A Sword and A Horn

Lucken Hare - A Sword and A Horn is pretty much complete now (phew) a couple of tunes managed to sneak in there too along with some improvisations and layered textures.

Nervous now about how everything will sound with the band on Wednesday! I'm anticipating gaps, random notes, missed dynamics and cue notes etc. so will be a busy day on Thursday fixing those before the Friday rehearsal.

Trying to finish Lucken Hare - The Tongue That Never Lies today but down with flu symptoms today so it's a bit of a struggle. Hope that doesn't come through in the music!

Frequent considerations so far include:
1. Notating for an ensemble of mixed-ability readers/ear players. I think I'll be relying quite a bit on their musicality, good judgement and ensemble playing experience here. But on, reflection, the musicians' ability to perform as a small ensemble, to listen and react and to make musical choices which I like the sound of were key in making decisions for the line up.

2. How to integrate freedom into a structured piece given the skills and sounds of the selected musicians.

3. How to balance out the music as a complete concert.

4. Balancing intentions for the music/themes with where the process of writing leads me. I am prone to (quite enjoy) allowing happy accidents to lead me in slightly altered directions. I have been assessing as I go along whether these take me too far away from my initial ideas/intentions.


Right back to The Tongue That Never Lies..

Lori