No Man is an Island

Yes he is! He totally is. Every man is an island. Composers are on the tiniest island in the biggest sea. The better they develop their craft the further out they paddle. In some ways, this weblog is a message in a bottle. Thanks for the uncorking.

I've taken some time off for a few months because of good news. Here, in San Diego I put out a call for classical composers to get together to talk and drink beer or do what classical composers do. I got very few responses scattered over a broad swath of a broad county. Not quite critical mass. Too bad.

Then, one day I see a Craigslist post for a classical music group that gets together to perform on a monthly basis. "Wow, that's paydirt!" It was contact for the caswtaways. I had to check it out.

The group meeting is well attended: 25 or so zealots of classical and opera at a church venue just a few miles from my home. The acoustics are stunning. The meeting, cleverly labeled Operatifs, was better than I expected it to be. Outstanding performances and better yet-- appreciative ears.

So I have had the pleasure of unveiling 2 compositions that surprised me at their positive reception. The first a sonatina for Piano and violin, that utilized the gifts of my comrade Matthias von Herrath on violin. And the second a cappriccio in Dm. There is wine and comraderie. Its nice when people go out of there way to communicate their appreciation. At the last meeting there was even someone who understood what a diminished chord was. I devoutly wish anyone reading this will experience similar validation. Divinity!

So I've been working on my newest Cappriccio, the third of a 6 part series I am calling a hexachrome. This one is in Em. I addressed it in the last weblog. It has liberal use of diminished chords as both transition chords and as tension builders.

Narrative Composition

Every piece is a story. They have moments of tension and moments of release. I am working on a Narrative approach to composition where, much like a story, there is a conflict or obstacle that is introduced and it is only through the climax that the conflict is finally and fully resolved. Much as in any story, there are moments of partial resolution, but in some way, each early resolution is somewhat incomplete and simply facilitates the move toward a greater crisis towards the end.

This is a little abstract, and its a little ambitious, because in my world, music has to please. That is, it needs to have enough diversity, tension and predictability to satisfy. It must stimulate the audience and not annoy. It must challenge the listener and not up-end them. Finding the right balance is the challenge. And ultimately it can't make Mozart spill his cookies.

So there.