Author: Dale

Waltz, 7/14/09

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This morning I had the pleasure of hearing the Waltz for String Quartet & Bassoon read through by the strings majors here at GHP, under the direction of the inestimable Michael Giel.

They read it as a whole group, so it had a bigger sound, which was not at all bad. Also, since the woodwinds were hard at work on their concert for tonight, the bassoon part was taken by a solo cello, which was also fine.

What can I say? It worked, and it worked admirably. I’m pleased. Thank you, Michael and strings!

In other news, Stephen Czarkowski has ordered parts in order to perform it this fall. Who knows, I may actually write two more movements to go with it.

Omphalos update: The bowl is in the kiln.

Waltz, 7/10/09

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I think I’m through with the waltz. It’s not finished, I’m just through with it.

Yes, it’s complete, and yes, it makes sense in its twisted little way, but I still feel as if I have lazily slapped together a few combinations and turned it in. Oh well.

Here’s the “completed” Waltz for String Quartet & Bassoon. (Here’s the score, if you want it.)

I need to go double-check it for impossible double-stops before I let a real violinist see it.

::sigh::

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I was walking through the Bailey Science Building, doing my observational thing, and I came across this in the hall:

It’s a packing crate, probably for some equipment VSU has had delivered. And my first thought was, “I can use that for firewood.”

My second thought was,”…if I were at home in my labyrinth.”

::sigh::

Waltz, 7/8/09

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You can listen to yesterday and today’s work on the B section of the bassoon quintet here.

I think it’s not long enough. I think I could make it into a major development section, or use it as the second theme for an actual sonata allegro movement. I barely get the theme stated when I dismantle it and build to a screeching climax (from which I will ratchet it up even more until it collapses back into the claustrophobic A section.) I think it’s not enough.

However, if my goal is to have something for students to read on Friday, and it is, then we’ll just go with it as a first draft.

Waltz, 7/7/09

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The bowl continues to dry and crack.

I opened up a new Finale file today and just played with B section phrases, making up stuff, discarding stuff. I seem to be congenitally unable to avoid the lyrical. Sure, I need a contrast for the B section from that astringent little waltz, but it sounds like a Prokofiev ballet piece.

So be it. I’ll push it to its limit and turn it violent as soon as is possible. Look for slashing strings and unison screaming before settling on an unsettled chord stabbing its way into a fff crescendo, only to collapse into the recapitulation. Bones hounded by lust.

Omphalos, 7/5/09

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Alas, when I checked on the bowl this afternoon, this is what greeted me:

I slapped some slip on it and went to test the Fool’s Errand. It will work, although the Emo Jester will have to test it out to time his path from the Hopper quad to the pedestrian mall.

Waltz, 7/5/09

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The new piece is now called Waltz (for string quartet & bassoon). I figured I couldn’t just call everything Dance, and I know better than to call it I. Allegro, because I’ll probably never get around to another two movements to make it a true quintet piece.

Anyway, I worked on it this morning and have the first theme exposited, along with a transition into the second theme. Did you know that you can double the length of your exposition by shoving in a repeat?

Here it is so far.

In other news, I’ve hauled out the Fool’s Errand from last summer to give it a look. The path we followed last year, indeed, our very meeting place, is fenced off behind construction now, so I have to head out and see if the soundtrack as it stands will match the new campus topography.

Bits & pieces

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While I wait for the bowl to dry, I’ve been sketching, which I’ll talk about in a moment. I’ve also been mulling over a new piece based on the 24 hour challenge #3, which I’ll also talk about in a moment.

The bowl has cracked as it dried, which is to be expected: it’s thick and dries unevenly, and the drain hole presents a further issue. The cracks are developing around the hole as the bowl shrinks away from the center.

Not to worry, my professional advisors tell me. First of all, the cracks are fillable. And even if they reappear in the firing, we’ll just plug them with slip and glaze. Failing all of that, there are several epoxies we can use post-glaze. So I’m not worried.

Here’s a picture:

So I’ve been sketching. Not assiduously mind you, but I’m working. I’ve focused on photographs of my fellow Lichtenbergians taken in the labyrinth, and specifically their faces. This is a very hard thing. This week I’ve worked on my own portrait, and I’ve finally produced one that sort of looks like me.

I’ve also produced several that have a vague resemblance to my grandmother in her dotage. I persevere.

Mostly it’s the eyes and the nose. I need to go back to my reference books I brought with me and do some actual studying on “how to do it.”

In other news, after hearing “I Dance a Clubfoot’s Waltz,” our string teacher welcomed the chance to have his students read through a completed version of it. I’ll be working on that tomorrow morning.

The problem at the moment is that I’ve grown accustomed to its little 20-second form. Taking a crowbar to it and prying it open for more development is very scary. I think it will open the same, but then take some basic fragments to build on, the pizzicato triplets, the hammered hemiolas, and the bassoon phrases, returning to the current piece as a recapitulation and coda.

I went to the library to check out a score for Shostakovich’s 8th Symphony. (I wanted his string quartets, but those apparently are still in the acquisitions department, since June of 2006.) While I was there, I thought it would be fun to find my Dance for Double Bass Duo & Marimba on the shelf. Using my trusty iPhone, I found the call number and tracked it down.

They have the score and parts, but they have also copied the score into a little booklet which is shelved separately. It was fun to see it. And then I noticed that it had been checked out to interlibrary loan back in April. Wow! One wonders who found it and ordered it? Clearly whoever it was didn’t find it interesting enough to perform, or surely they would have contacted me.

Anyway, the current piece cannot be called “Clubfoot’s Waltz,” I’m sure, so I think it’s going to be another Dance for Basson & String Quartet. I’m going to experiment giving the bassoon part to a second viola or second cello, but it will probably remain for the bassoon.

Omphalos, Day 6

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The bowl was dry and firm enough to begin cutting. First I used my handy template to mark where the channels for the bricks ought to be:

If I had been thinking, I would have cut way around the circle, since I was successful in making the bowl big enough to extend beyond the edge of the granite.

Then I used my little brick template to mark the channels:

Since I’m pretty sure the granite was not cut on precisely 90° angles, I took care to mark the cardinal points on the template, and on the bowl.

Here’s the first channel cut:

I cut it a little larger than the template. It will shrink, i.e., get bigger, as the clay dries and is then fired, but that’s OK. I want the margin of error to be big enough to accommodate the reality of the bricks in the dirt. I will not have another chance to get this right. Once I get the bricks set, I can fill in any terrible gaps with caulking if I feel like it.

Finally, all four channels cut:

I saved the cutouts, maybe I’ll make little markers out of them.

The interior continues to be a puzzle. Andy’s not sure about how gold leaf would adhere to the glaze, and it would be a constant battle to keep it gilded. All the sticks and dirt would scratch it off almost immediately. I’m thinking I may smooth the exterior as well.

A reminder of where this is going: