The Final Four Minutes

Once again, more time has passed than I would have liked since my last update. As often happens during my compositional process, I have spent a lot of time doing work that doesn't translate into tantalizing updates (at least not regular ones), and for that, I apologize.

So what have I been doing the past month? The short answer is "thinking about the big picture while working out the little details."

What does that mean?

Concerning the big picture, I am figuring out the most compelling and honest way to convey the story I want to share; I know what happens but am still in the process of figuring out how to tell you about it.

Since the music is abstract, "the story" is actually the emotional arc transmitted by the sensual impressions and implied connections made by the sequential presentation of musical material. (So how about I stick with "story"? Yeah? OK, cool.) As such, it's rather tricky to get this right. There is no guarantee that you will feel what I feel during any given passage let alone throughout an entire piece. Still, my favorite compositions speak to me, show me something new, and move me; the least I can do is to try to do the same for you.

As for the details, they too tie back to the story I'm trying to tell. As much as I worry about the concrete "facts" and "plot points," I am equally obsessed with the small stuff because I think it can say just as much - if not more. To put it another way, how something sounds (timbre, texture, dynamics) is as fundamental to the drama as what is sounding (themes, harmonies).

If you're curious about this idea, check out this video about the work of filmmaker Lynne Ramsay. What she does with visual details, I strive to do with sonic ones.

So what has all this working yielded? Quite a bit, but for now I am only ready to share the last five pages, corresponding to the final four minutes of the piece.