Wednesday, September 23, 2009

First Presentation

As usual, the music surprises me. I set off in one direction determined to stay my course, but I was soon distracted by the scenery and started working on a different piece instead. It took on a life of its own before long and I'm mostly happy with how it turned out.

With Megan's help, 2006 was performed in class today. The score is devoid of any dynamics, articulations or the like, save for a few general ideas I marked on Megan's part. I have a general idea of the layout, and will probably sit down this weekend to tinker with it, once I have a good start on another piece.

As always, I'm torn when it comes to revising a score. Public opinion must be weighed quite carefully against my own. It's difficult when I have such a personal relationship with it, though I do consider what others say because they will see it in ways I never can. With regards to the final measure, it was suggested that I leave out the top voices, while others commented that the added chord helped give it a sense of restfulness. I want to end with this chord, but I will play around with different voicings and rhythms to see what other effects can be achieved.

It was noted that the piece contains several ideas in a short space (40 measures). One person did say that they felt it made sense together, despite the contrasting sections; this was my intention. I was aiming for a unified piece through contrast. I will look over it some more to see if there are spots that can be lengthened/elaborated or shortened, or if cross-referencing/foreshadowing would make any more sense.

For now it's time to move onto the next one, and get what I can out. Sometimes a break from a piece is just what is needed to find a new perspective.

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