I began thinking about and sketching ideas for this project in Feb. 09. I just counted and I have 121 files from Feb.09 through Nov. 09, and here's where it becomes a little sick; these are all false starts.
Now, I know composers who are clear about the form, length and proportions of the piece they're writing before they even put a note on the page. I admire this immensely, in large part because I can't do it! Like Cornell, (see my first post) I need to wander the "streets" and collect bits of ephemera that I think might come in handy somewhere down the road.
With that in mind, it was only a week ago that I came upon an idea that I think might kickstart this piece. Why do I think this idea has promise? I'm not entirely certain, but here are a few thoughts:
The musical language, an old fashioned and quasi romantic sound world, is not one that I live in and this creates a creative tension in my mind. What does this music represent to me and why did I come up with it in the first place? How does it fit into what I think I'm trying to say? Is this idea meant to be a foil of some sort for other musical ideas within the piece?
I have no idea, and with about a month left to compose the piece I've decided to commit to pursuing these questions. That said, I've chosen to write a theme and variations for clarinet, cello and piano based on this music. We'll see where it leads..
