Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) talked about the concept of Gebrauchsmuziek--essentially functional, or occasional music. He wrote for a broad range of instrumental and vocal combinations, writing music that he expected to be used, rather than sit on a shelf. A look at his list of compositions will quickly show you that he was both prolific and far-ranging in his interests.
My compositional career, while probably less prolific, is certainly focused on producing practical works for specific situations. I've been working on some web pages where I hope to show a catalog of my works while offering some commentary and some downloadable works. I've produced eleven pieces since the start of 2005. One is choral (written for a competition); the others all have an organ or piano part for me to play. Since I'm an organist with reduced opportunity to conduct choral groups than in the past, I write most for the resource most accessible to me. Eight of the ten instrumental works are based on hymn tunes; there's not much of a surprise there, since that allows me to either strengthen congregational singing or support the theme of the service.
6/18/2005: Prelude on Ellacombe (organ)
6/4/2005: All Things Bright and Beautiful (organ)
5/28/2005: New variations on St. Denio (1981) (organ)
5/13/2005: A Song of Promise (SATB chorus and orchestra)
3/20/2005: Fanfares for an Easter Day(3 trumpets, 2 trombones, optional timpani, organ)
3/9/2005: Variations on a French Carol (arr for organ)
3/4/2005: Variations on a French Carol (flute and piano)
2/28/2005: Reflections on Brother James’s Air (flute and organ)
2/7/2005: Beginnings (organ)
1/21/2005: Passacaglia on Spirit (organ)
1/15/2005: McKee Variations (organ)
I'm getting pretty close to opening up some pages on my web site with excerpts and comments on each piece. Watch for links in my Recent Work section to the left. On the other hand, it's been 10 days since I've done any composing of a musical nature. I may just get sidetracked for a few days...
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Ellacombe part 2
Well, I played my Prelude on Ellacombe (for organ) this morning. I thought it went well. It was particularly gratifying that I made different (relatively small) mistakes each time (we have two morning church services). As a performer I find that I often have words with my composer self. What was I thinking about, writing two lines in the pedal? Particularly when skips of a 4th or 5th are constantly required?
Between the intricate pedal work of the opening and closing sections and the articulation of the manual voices (lots of staccato--contrary to the principle of legato playing that organists first learn) I had a nervous week or so as I became familiar with the piece. It only took about 6 hours of actual rehearsal; I knew yesterday that I was ready when I didn't use the other two hours I had planned (freeing me to work on other stuff).
I didn't have time to check if an adequate recording was made, since I left just as the final notes of the postlude were dying away to head to the Giants/A's game in Oakland. I'd expected something like a Concerto Grosso, with lots of give and take, and a certain amount of antiphonal play. It was more of a Tuba concerto, with the Giants' collective head stuck in the bell of the Tuba--they didn't even make an effective mute as the A's took the day 16-zip.
While my morning performance wasn't a shutout, I felt almost as good about my piece as the A's did about the game. If I can't post a recording from the service, I'll make one soon and provide a link under Recent Work on the sidebar.
Between the intricate pedal work of the opening and closing sections and the articulation of the manual voices (lots of staccato--contrary to the principle of legato playing that organists first learn) I had a nervous week or so as I became familiar with the piece. It only took about 6 hours of actual rehearsal; I knew yesterday that I was ready when I didn't use the other two hours I had planned (freeing me to work on other stuff).
I didn't have time to check if an adequate recording was made, since I left just as the final notes of the postlude were dying away to head to the Giants/A's game in Oakland. I'd expected something like a Concerto Grosso, with lots of give and take, and a certain amount of antiphonal play. It was more of a Tuba concerto, with the Giants' collective head stuck in the bell of the Tuba--they didn't even make an effective mute as the A's took the day 16-zip.
While my morning performance wasn't a shutout, I felt almost as good about my piece as the A's did about the game. If I can't post a recording from the service, I'll make one soon and provide a link under Recent Work on the sidebar.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
One small step for Bach...
I've been volunteering this week at the San Francisco AGO (American Guild of Organists) chapter's POE (Pipe Organ Encounter for teens). We've had the privilege of hosting 32 students from around the nation--some already capable organists, others trying the instrument out for the first time. It's been a delight to get to know these folk, and to hear and see their enthusiasm for a broad range of music, from classical to various contemporary idioms.
Our guest artist for the week was Felix Hell. The fact that he's 19, with an impressive 11-year performing resume, a B.A. from Curtis--not to mention a wonderful role model for our students--paled beside his outstanding performance at last night's concert. I'm not a fan of big, bombastic organ works that don't seem to know when to stop, but he made the organ dance, giving big works the vitality of intimate chamber music. His performance of Liszt's Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H was stunning; certainly the best I've ever heard. Although Liszt would never be on my top ten...list, this performance would be.
The composition I really enjoyed was actually by Bach (J.S., that is). His Prelude and Fugue in D Major (BWV 532) was also exceptionally well played by Mr. Hell, with a crisp articulation that made the music sparkle. The work begins with a simple reiteration of 16th-notes: d-e-f#-e.
A colleague remarked that Bach was just showing off. And he did (both J.S. and Felix) with fine style. The opening riff is answered by alternating chords. The work continues as Bach spins out a simple moving down and up by step. With little more than basic step-wise movement he crafts a wonderful musical edifice. If ever justification was needed for learning scales, this is it (OK--there's another Bach work built on an ascending D Major scale--in the pedal--but allow me a little licence!).
It's fair to say that much of my own composing has focused on using small motivic ideas to build larger structures, but Bach does so well with what looks at first to be pretty unprepossessing material. I know--you might be thinking that it's not just the material, but the procedures that are applied to the material. And so it is. Music is as much the spaces between the notes, the material the composer leaves out, as it is the stuff we hear (John Cage may have gone a bit far with his 4' 33" of space between the notes, but he was right on about music being much more than just notes on a page).
I don't know how I'm going to get the Bach out of my head. I'm off to practice Ellacombe (see my previous post), which I'm playing tomorrow. Maybe that'll help. On the other hand, maybe it's time to get out my score of the Bach and renew my acquaintance with the piece up close and personal... Mr. Hell has set the bar rather high; thanks for a lesson that was both musical and inspiring.
Our guest artist for the week was Felix Hell. The fact that he's 19, with an impressive 11-year performing resume, a B.A. from Curtis--not to mention a wonderful role model for our students--paled beside his outstanding performance at last night's concert. I'm not a fan of big, bombastic organ works that don't seem to know when to stop, but he made the organ dance, giving big works the vitality of intimate chamber music. His performance of Liszt's Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H was stunning; certainly the best I've ever heard. Although Liszt would never be on my top ten...list, this performance would be.
The composition I really enjoyed was actually by Bach (J.S., that is). His Prelude and Fugue in D Major (BWV 532) was also exceptionally well played by Mr. Hell, with a crisp articulation that made the music sparkle. The work begins with a simple reiteration of 16th-notes: d-e-f#-e.
A colleague remarked that Bach was just showing off. And he did (both J.S. and Felix) with fine style. The opening riff is answered by alternating chords. The work continues as Bach spins out a simple moving down and up by step. With little more than basic step-wise movement he crafts a wonderful musical edifice. If ever justification was needed for learning scales, this is it (OK--there's another Bach work built on an ascending D Major scale--in the pedal--but allow me a little licence!).It's fair to say that much of my own composing has focused on using small motivic ideas to build larger structures, but Bach does so well with what looks at first to be pretty unprepossessing material. I know--you might be thinking that it's not just the material, but the procedures that are applied to the material. And so it is. Music is as much the spaces between the notes, the material the composer leaves out, as it is the stuff we hear (John Cage may have gone a bit far with his 4' 33" of space between the notes, but he was right on about music being much more than just notes on a page).
I don't know how I'm going to get the Bach out of my head. I'm off to practice Ellacombe (see my previous post), which I'm playing tomorrow. Maybe that'll help. On the other hand, maybe it's time to get out my score of the Bach and renew my acquaintance with the piece up close and personal... Mr. Hell has set the bar rather high; thanks for a lesson that was both musical and inspiring.
Friday, June 24, 2005
Prelude on Ellacombe
This is the start of my latest piece, a prelude on the hymn tune Ellacombe. I've written several pieces following 
the rough form of Ralph Vaughan Williams' setting of Rhosymedre. While I'll spend some time on that in a subsequent post, suffice it to say he presents some nice introductory material, then states the tune in the left hand against this material, repeats the tune in the right hand with a fuller accompaniment, follows with a tag from the first setting, and ends with a restatement of his introductory material.
I thought I might use the same form with a different tune. Easier said than done! I started with the left hand and pedal material (based on the opening two notes of the tune in the right hand). The tune wasn't supposed to come in for a page or so. After I wrote the intro stuff, I realized my intro didn't flow like RVW's and, frankly, wasn't as interesting. By this time, I was at what I hoped would be the closing statement and decided to play with the tune a little:
Notice that it's similar but the tune is not treated as simply. After I wrote this, I realized that my beginning was too bare (although a lot easier to play, since the pedal only played the bottom notes, with the left hand doing the upper part of the pedal, and the right hand doing the chords. But no! The music kept demanding changes, so the simple tune was played against the chords, and the poor feet are kept busy.) I didn't achieve RVW's simple elegance, but there's a satisfying buildup and sense of conclusion with my piece. I'll put up an audio clip as soon as I play the piece in public.
the rough form of Ralph Vaughan Williams' setting of Rhosymedre. While I'll spend some time on that in a subsequent post, suffice it to say he presents some nice introductory material, then states the tune in the left hand against this material, repeats the tune in the right hand with a fuller accompaniment, follows with a tag from the first setting, and ends with a restatement of his introductory material.I thought I might use the same form with a different tune. Easier said than done! I started with the left hand and pedal material (based on the opening two notes of the tune in the right hand). The tune wasn't supposed to come in for a page or so. After I wrote the intro stuff, I realized my intro didn't flow like RVW's and, frankly, wasn't as interesting. By this time, I was at what I hoped would be the closing statement and decided to play with the tune a little:
Notice that it's similar but the tune is not treated as simply. After I wrote this, I realized that my beginning was too bare (although a lot easier to play, since the pedal only played the bottom notes, with the left hand doing the upper part of the pedal, and the right hand doing the chords. But no! The music kept demanding changes, so the simple tune was played against the chords, and the poor feet are kept busy.) I didn't achieve RVW's simple elegance, but there's a satisfying buildup and sense of conclusion with my piece. I'll put up an audio clip as soon as I play the piece in public.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Drawing a Blank
The hardest part of writing a piece of music, for me at least, is getting started. I'm looking at a blank piece of manuscript paper--well, ok, for the past two decades it's more often been a screen with staff lines devoid of notes.
The problem: too many choices. Any note in any key at any tempo with any dynamic level for any instrument or voice will do.
The solution: find some way to limit the choices. Decide who you're writing for (audience or performers or both). Make some preliminary choices about the shape of the piece. Sometimes I only need to make a few decisions and the music starts. Other times, more planning is needed. Lately I've written a lot for church services, drawing melodic ideas from hymn tunes (often drawing energy from working against the tight form of the hymn).
As I start this web site I'm in somewhat the same predicament. I'd like to just do it, but my formal composition training keeps pushing me in the direction of developing a structure, a framework--limiting my choices. So here are some of the things I hope to accomplish:
The problem: too many choices. Any note in any key at any tempo with any dynamic level for any instrument or voice will do.
The solution: find some way to limit the choices. Decide who you're writing for (audience or performers or both). Make some preliminary choices about the shape of the piece. Sometimes I only need to make a few decisions and the music starts. Other times, more planning is needed. Lately I've written a lot for church services, drawing melodic ideas from hymn tunes (often drawing energy from working against the tight form of the hymn).
As I start this web site I'm in somewhat the same predicament. I'd like to just do it, but my formal composition training keeps pushing me in the direction of developing a structure, a framework--limiting my choices. So here are some of the things I hope to accomplish:
- Share some of the music I've written
- Talk about compositions that have influenced my musical development
- Share my passion for music and some of the insights I've gained as a musician
- Provide a forum for discussing composition
The page isn't blank any more. Let's see what happens next...
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