Music for Flute and Harp, Violin and Viola: Images. A Composer’s Journal Entries: March 14- March 19, 2007

Photo: pages of the score to Dance.

Wednesday, March 14
9 p.m.

Finished copying out/cutting & pasting A Feather. Did little else all day & evening. Thirty five pages of score. M. comes home from a meeting soon - I hope I still have a human voice. I saw noone today; although I did say "hello" to the mailman at about 3 p.m.

Tomorrow I will make a few changes to Dance. I have decided to keep that Image a trio, for flute, harp & viola. It is thirty three pages of score. These three Images alone are almost a hundred pages of score, with three more Images to copy out: Elegie, The Fairies’ Banquet & Interlude. The remaining three are shorter, but altogether the score will be over a hundred pages. A concert in itself, although I have not timed them. The pieces are written to stand alone or in small groups of Images - the cycle does not have to be performed in its entirety. The cycle of six can be broken up, played either as a single Image - or as a small collection of them, placed on other concerts.

So many little notes. These pieces, these Images, were written in 2003, in January, February & March. All this work and Beauty because the harpist Myra Kovary stopped me in the gardens one summer day & asked me to write music for her ...

Friday, March 16
3:30 a.m.

Worked on Dance again tonight. Dinner with friends/snow. The roads plowed, paths shoveled. The snow continues to fall, large, fluffy flakes. The perfect night to write music.

Wrote words for a song. Tomorrow I will begin to copy out the main score of Dance, the revision is now finished.

Saturday, March 17
2:30 a.m.

Finished copying out the main score to Dance. I am pleased. Still snowing & very cold; below zero with wind chill. A magical layer of snow everywhere, the roads empty & fairly impassible in spite of the occasional snow plow coming through. Perfect silence.

Now I am half done with copying out the main score. Tomorrow I will write in the metronome markings to Dance & begin Interlude. Myra should be back from NYC soon. I would like her to look over these new scores.

Sunday, March 18
2:30 a.m.

Interlude is copied out. Only The Fairies’ Banquet & Elegie are left.

Monday, March 19

Trying to decide whether to leave A Fairies’ Banquet as a trio. As a composer, I would prefer adding a violin part, to double lines & give added depth. But I must first determine whether the violin part will be interesting enough for the violinist - as a performer I understand the anticipation of the first glance at a new score. And I do not want that first - or last- glance to be disappointing. I think I will leave this Image alone for some days & begin revising Elegie for this new combination of instruments. First I need to Xerox the original score in town, possibly tomorrow. For variety, I might leave some sections for just the harp & flute, or as a trio. The viola and violin could be a nice contrast in the B sections. Or I could leave three Images as trios. Decisions.

I need time to reflect on this.

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