the right track with this idea. Really hoping I can forge ahead now and get the first movement finished before the end of next week. That’s the plan…
I also spent some time this evening going through Walter van Hauwe’s excellent book, The Modern Recorder Player, Vol. III, and thinking what extended techniques I want to use in this piece apart from the multiphonics. It was really helpful to just revisit the wealth of effects available on the recorder. I’d completely forgotten about glissandi!
Lilies on the Silver Sea has had less attention today, but I did sit down with what I’ve written and noted in the quarter-tones and wrote some new notes for a faster section. I’m thinking I might use the slow bit I’ve written to start with as a recurring thing, maybe tweaking the quarter-tones at each appearance so it’s never a direct duplication. I know the tone of the alto flute is quite different, and I need to be careful to not be boxed in by my own mediocre technique, but I’m finding it very helpful to go back over stuff I’ve written for Lilies on my C flute, just because I can at least approximate the quarter-tones and get an idea of where it’s going. It seems I just can’t quite let go of that need to constantly hear what I’m writing, even when I’m away from the computer!
I also did some more listening and reading from my Delicious stack, but no significant finds there today.