Enjoy.

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Dinner at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre

A few weeks ago, I made my way up to a beautiful little corner of Co. Monaghan and a few weeks later, found myself wishing I didn’t have to leave again. There are not enough words to describe the experience of living and working in a community of artists for a period of time. The only question I have for myself is why it took me so long to try something like this in the first place?

The conversations over nightly dinner covered books, poetry, art and its place in contemporary Ireland and always included me as the solitary composer in the group, narrating the journey that led me to my rather generous and inspiring quarters in Annaghmakerrig.

WEEK 1:

Guthrie Composers Room

After getting lost on Monday somewhere on the way to Coothill, I eventually made it 5 hours late, but in time to settle in and attend my first dinner at the Centre.  All the poets and authors were incredibly well spoken and exceptionally knowledgeable and I found myself just wanting to sit and listen to their conversations. Martin, Nollaig, Philip, Trevor and how could I forget Gerry. I honestly didn’t feel I had much to offer as a contributor! Over the course of my first week, I found my curiosity growing more and more with regards to the work of the artists in the group, but more about that later.

I set up my manuscript and got straight to work banging out my music on both the grand pianos in the composers studio. I was fascinated with the different timbres from each.  When I got overwhelmed with that, I would turn my attention to finding text for the 3rd movement of the concerto within the various scriptures I had brought to hunt through. This was interspersed with various trips to the kitchen, which was conveniently situated right beneath me, resulting in the consumption of copious amounts of tea and brown sugar…yummmm……

The more time I spent talking to the visual artists, the more I started to question what the hell I was doing. For the first time, more than with composers, or poets, or writers, I found myself in deep conversation with artists, trying to understand how they evolved from regular painting to developing their very unique individual styles.

Whether it was Janet Pierce exploring mysticism, Karen Hendy developing mark-making as a style to escape the conscious mind, or Susan D’Amato exploring visual and conceptual correspondences between the human body and cosmological forms, the artists I met really made me turn the looking glass on myself and ask myself what I am actually trying to do musically.

Beyond writing notes and things that sound nice,

what is my actual goal when I write music?

A huge part of the first week at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre was spent looking at what I was trying to write and asking myself what I was actually seeking musically. As the week came to a close, much to my surprise, I started to see myself in a different light as a composer. More than ever, I started to feel that my personal exploration was the juxtaposition of historical tonality and modern atonality, trying to find the perfect balance between the styles so they sit in harmony together.

Hope Concerto Score

Suddenly, I had re-discovered my inspiration. I also had a second theme! I had desperately hoped for a secondary theme for the dominant first movement theme and now I had it. They could flow in and out of each other, yet one was tonal and the other, atonal. It was quite and amazing discovery and quite a fantastic creative discovery actually.

As I worked away, I had no idea that my creaky piano skills were sending waves of sound wafting out the windows and floating throughout the Tyrone Guthrie grounds. Several people commented on the music and how amazing it was sounding even on the lake, much to my surprise!

I took time to play the thematic concepts for some curious artists and writers who passed through and one comment in particular that stuck with me was from Pam, who said she loved the opening theme.

My Window

“When the second theme came it,

it just unexpectedly lifted the beauty to a whole other level.”

Could I possibly get a nicer comment from a listener on a raw idea? Her excitement was infectious…. so infectious in fact, that I decided to see could I extend my stay, which is exactly what I did….

Week 2:

a piano exposed

Staying on took a little work. Out of clothes to wear, I had my mothers car which needed to be returned and I still had to find out if they had space, as the residency could only originally offer me one week.

After asking for the extra week, on the basis that the composer studio seemed open on the schedule, Monday morning arrived with Ingrid walking into the studio grinning from ear to ear telling me they had sorted me out and I could stay!  I dashed down like a little kid and had hugs for everyone in the office I was so happy. It was meant to be.

This second week was spent working my melody extensions

and seeing how far I could push them……

I discovered that the new 2nd theme worked over the original key of E minor, and more surprisingly directly over the first theme… So, they can actually sit together! That would most likely happen at the end of the movement or in the development if I have one and still go with a modified sonata form. That needs some figuring out.

I also spent a huge portion of the week working on my text. hmmmm…

verba mea audi Domine, intellege murmur meum.
Lucerna pedibus meis verbum, et lumen semitis meis

Chorus:
Salvete Deus, Laudate Dominus
Benedictus Sanctus Dominus, Salvete mediteris amen

V1 Posuere venia (gratia) sperare in Dei,
Qui Deum diligit mundum manent.

V2 Veni Verbum supernum, Deus, creator omnium
Audite, et meditabor in Cogita

V3 Verbum semper fluit amnis in infinita
Sustinui te, Domine, tu es spes mea

I analyzed my favorite chant lines and modes, and ultimately decided that I am going to try basing the opening around the tonic and the verse around the dominant of the mode which I think is to be aeolian.

After seeing Shostakovich use a bold and basic ostinato line repetitively throughout his 3rd movement Passacaglia, I realize that I can use the Gregorian form throughout my movement and it should work too.

The secret seems to be sticking to my choices.

I managed to find a strange chord based on the two inter related note clusters from the mode, that I think will sound nice and eery in wood winds, arriving in a seemingly pointless series of textural moments… If I move the Gregorian line through the orchestra, switching textures in the various repeats, I can create a nice arc to support a solo violin that should be a cross between Shostakovich’s 3rd and Beethovens 2nd movement.

This week, I also got to spend some personal time with the renowned artist Janet Pierce. She spoke in great detail with me about her art and I had no idea it was all based on meditation! She showed me the picture of her guru and told me about her inspiring trips to India and how it changed her art.

I like the bright light in them. It looks like there is a light behind the light and if you could jump into them, you would see the light thousands of times brighter. She laughed and said its like the light in meditation. We talked for hours on the topic we mutually love!

I honestly needed to meet other artists like this. It is something I’ve never really done before and I reminded myself of that when I felt guilty about not working more! Then, as is apparently usual for residents, I found myself considering staying a few more days ….yet again…

Week 3:

Annaghmakerrig lake

Monday morning, with Mary laughing at the inevitability of the request, I got the all clear to stay until Thursday night so onward and upward!

This week, I fell in love with boating on the lake. In fact, when I came back in the very first time, I set up a recorder and recorded myself playing, as I had an idea that didn’t seem to fit in the concerto, but seemed to be about the rowing on the lake, and the rhythm of the lake and water. I’ll get to finish it, and it will most definitely be called Annaghmakerrig Lake.

A few days later, I met the Irish poet Mary Dorcey on her way back from a grocery trip as I was working outside the conservatory on my translation. “Hello Mary and how are you today?” I asked. She smiled and not wanting to interrupt the workflow, hesitantly came over and said “its such a beautiful day isn’t it?”. “I know” I responded, appreciative of the gesture.

We proceeded to have a long and heartfelt conversation on the creative mind and on her poetry. She shared with me how one of her well known poems was started by a line that came to her out of the blue and then she ended up working backwards from there to form the verse.  On this residency, Mary is working with Dutch artist Felice Atelier, who is doing a set of paintings inspired by Mary’s poetry that will end in a book together.

This whole trip, I’ve ended up having several joyful discussions on creativity and life, and little by little discovering a shared interest in meditation and spirituality with everyone from Susan, to Mary, Jane and Karen. It was such a pleasant surprise.

The experience encouraged me to be more open to letting my spirituality appear more visible in my work, seeing as it drives it…

You know, since week 2, I was going to sleep every night with my themes playing in my mind, and waking up every morning with the themes running in my thoughts.

tools of the trade

I think being away from TV and radio helps, as does the fact that the last thing at night I was usually doing was playing the concerto voraciously on piano. I wonder can I maintain this in any way in the real world? Time will tell.

Mary surprised me on my final day, by coming on up to the studio to say goodbye in case we missed each other. Susan, Debbie and Felice did there best to embarrass me by serenading me as I tried to slip off to the car on my way out after my last supper – they didn’t succeed, as it was a wonderful final memory to have of such a beautiful place.

Tyrone Guthrie July 2011

I’m going to miss my late evening games of scrabble with Igor, Susan, Debbie, Pam, Felice and Roisin, late night Father Ted on the laptop with tea and friends, boating adventures on the tranquil lake and walking under the moon of Guru Purnima. I’m going to miss jokes over dinner, rich deserts and readings in the conservatory.  I hope I can make it to one of Philips plays in Cavan!

Goodbye Tyrone Guthrie, I will miss you, and draw inspiration from you, and return to you sooner than you think. Thank you for your inspiration and welcome. I wonder how Cora is doing?

Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr

Well, this Monday, I headed into the Irish National Concert Hall with a fresh haircut, ready to make a film…. or something like that…

We arranged a morning film shoot around the NCH and the Victorian era St. Stephens Green in the heart of Dublin City. The idea, was to catch some footage of Cora and me and conduct a brief on camera interview with us about the concerto project. Following the recording of Coras Ravel performance, its another step towards documenting our journey. Hopefully, we have enough material to make a trailer to send around to prospective investors to possibly raise some funds towards either the documentary or the project as a whole.

It was a fun morning, but in the end I’ve realized that it broke my writing focus and that is just par for the course at this point. I need to try and stay on target with my writing time.

I am going through so many emotions its hard to even write about them. There is no point in wishing for something else, because this is who I am whether I like it or not. I am a sensitive writer, and I have never been able to shed this persona with any amount of meditation or effort. It is my core. It is my soul. It is my essence. I am coming to the realization that I am fated to be this way for my entire life, and much and all as I can adapt or evolve many aspects of my being, this is so fundemental to who I am, that there is no doctoring it.

Regular meditation seems to be the only antidote to inner turmoil that I have come across, and I am thankful for that daily. The emotional highs and lows that come with my chasing of notes, is often painful at best. The rush of discovering the sequences I want is short and intense, but such a strong part of the fabric that makes up this existence of mine, that I keep coming back for more, just like an addict, except this is beyond addiction. Its a dance that is part of breathing, part of waking and part of existing. Without it, I don’t exist. What an insane Karmic path.

I don’t claim to be anyone special. I just do what I am programmed to do in my DNA and hope it makes sense at some point. I write what I hear, but what I hear has already been written. I struggle with its accuracy, yet the less I stuggle the better the accuracy. The mind and the spirit have to be in perfect harmony for the struggle to me minimised. Its like an inverse correllation.

The sooner I get that through the stubborn mind, the easier this will all go. According to Sant Kabir:

Dheere Dheere Re Mana, Dheere Sub Kutch Hoye
Mali Seenche So Ghara, Ritu Aaye Phal Hoye

Translation
Slowly slowly stay my mind, Slowly everything happens
Gardner may water garden a hundred times, When the Season comes, there is fruit

Meaning
Kabir tells his mind to slow down, and reminds it that everything in life happens in its own time. No matter the effort, karma will unfold in due course.

Then suddenly, I go on a writing spree for 3 straight days and I feel like an entirely different person. It feels likes its a completely different mind running the show. Out of the blue, I see the potential in the piece again, and get excited about the notes I am writing and the connection between them that is unfolding in front of my eyes.

Today, Steven called and has been working on arranging a day of film shooting for the documentary this coming Monday. It made me realize how much pressure is lifted about the documentary now that I’m not afraid that moments are slipping by and I am doing nothing to grab them. Conor and himself are handling it, and it feels fantastic. …. deep sigh…. My only concern is what Sinead has to say about it, as I think he called the NCH asked for her and I’m not sure how she’ll take the surprise request for help shooting around the concert hall on Monday!

My head feels clear, my meditations are solid if not spectacular, and it seems it all adds up to a little more clarity in the writing process. Suddenly, my second movement idea is making more sense to me, I am way closer to laying out the 3rd movement chant, and the first movement concept is really flying together more than it has before. I just need to remember to try and speak to the frame drummer with Cora if I can. That would really help the forth movement come into my consciousness stronger than it currently is, although, I think it will all be obvious by the time I get there…

I sent facebook messages around today hoping to drum up some more readership for the blogs and facebook…. Lets see how that goes….

OK… finish watching harry potter (gorgeous orchestrations) and then sleep…

Image via Wikipedia

Well, I spend a few days in London, taking some important meetings pertaining to the Concerto while catching up with some old friends. Its been a strange time.  I’m completely stressed out about my writing process. Its scary as hell right now. I am nervous about just about everything with the concerto and doubting myself beyond belief.

What is my problem? Well, today its pain……loads of pain. I’ve had an oddly irritating hip and shoulder for the last month or two… since just before I left for America in fact. Well, lugging a bag around London on and off the tube really did a number on them both. By this morning, I could barely move and had to go to a physiotherapist.

Tonight there is some relief, but it is more to do with this ridiculously strong muscle relaxant of a pill that my sister slipped me. It is not a long stretch of the imagination to say that I am high on drugs right now.

London was fun, but it couldn’t quite shift the stress. I keep thinking, Cora is off playing the Opera, growing a whole baby, and I’m here over-thinking writing a bloody piece of music that just refuses to come out. My time at Guthrie is approaching, and Ladislav will be in Prague before I know it and I am still frustrated.

Friday: I got into Gatwick dirt early on Friday, headed into the city and met Daragh from Seneca, left my bags with him and headed to Hyde Park on a gorgeous sunny day, with my ipod and a plastic bag filled with music. Spiritual discourses, Prokofiev violin concertos and a note pad complimented with an Ice Cream Cone and cold bottled water…. a relaxing day at last…… finally figured out the form going on inside Prokofiev’s head I think!

Some more listening at a Starbucks over a hot chocolate and I actually got a lot of work done. Maybe I should be looking for a sponsorship relationship with them! Ha! Anyway, a late change of plans resulted in a snap visit with my friend Karen David. I haven’t seen her in ages and her career has come so far since then, that it was an inspiration and a kick in the ass to see her. Watching her on BBC’s Waterloo Road and Pixelface makes me want to crank my own journey up a notch.

We sat there after dinner sharing our dreams for the future – when it came to mine, I understood that I quiet clearly wanted this concerto to give me a fair shot at a growing writing career.  A producer at the meal was inspired enough by my eulogy to tell me he would put me in touch with a large composer publisher when I am ready which was a wonderful end to a dreamy tale!

Saturday: The next day, was all about visiting and meeting my friend Anupam and his wife Ruta for the first time.  I did a film with Anupam called Fresh Suicide last year at its been having a great run at festivals since then winning a pile of awards. We headed to a barbecue at a further friends house that night before one final tube ride home and more excessive film conversations!

Sunday: Believe it or not, after two days of gorgeous sun in London, is rained all bloody day, which was fine for me, as Anupam, Ruta and myself cooked Indian food all day at home, alongside watching Nadal win the French Open. On a completely different tangent, I’ve wanted to learn to cook Indian food for so long seeing as veggies are my primary diet, and Ruta obliged by showing me a pile of dishes I can do myself. I also read Anupam’s new film script and it had a surprising end that gave me all sorts of angles that the music could  approach the story from. We’ll figure that out at the end of the year when we are on the project…:)

Monday: A day of important meetings that could influence the success of the concerto project in a big way. First up, was Jim Reid at Warner Chappelle Publishing. Jim was over on my panel in Trinity College in December and it was fantastic to see him again and finally get to sit down at his office and talk about our lives and music of course! Jim was very enthusiastic about what I was up to, which I didn’t really expect, seeing as I’m in the middle of more of a classical project, and he is in the song publishing world. He kindly offered his support both now and when the time comes to find some publishing and support for the concerto launch which is absolutely fantastic.

Next up was finally getting to meet Simon Long who I have known via the music business for a few years now. We had a wonderful lunch at a local pub and talked about the music industry and solved all its problems over some food and drink. What can I say? ! It was wonderful afternoon and great to finally shake Simons hand in person after so many phone calls and emails over the years.

I grabbed a Starbucks (see a trend here???) with Anupam after completely getting lost walking across the Thames and heading the wrong direction, before later metting up with Daragh to head back to his brothers place to get some advice from his sister in law (Aurelie) about the documentary idea and see what if anything Universal might like to see. I was surprised yet again, to find out that the concept was very interesting to them, even if we might have to elevate the project by getting some established names on board to get their full attention. We had some wonderful creative conversation that night about the whole project and although I hit the sack late, I was feeling positive. Positive as well, knowing that this was really the last of my main duties outside writing for the next while, which should hopefully let me make some serious progress finally.

Dublin: And now the return and the blog has come full circle. After getting back to Dublin, my left shoulder and hip suddenly stepped up their pain levels.  I felt crippled after getting back and writing was has been the last thing on my mind as I can barely sit, walk, type, or lie down. At least I have some relief now!

I’m hoping to try and make either or both of Cora’s gigs this weekend, as long as its not to aggravating to walk….fingers crossed!

My mind is feeling very clear, but unfortunately my schedule hasn’t been for the last few weeks. Its been very frustrating trying to get to a place where I can write. I spoke with my old composition mentor Ladislav Kubik on Wednesday again and we have a formative plan to meet in July in Prague. When I asked him how his summer was going so far, he lamented that he was trying to get to a place where he could write, but has had a lot of things going on preventing him from getting there, like re-flooring two rooms in his house.

I had to laugh, because it sounded like a mirror image of my life in a way. It also brought a morbid sense of relief that he goes through it too. He was telling me that he is trying to get working on a piece, and will tell me more about it when he sees me in Prague in July. He assures me it is not a violin concerto!

I’m thinking of going to see him in July – I was originally going to go on the CASMI composition course to see him, but now, it  seems its that its only for a week at the end of the month. Thats fine – I think it will be more focused anyway.

I’m also trying to find out more about my residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre. I’ve got 2 weeks to spend there, and I think I’ve finally decided to spit it in half and spend a week there before going to PRague and maybe a week afterwards. I just like the idea of sections of focused writing. I need all the focus and structure I can find right now, and this is an opportunity to layer it over me for the next few months.

I called in to see Cora at the end of last week and it was great to see her. Her pregnancy is coming along nicely and it reminded me of the marching of time, watching her progress. We went through a lot of the music again and it was interesting because we both had a different emotional experience listening to the music this time than we remember when we did our playing last time. It was not expected!

Anyway, enough time has passed that the concertos I was indulging in earlier in the year are out of my head, and I’m a clean slate to draw in my own fresh musical concepts for our piece. I think what I’m enjoying discovering is how Cora makes her violin resonate, and trying to take advantage of that as much as I can. I’m planning on sitting down tomorrow and writing chant for the piece, but also listening back to the recordings we made to see which music phrases sing most through her.

I was looking back over some of the footage today as it was coming into the hard drives and had to laugh at myself – I think about things way to much… I know it, and it comes across on the video. There is nothing like a hard cruel look at yourself to knock you into shape, is there?

What a strange week its been. This day last week, after fearing that I would not get to see Cora before I left, we actually arranged to spend time going through the music and I set off into Dublin, excited to hear my ideas fly off Cora’s fingers, through her Gagliano and into the air and my awaiting ears.

I was giddy the whole way in – listening to a few Beethoven Symphonies in the morning, then both Prokofiev and Shostakovich’s violin concertos before arriving at her place at around 4.30pm. For the next 4 hours or so, we churned through the sketches, came up with several solutions to melodic and fingering issues and in general had a blast!

We tested my first themes variations, we tested my second movement idea, we tested my third movement idea and we looked at some more evolved and dare I say radical melodic progressions that I have been starting to consider.

I think the last few weeks have helped me re-discover the heart that beats behind my deep seated melodic experimentation. It’s hard to explain, but I know Cora noticed it as well when we hit those ideas that looked a little more off kilter on the page, but when we played them we were both shocked at how beautifully the quasi atonality of the notes complimented the more regular tonality of what could be referred to as pretty melody.

I have to admit, I have a thing for the whole tone scale. I’ve rediscovered that love while writing, and have been trying to find a way of melding that sound with a more linear, direct sound. The modal nature of the E minor that I have been working with makes this an interesting conundrum. In fact, the E minor I have been operating in, often sits on the same scale that D Major sits on when I am handling it modally.

We looked at ALL my development ideas and Cora gave some valuable feedback about my triplet variations and some gorgeous stops that could be applied across the strings to add some resonant texture to the violin part. I have a strong intent to keep the orchestra part harmonically empty for periods and predominantly work with tutti phrasing and 3rds at moments. Of course it will expand beyond that, but this is a concerto, not a symphony and we intend to have fun using the orchestra to support the violinist doing what both Cora and I want her to do!

We had both Oly and Rob in the session for various periods and both gave very encouraging feedback on what they were hearing. It was surprising to me that they could make sense of the ideas enough to actually like something at this stage of writing, but there you go, a polite surprise! I think walking away afterward, Rob said something along the lines of “Wow that was gorgeous. Man, that is how a violin is meant to sound!“

Cora and I were thinking it might be a lot of fun to try a further session like that at a piano, either at the NCH or at one of Dublins modern galleries, open to the public and streaming live on the internet. how fun would that be? We could call our ‘exhibit’ “Writing a violin concerto“….. and have some fun while doing our thing!

Coming to America

So, the other major event of the past week, was my relocation to Los Angeles, well actually to Pasadena, CA. In the next few weeks, Cora and I both have a lot going on. Speaking for myself, I’m back in my main pro-tools studio in LA mixing an album for producer Noel Hogan (The Cranberries). 13 tracks in 5 weeks. That’s the challenge. Its the new Seneca album and it sounds great, but opening my first protools session and getting a request to change my playback engine to 5DSP chips and 120 voices. Add to that, the pressure to do other mixes in the facility that I am working out of, and I am not a happy camper at the moment. A lot of stress, no time and a sense of watching the hourglass emptying in front of my eyes.

How I wish I was back in Dublin right now, continuing writing my concerto and getting ready to be inspired by a live Cora show tomorrow, Friday the 24th March at the Irish NCH.

Instead, I am feeling quite lost here in LA, wondering why I find myself again overwhelmed in this city. When I was last here in November it was the same feeling and I really don’t like it. It is not very conducive to writing in the least.

Scared

a day closer to getting on a plane and another day of self-doubt. I guess at this point it should never fail to surprise me how much insecurity can pop up without a moments notice. The thought pattern is repetitive – get stuck not moving forward as fast as I’d like, think about how much is still to do, think about how many greater composers than me took longer than this to write brilliant works and finally doubt that I am up to the challenge.

Usually, I kill that thought shortly afterwards, as I don’t have enough time to dwell on it, but that is the pitter patter approach of self doubt visiting me

I think not having a chance to see Cora in a while has exaggerated the fear, as I sense time passing and want to stay on top of things and everything from a wasted day to an overslept morning worries me. I think people have far worse real life concerns in the world than I do, but unfortunately, these are the ones that consume me.

Anyway, I did get some writing in today, some clarinet practice and even got to hear Carlos Nunez at the Irish National Concert Hall tonight with my dad – it was some really nice bonding time before I leave in a few days.  The music was interesting and he is a stunning musician. I was paying attention to what made certain pieces more showy than others, and how the toms and large bass drum sounded in the music, although the amplification didn’t give me an authentic listening environment. Yet, there were ideas to be had…

My laptop has refused to behave itself, my new ProTools software has behaved even worse, and my internet dongle has completely vanished. For a period today, my headphone output had even left the building!

I had borrowed my sisters Zoom recorder to put beside me as I worked out ideas on the piano, to catch any good stuff I forgot…. and you guessed it, it wasn’t recording for the first two attempts I made to do it – you would think pressing record wasn’t to difficult right?!

Anyway, the concerto. Aside from writing, I’ve been reading a few great sources of information on the challenge I’m undertaking so as to inform myself as best I can along the journey. One great book I’m enjoying is called “CONTEMPORARY MUSIC: An Introduction” by Francis Routh. It’s a fascinating take, written in 1968, on contemporary music. So far I’ve been reading about the importance of contemporary music on the people of the different periods and Routh is making a case for the various aspects of culture that

Cover of Plato

can be captured in the music if the composer so chooses. There is a great quote in there from the philosopher Plato that conveys his strong convictions of the importance of contemporary music in any lasting culture.

Plato felt that music should form an integral part in the education of the “Guardians” of his ideal city:

“The decisive importance of education in poetry and music: rhythm and harmony sink deep into the recesses of the soul and take the strongest hold there, bringing that grace of body and mind which is only to be found in one who is brought up in the right way. Moreover, a proper training in this kind makes a man quick to perceive any defect or ugliness in art or in nature. Such deformity will rightly disgust him. Approving all that is lovely, he will welcome it home with joy into his soul and nourished thereby grow into a man of a noble spirit.“

I think that is an amazing insight. Think about it. Using music and poetry to educate people to the point that they can now critically analyze in life like they can in art. This would increase the awareness of people, and their capacity to read between the lines in situations and not become followers of momental fads or outrageous philosophies and movements that hurt them or others in any way. Its Platos idea of utopia and its an amazing insight into the power of music.

To capture the attention of a modern society though, music needs to be music of the now, and familiar enough to its audience to lure them in. Modern contemporary composers are often at odds with the general masses, and it could be said that only a few truly cross over. I guess both modern education and modern composers are both to blame for this widening gap. Wouldn’t it be nice to put something together that actually helped lure some listeners back into the world of contemporary music?

I’ve also pulled out a book, which is so old its missing its front cover and is barely holding its binding! Its called “Form in Instrumental Music” and is one of the coolest books on form I’ve ever come across, and I had to stumble on it in a box of books while putting stuff up in the attic at home! I think its from 1930.

It couldn’t have come at a better time in my writing and is helping broaden my philosophies and education on form. You can never know enough about form I say!

Anyway, ’twas a good day of writing. Clarity comes by to visit and is more present daily. One of these days, she’ll present herself, and I’ll welcome her with open arms….

I’m hoping to find Cora before I leave for America. It would be nice to hear some of the ideas on her violin, with her intensity and passon before I have to depart. So will begin, an intense period of studio mock ups and couch surfing until I return in late April….

Ok… off to bed me thinks…

Gloria Laus

Gregorian style orchestra and a soloing violin above. Mad eh?

I hear it in my head and really think it can work well and be a very interesting and unique touch to the musical story. With that said, I was dictating down some chant today to get a feel for its structure and tonality. I was focusing on an ancient chant called Gloria Laus Dominica in Palmis.

It was interesting to notice the ascending melodic minor scale.

I managed to identify a few of the dominant characteristics of the melodic style I am

Arvo Part

chasing down, which was good. I have loved chant for years, and the work of Arvo Part has really been an inspiration to me in my desire to realize these sounds in my imagination. From years of listening, and even a memorable stint singing chants at morning mass in my

one year of boarding school in St. Finian’s in Mullingar, I am already familiar with the texture and expressiveness of the style.

In brief (with the aid of some material found here), the traditional Gregorian Chant notation is written in neumes - notes sung on a single syllable.

Although Gregorian Chant has no meter or rhythmic markings at all, I intend to specifically call on the tonality we all are familiar with. I think Part has achieved this with his work on pieces such as Fratres, which I think is an amazing piece of work.

Gregorian Chant does however, have a suggested rhythm, through groupings of notes.
Vertical lines separate musical phrases and create what could be considered a pause for taking a breath. This helps generate a grouping of notes and gives the impression of rhythmic devisions.

The separation lines look something like

As I mentioned earlier, Gregorian Chant is not in a major or minor key as such, but in modes and the chants I was listening too were melodic minor in mode.

What else? Well, Gregorian Chant is written on a 4-line staff, instead of the more familiar 5 line staff that we are used to music being written on today. To help make sense of the pitch, a specific clef mark was utilized to mark the tonic pitch on the staff.

For Example, if marks where Doh is on the staff, here on the third line from the bottom. If we associate Doh with the pitch/note C, then the four lines of the the staff would be F-A-C-E.

A slightly different clef would be the Fah Clef () indicating where Fah is on the staff. This would mean Do would be on the bottom space.

Enough Gregorian mumbo jumbo? I hope so