Thanksgiving

As Thanksgiving approaches, I'm happy to report that my new wind ensemble consortium piece for winds and film is nearly complete!  The music is essentially done, there is just a bit of editing and orchestration left to do.  I'm very excited about the piece and looking forward to getting the music and film out to consortium members in January. The past few days I have been working on a new project - arranging a few Advent hymns!  I love Advent!  The church choir I am singing in will be singing Vivaldi's Gloria on December 9th, with strings and organ.  The Director asked if I would arrange the 3 hymns for the service for strings, organ, oboe, and trumpet (and congregational singing of course).   I'm having a great time with this - and I have the opportunity to work with some wonderful hymns (and wonderful musicians!).

I have been working on Jesus Comes with Clouds Descending which is quickly becoming one of my favorite hymns.   It is a soaring, powerful melody, and it doesn't hurt that the harmony is written by Ralph Vaughan Williams.  I've had the tune stuck in my head for about a week, and I think I could listen to this all day.  Among many, many other things, I'm thankful for this powerful and transformational music we have.

A Wonderful Consortium Group!

It has been a few weeks since I last posted here - things have been busy! I have been working hard on the new piece for winds and film, and the consortium has been growing! We now have a wonderful group of 22 schools signed up (see the list here)!  Thank you to those supporters who are making this exciting project possible!  There are still a few spots left if you or someone you know is interested.

Check out more details here.

New Work for Soprano and Wind Octet - "Alcott Songs"

I really enjoy the poetry of Louisa May Alcott, and I decided to create a song cycle comprised of six of her relatively short poems. I tried to pull together poems that are particularly fun, witty, and whimsical.  As I began choosing these texts, I realized that it would be fun to organize them in a way that could depict a summer day: the first poem opens with “Awake! Awake!”  The second talks about jumping among lily pads, the third describes spring flowers, and the fourth portrays a squirrel and his acorn adventures.  The fifth seems to be about bees or another animal in a sort of dream-like story – I picture this as the point at which we dose off to sleep.  The sixth and final poem is a lovely lullaby which brings the day to an end.  Musically, I tried to create melodies and textures that mirror the fun and wit of the poetry.  There is a variety of music, from very light spring-like dancing in the opening song, to the quiet and delicate lullaby at the end.

Commissioned by the following musicians and institutions:

Dr. Brenton F. Alston – Florida International University Dr. Daniel Belongia – Illinois State University Dr. Justin Davis – Greatbatch School of Music, Houghton College Mr. Duane Hill – Texas Tech University Dr. John Oelrich – University of Tennessee at Martin Dr. David Ragsdale – University of Alabama Huntsville Dr. Catherine Rand – University of Southern Mississippi Dr. Jason Rinehart & Dr. Claire Vangelisti – University of Louisiana at Monroe Dr. Mark Scatterday – Eastman School of Music Mr. Timothy Shade – University of Miami Dr. Mark Walker – Troy University

Read more about the work here.

New Commission - Choir, Saxophone & Piano

I'm excited to announce a new commission which has just been finalized and that I am writing this summer.  Dr. William Eash and the Bethel College Choir are commissioning  a new piece for choir, saxophone, and piano!  I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Dr. Eash and the Bethel Choir, and also to include saxophone (near and dear to my heart!) in this piece.  The text we decided on is below.  I have been thinking about ideas for the piece for a few weeks and have a good idea of the general structure and to some extent the roles of the various forces (men, women, saxophone, piano).  Yesterday I got to spend a bit of time working on the piece in one of my favorite spots - the basement of the Eastman annex building! Stay tuned for more details about this piece! O thou, in whose presence

O thou, in whose presence my soul takes delight, on whom in affliction I call, my comfort by day, and my song in the night, my hope, my salvation, my all;

Where dost thou, dear Shepherd, resort with thy sheep? to feed in the pastures of love? Say, why in the valley of death should I weep, or lone in the wilderness rove?

Oh, why should I wander an alien from thee, or cry in the desert for bread? Thy foes will rejoice when my sorrows they see, and smile at the tears I have shed.

He looks, and ten thou-sands of angels rejoice, and myriads wait for his word. He speaks, and eternity filled with his voice, reechoes the praise of the Lord.

Evolving Ideas

It's interesting to look back at my sketches for a piece - my initial ideas, and see how they evolve into the final version.  Sometimes, in the beginning, I have what I think is a great idea for a piece, a great motive, melody, etc.  But inevitably that first version I come up with will not remain the same.  It evolves in someway, through the process of working with the material very closely and making many decisions about it.  Even the scope of the whole work itself - the length, the meaning, the inspiration, the direction - can change. Back on March 9th, I posted here about initial ideas I had for a new choral work.  While finishing up Magnolia Star over the past few weeks, I have found little bits of time to think about this new piece and play with the initial ideas.  Many of the ideas I discussed in the post weeks ago are still very much on target.  However, two main evolutions have happened with this piece recently, which made me think about this whole idea of evolving ideas for a work:

1. The text: My initial idea was to just use the word "Alleluia" for the text.  Then I realized that when the piece reaches its climax, it will really need a contrasting section, and it would be ideal to change the text at that point.  It would be powerful to set up an ostinato with just this one word, for several minutes as the piece builds, and then when the climax arrives, open up a new world with a change in music and text.   I have been thinking about setting Isaiah 55:12 for some time, but I kept thinking that it would be too short a text to stand on its own.  Perfect!  I can start with "Alleluia," then set the verse, and then end with "Alleluia."

Alleluia For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace:  the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing. Alleluia

2. I have been struggling with how to start the piece - whether to begin with all four voices, or just sopranos, or sopranos and altos, etc. The repeating ostinato that I'm using starts with a D major chord, which I thought would be a beautiful way to begin the piece.  Again, as I thought more and got deeper into the material, I started to think that this needed to change.  While the D major chord would make a perfectly beautiful first sound, the piece is really about building to a climax via a repeating ostinato, adding counterpoint and growing slowly.  So, in that way it makes sense to start with just the sopranos, stating the simple melody as a monophonic line.  Then, perhaps I bring in the altos to add some counterpoint.  And then, after two statements of the ostinato, the full choir arrives with that D major chord and the piece continues to build.  That's where I am now in my thinking, but it could change!

Magnolia Star - Score & Full Recording

Magnolia Star, my newest work for wind ensemble which I discussed in my last post here, now has a page on my website.  On that page you will find the full midi recording, PDF score, program notes, and a link to purchase the score and parts.  Enjoy! Here is the full midi recording:

[audio http://www.stevedanyew.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Danyew_Magnolia_Star_midi.mp3]

Magnolia Star - Inspiration and Audio

Here is a midi sample of the first 3 minutes of Magnolia Star for Wind Ensemble (the full work is a little over 6 minutes): [audio http://www.stevedanyew.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Danyew_Magnolia_Star_midi_sample.mp3]

And here are the program notes for the piece:

When I was playing saxophone in my middle school jazz band, we started every rehearsal the same way – with an improvisation exercise that our director created. It was a simple yet brilliant exercise for teaching beginning improvisation and allowing everyone in the band a chance to “solo.” As a warm-up at the opening of each rehearsal, the whole band played the blues scale ascending, resting for one measure, descending, and resting for another measure.

During the measures of rest, each member of the band took turns improvising a solo. Looking back, this exercise not only got the band swinging together from the start of rehearsal, but it made improvisation, a daunting musical task to many, seem within everyone’s abilities. This experience was my introduction to the blues scale, and I have long wanted to write a piece inspired by this group of pitches. In Magnolia Star, I explore various ways to use these pitches in harmonies, melodies, and timbres, creating a diverse set of ideas that will go beyond sounds that we typically associate with the blues scale. I didn’t want to create a “blues” piece, but rather a piece in my own musical voice that uses and pays homage to the blues scale.

Nearly all of the pitches used in Magnolia Star fit into the concert C blues scale. It is interesting to note that embedded within the C blues scale are both a C minor triad, an Eb minor triad, and an Eb major triad. I explore the alternation of these tonal areas right from the start of the piece, and continue to employ them in different ways throughout the entire work.

When I first started improvising ideas for this piece based around the blues scale, I began to hear the influence of driving rhythms and sonorities which reminded me of trains. The railroad became a important second influence of this piece alongside the blues scale.

The American railroad not only provides some intriguing sonic ideas, but it also provides an intimate connection to the growth of jazz and blues in America. In the late 19th century, the Illinois Central Railroad constructed rail lines that stretched from New Orleans and the “Delta South” all the way north to Chicago. Many southern musicians traveled north via the railroad, bringing “delta blues” and other idioms to northern parts of the country. The railroad was also the inspiration for countless blues songs by a wide variety of artists. Simply put, the railroad was crucial to the dissemination of jazz and blues in the early 20th century.

Magnolia Star was an Illinois Central train that ran from New Orleans to Chicago with the famous Panama Limited in the mid 20th century.

Magnolia Star - Done! (Almost)

Today I'm putting the final edits on (all 38 pages! of) Magnolia Star, a new 6 minute work for wind ensemble. I will be posting more about the piece soon - what inspired it, an audio clip, etc.  For now I just wanted to share a bit about the editing process I have been doing this past week.  The bulk of the music was finished a couple of weeks ago, but there were still a few holes and spots I wasn't satisfied with.  So over the past couple of weeks I have been focusing on those spots and also looking at every element of the piece and asking myself, "Is this what I want here?"  And, "is this the best I can do, or is there anything else I can do to make this better?"

Now I have resolved most of those issues and have a fairly final score sitting in front of me on my desk.  I have also gone through each page zoomed in at 200% to make sure all the dynamics are aligned and no markings are colliding on the page.  I also made sure all the trumpet muting spots were marked, and that all the percussion instruments are marked appropriately.  Really, the piece is done.

But this is one of the points I always struggle with - as a composer, how do we really know when the work is done?  How do we know that we have created the work we intended, and that there is nothing left to improve upon? Or maybe that's not the point - surely there is something that can be improved upon.  But that's ok? We aren't striving for a "perfect" work, right?  That's probably a whole separate debate. I think of a painter - when they step back from a painting, put on a few more brush strokes, then a couple more, and then they are done.  Wait - how did they decide that they didn't need to add a few more strokes, or change something?

I think often times it is a mixture of things:

• part letting go after obsessing in a detailed way over the work;
• part "feeling" that the work is done, and;
• part believing in the many decisions you have made throughout the course of creating the work.

Composers and other types of creators constantly question ourselves throughout the creative process - which is important and necessary.  But at some point, we have to lay down the pen and decide that the work is done.

Arise and Sing - This Sunday!

This Sunday I will conduct "Arise and Sing" in two services at the Westminster First Congregational Church in Westminster, MA. Arise and Sing is a 30 second introit piece for SATB unaccompanied choir intended to herald the opening of an Easter service.  It is in the key of C and we will be dovetailing it with the opening hymn in the service - Christ the Lord is Risen Today. We tried this last year, and it was pretty cool.  The choir lands on a powerful C major chord at the end of Arise and Sing, and while the choir is holding the last chord (fff of course) the organ comes in like a bulldozer, starting the introduction to the hymn. It's powerful - trust me.  (Or better yet, come hear it on Sunday!)

Below is the King's College Choir singing Jesus Christ is Risen Today (same hymn as Christ the Lord is Risen Today).  We will be singing it out of our hymnal, but Ashley and I co-wrote a descant for the last verse!  Should be quite a morning! Happy Easter to all!

Finding the Creative Groove

This week I had sort of a mini revelation I would like to share: it seems that my most productive creative time is the afternoon.  Seems simple, I know.  But I feel like I have been trying to find this answer for years.  In the past, I have set aside time to compose at pretty much every time of day, and most of the time I am fairly productive, but I have never been able to identify a particular time of day that works best for me.  Some musicians prefer composing or practicing late at night, or first thing in the morning.  I have had some success at both of these times, but I would say only limited success.  I can't count on being productive at those times, and here is why: Early Morning: I'm still waking up, digesting some food, thinking about all the stuff I need to get done that day.  Even though people say your mind is generally pretty clear at the beginning of the day, I don't always feel that way. I need to sit down and get some tasks off my plate right away.

Evening: I'm tired - we have been through the entire day and whatever it holds.  I don't like to stay up too late, so my mind knows I don't have a long stretch of time to burrow into creativity.  Sometimes I can be successful with a short block of creative time, even 30 minutes, but more often I need a large chunk of time that I know I can dedicate to composing.  I may be productive in the first hour, but I don't feel really satisfied (in the groove) until a little more time has passed.  At night, my brain seems to be better and doing non-creative work.

Afternoon: Jackpot! I have had plenty of time to wake up, do email and knock off some generally non-creative tasks, and my energy level is pretty high.  I can plan out a large block of time, and I'm not tired like I will be at the end of the day.

I'm not sure why it took me so long to figure this out! But I'm excited to see how this continues to play out.  I wonder if this will change or if I have really found my ultimate creative time period? We shall see.