For this piece as the ensemble is based in Vancouver, my old stomping grounds, I have loads of inspiration based on my growing up in that area--Vancouver Island to be specific. Vancouver Island, like the area just north of Vancouver, is very mountainous:
When I was young I worked in close proximity to these mountains. They are surrounded by deep forests and nearby is the ocean, all of which I have always found inspiring. So since this music is intended for people, both players and listeners, that live in this environment, I look forward to letting the inspiration flow.
Of course the real problems are all musical ones. What kind of material is suitable? What kind of form would be best? How "advanced" do I dare to be with the idiom? Etc, etc. I already have an idea of how to structure one of the movements: I am going to use a variation on a kind of "moment" form that I have used before, with some twists. Do you find it odd that the first thing that comes to me is the structure? I remember reading an interview with David Byrne of the Talking Heads where he said he usually started with the texture of the song, the interaction of drums and rhythm guitar. Everything else came later.
I would like to put up a clip of Night Rain, an interesting piece in moment form by Anthony Genge that I have performed many times, but I don't have it on this computer. Here is a post that contains it, however. Just scroll down.
https://themusicsalon.blogspot.com/2018/10/brief-musings.html
I would like to put up a clip of Night Rain, an interesting piece in moment form by Anthony Genge that I have performed many times, but I don't have it on this computer. Here is a post that contains it, however. Just scroll down.
https://themusicsalon.blogspot.com/2018/10/brief-musings.html
2 comments:
Thank you Bryan for the Night Rain post. So still, so contemplative. I listened to it while somewhat surrounded by nature. Outside my window fragrant clusters of blossoms on a black locust tree seemed to hang heavily, quietly rustled by the wind. A female goldfinch was sitting in that tree preening herself. They are wondrous creatures. My belief is the human collective soul is broken in that we countenance the continued destruction of nature. We have put our comfort and material things above the preservation of nature.
I am now more aware after biology study at university of the underlying complex chemistry of living things. I've asked myself, how does our sense of spirituality, the sacred and the transcendent arise from nature and our beautiful planet? Is it antithetical to our ever expanding knowledge of genes and biochemistry? Your discussion of Chinese philosophy and Qi's idea of matter and spirit unity answers that to some extent. Thanks again.
Thanks so much for this comment, Patrick. I have always responded to the transcendent beauty of nature more than to conventional religion. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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