blog

03 março 2012, Artigo
Busy Busy.
I haven't been around here lately, i have been very busy in my 'studio' shall we say, composing a lot of wonderful things. But I have decided to put my first prelude up. see if it generates any more interest. I get many page views, but no buyers. Not sure why, but hey ho, I must press on and not be disheartened. comentários 1
02 janeiro 2012, Artigo
I am back, I guess.
I have been having musician's block recently. I was trying to write my second symphony (which i am proud to announce shall have a celesta in it, but as part of the orchestra, it's not a concerto) I am also working on a piano concerto, and a selection of solo piano 'dances' or short songs to be used as a set. The piano is a versatile and beautiful instrument, and while i love messing with the colour and scale of an orchestra, i didn't want to neglect the piano. As you may have seen, I have also ...
22 novembro 2011, Artigo
Getting Pieces Performed
Rejection is something we all have to live with, yet when you get nothing but excellent feedback about your 'natural, original ear for harmony' and you shock people because you tell them you are entirely self taught, rejection can seem all the more frustrating. I am sending my pieces to every female choir i can find on the internet or local papers. I have already been rejected by one of them, and by a local orchestra who wanted me to take the contrabassoon and harp (two of my favourite instruments) ... comentários 3
15 novembro 2011, Artigo
My Requiem
Where does one begin with writing a requiem. Listen to the requiems of Mozart or Beethoven of course. Well, not for me. The requiem mass has always, or should I say is more commonly associated with glorious rhythms, and lavish noise that soars to the skies and cries out passionately, which I one interpretation of the texts, most of them are simply wonderful and latin is indeed an expressive language.   However, I have recently discovered an 11th century composer who, for me, composed the ...
10 novembro 2011, Artigo
My Seventh Choir Piece
Hallo. I am in the process, currently of writing my seventh work for choir. I seem to be in the swing of writing sequels at the moment, 'Phenomena' is a sequel to 'Why?' because where as Why? is fairly simple, in two ways: how I have written the work and the meaning behind it, Phenomena is from the same source of text, yet entirely different in feel. Why? is simply a plea to god asking why, when all this tragedy happens, do you not comfort or rescue me. Whereas Phenomena is a much more intricate and ...
01 novembro 2011, Artigo
Writing For Choir.
Choir is my ultimate goal. Music with words that mean something can be everso powerful. I am currently writing my fourth choir piece. I seem to have found a Niche writing for SSA choir. female voices have a lot of passion. The text i am setting for my fourth piece is an extract from the Tibetan Book of the Dead. It's actually quite a sweet text. This is my dream. I'm going to make it happen :D
27 outubro 2011, Artigo
Exaltad A Yahveh
My first Choral peice is now available. I am not religious, more of an agnostic, but I do look to the Bible to give me certain ideas. The Psalms are meant to be songs, and they are very lyrical and full of tantalizing words that a choral writer can have fun with. Psalm 99 for example has ‘Vengeance’ ‘terrible’ ‘exalt’ great words, but to me English is a little too common, probably because I use it every day. My first instinct was to go for a Germanic language to emphasise the darker words, but ...
23 outubro 2011, Artigo
Upcoming Pieces.
So. I am currently working on two new pieces, one I have had planned for a long time, and one that seemed to spring to life instantaneously about a week ago.   The first piece is a four-movement orchestra piece entitled ‘ The Last Ride of a Salem Witch’ . Which tells the story of a witch who, whilst flying through a clear autumn sky, searching for a missing ingredient in her latest concoction, alarms the local people who call for the local sheriff to shoot her down. The piece is growing many ...