Vocal setting rewritten

This past Monday I was off from work.  So I took advantage of the day off and spent some time rewriting the vocal line for Mutability.  I was almost able to complete the revision.  I say almost because I thought I was done until I started inputting it into Finale when I realized I accidentally skipped a line.  Specifically the third line of the second stanza.  I guess that is what I get when I try to do some of the text from memory.

That is an easy fix.  I was able to draw out a secondary theme in the process, which was one of my primary goals.  Now I can focus on writing the accompaniment paying close attention to the harmonic language.  As I have stated before, earlier versions of the piece were a little too harmonically stagnant.

Listening Journal: January 11-17, 2010

Witold Lutoslawski - Symphony No. 1 (1947)
George Crumb - Makrokosmos, Volume 2, Part 1 (1973) for piano
Witold Lutoslawski - Silesian Triptych (1951) for soprano and orchestra
Kaija Saariaho - Cinq Reflets de L'Amour de Loin (2001) for soprano, baritone and orchestra
John Cage - And the Earth Shall Bear Again (1942) for prepared piano
Iannis Xenakis - Phlegra (1975) for large ensemble

Composing Session: January 16-17, 2010

As I stated in an earlier posting I have been reworking my setting of Mutability.  I sat down to work in it more this weekend.  One of the major changes is switching the time signature from 5/4 to 3/4.  So I started this weekend by reworking the vocal line.  Some changes are necessary so that certain syllables fall on strong beats and some on weak beats.  As I was doing this transition I started to notice something.  The accompaniment follows the melody a little and one aspect that was brought out through this reworking is a waltz-like feeling.  So I started to apply this felling to the accompaniment.  From what I have recomposed it seems to work well.

I spent time on Sunday working on a new intro using thematic devices and harmonies from the original sketch.  I am uncertain if this new intro is necessary or if it will be a secondary theme.  To implement this as a successful secondary theme I would need to transpose it into a different key area.  One of my biggest concerns about the first sketch was the stagnant nature of the harmonic language.

I think I need to continue to rework the vocal setting into 3/4 before deciding on the new material.  I want to see if I can draw out more thematic ideas, as I have shown above, before I continue recomposing the accompaniment.

Listening Journal: January 4-10, 2010

Kaija Saariaho - Cendres (1991) for alto flute, cello and piano
Pierre Boulez - Piano Sonata No. 1 (1946)
Marc-André Dalbavie - Concerto pour violin (1996)
Pascal Dusapin - Aria (1991) for clarinet and 13 players
John Cage - Totem Ancestor (1943) for prepared piano
John Cage - A Room (1943) for prepared piano
John Cage - Music for Marcel Duchamp (1947) for prepared piano
John Cage - Prelude for Meditation (1944) for prepared piano
John Cage - Imaginary Landscape No. 2 (1942) for percussion
George Crumb - Makrokosmos Volume 1, Part 2 (1973) for piano
Johannes Brahms - Symphony No. 2 in D Major, op. 73 (1877) Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell
George Crumb - Makrokosmos Volume 1, Part 3 (1973) for piano
Pascal Dusapin - Shin'-Gyô (1981) for voice and piccolo
Leonard Bernstein - Dance Suite (1990) for brass quintet, Center City Brass Quintet
John Cage - Tossed as it is Troubled (1943) for prepared piano
Alban Berg - Sonata, op. 1 (1908) for piano
Johannes Brahms - Symphony No. 3 in F Major, op. 90 (1883) Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell
Kaija Saariaho - Asteroid 4179 - Toutalis (2006) for orchestra

Composing Session: January 10, 2010

I have recently become frustrated with the way Mutability was turning out.  I started to feel as if the accompaniment was becoming too repetitive.  The harmonic language as a result was too static.  For the most part, I do like the way the vocal setting was turning out.  However, even that feel to me a bit unfocused.

When creating themes or motives I will sometimes come up with these ideas that end up too difficult for me to develop.  I am starting to think that this is one of those times.  The triplet accompaniment figure I have been working with seemed like a good idea.  It was working well, for the first half of the piece.  I just do not know if I can bring it to a successful close the way it is.

Yesterday I started to take a new approach to the accompaniment.  I am keeping the harmonic language that I have laid out.  I may make some minor alterations as this aspect only needs some minor touch up.  I currently plan on keeping the vocal setting as best as I can.  This new approach is more sparse, unlike the flowing nature of what I was working with.  The other big change, so far, is the time signature.  The figuration I am working with fits into a 3/4 meter as opposed to the 5/4 meter of the flowing accompaniment.

So far I have only rewritten the introduction.  Yesterday was a short composing session.  I do not think that I will abandon the triplet idea all together.  I am thinking that it will work well as a secondary idea.  I am considering using it in the second stanza which begins: "Or like forgotten lyres, whose dissonant strings".

It is too soon to tell if this reworking is the right solution.  All I know is that I have decided to stop trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Weekend Morning Classics

Over the last few months I have been listening to pre-20th century music on weekend mornings with my wife.  Usually this happens over breakfast.  This is something that I have been enjoying.  So far we have listened to all nine Beethoven Symphonies.  This past Sunday we listened to Brahms's Symphony No. 1.  Some critics and musicologists have equated Brahms's first symphony with what could have been Beethoven's tenth symphony.  I do share this opinion to an extent.  While the sound world is clearly influenced by Beethoven, I feel as if Brahms's own compositional voice colors this symphony.  It is a lot more than just being an extension of Beethoven.

Another aspect of Brahms's first that detracts from this equation is the year in which it was written.  Brahms composed his Symphony No. 1 in 1876.  Beethoven's ninth symphony was composed in 1824.  There is almost fifty years difference between the two pieces.  It is hard for me to think of Brahms as "picking up" where Beethoven left off.  Sonically there are similarities between the two composers, but Brahms's own voice is too prevalent for this supposed continuation to make sense.

Listening Journal: December 28, 2009 - January 3, 2010

This week's listening journal is virtually nonexistent.  With the holidays, I always have a difficult time keeping up with my normal routine.  Now that they are over I should be getting back to a healthy diet of listening.

Johannes Brahms - Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, op. 68 (1876) Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell