New Developments
It’s been a while since I’ve posted on here! Things have been a bit slow over the Christmas season and the start of this semester, but lately a few things have been coming together.
1) I’ve been commissioned by Alex Jones to write a sonata for double bass and piano. It’s slated to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 minutes. I’ve written for the other instruments of the string family– violin, viola, cello– but never the bass. It presents its own set of challenges: for one, it’s tuned in fourths, instead of fifths, and it’s such a deep, thick timbre, I have to avoid getting stuck in a sort of muddy wallow. The challenge here will be writing in a style that ‘works’, all around. In my research, I’ve discovered a good deal of music for the bass; whereas my first impression of bass literature was not entirely to my liking (Dittersdorf–sorry…), I’ve been ‘won over’ lately by some really cool music–including the bass part from an aria by Adams– “Batter My Heart” from Doctor Atomic. In the aria, the bass plays flautando way up in the treble, and it accomplishes this eerie, almost haunted, sound. So it’ll probably show up in the sonata. 
It’s always been my desire to write music that caters to two types of people: the learned scholar (or the new music connoisseur) who can listen to a Webern symphony and have an epiphany about some new set relationship, and to the uninitiated concertgoer who nonetheless listens hard. I think there’s a good middle ground, and I’m not alone: composers (especially Americans) of the last century have proven that it’s possible. Listen to Bartok, Ives, Adams, Riley, Andriessen, Kernis…and so many others. So with this sonata I’m trying to test that boundary, if there is one; to delve into the grey area in which many others have flourished. In the sketches so far, the bass plays rotations of a [0123] set (not the most original, I know, but there’s LOTS you can do with it) in a manner that is lyrical and dramatic. Audiences have come to believe that atonal music is always ugly, and academic, but when they hear a piece that actually sings, and has heart, they tend to actually enjoy it! Of course, this isn’t to say that all atonal music is heartless; listen to Schoenberg, or Berg for that matter (Wozzeck!!). There’s so much unexploited drama and impact in serial music. So anyway, work continues on the sonata, and I’m having the time of my life.
2) A soprano friend, Crystal Fox, is singing in April Berio’s Black is the Colour, scored with viola and harp. So, to complement this piece (and to make the poor violist and harp player feel somewhat more needed!) I’m writing an arrangement of Scarborough Fair for the same ensemble. We all know that there aren’t nearly enough arrangements of that folk song (yeah, right), so I’m adding mine to the mix. The piece should be done soon, and I’m looking forward to a fun premiere.
3) A few other things are in the works: another few commissions and a possible big (!) performance. I’ll post once things are nailed down.
So, things are gradually picking up speed again, and I’m hoping that this good streak of writing continues!