The First Pages of Music
More time has passed than I would have liked between the last post and this one - apologies!
That said, some things are worth the time.
Below are the first 3.5 minutes of fully-scored music (starting at letter B). It may not look like much (and, really, it isn't), but this gossamer-thin texture is one of two all-important anchoring points. It is the nadir; as far as the story of this piece goes, it's as bad as it gets.
I bet you're excited for that cadenza.
Completing this section was a daunting task. Odd as it may sound, writing very little is very difficult (a difficulty which is compounded by the thought of a stage full of bored orchestra musicians!). I needed something uncomfortably sparse and yet engaging; something that allowed the mind to wander but kept the emotions on edge.
My solution was to create a kind of theater/dance piece with characters stuck in loops (I would be remiss not to mention the influence of Pina Bausch's transcendent oeuvre on this decision). Through endless experimentation on the violin (thanks again Jed!), I found three sound/gesture combinations that felt compelling enough to warrant sustained scrutiny. These gestures would in a sense become my characters, always moving, but going nowhere.
Beyond my love for the sensual and emotional impact of these sounds, I found their inherent tension to be fascinating. They seemed to have a mystery to them, something that demands attention for the promise of some moment of release. I hope it goes without saying that I will assuredly make use of this. (I'll also make a video of these and update this post as soon as I have time, i.e., when I finish the concerto!)
With this section complete, I can now confidently turn to the climax and conclusion of the concerto. All the pieces are there; I just need to decide exactly how they fit. With any luck, I'll have another section to share soon.
As a little bonus, here the initial draft of this section. Aside from noting how much shorter it is, I'll let you decide why I scrapped this version in favor of the one above.
First draft, complete with my array of rulers.
