I spent most of the weekend in churches, playing the organ for various weddings and services, and I have to say that the threatened Olympic travel chaos has yet to materialise, to the extent that I was roughly an hour early for every single piece of work, but better that than late. In fact, something strange is happening in London – people in general seem to be of a sunny disposition and there is something warm and fuzzy about inviting all of these people into our house and hoping that they have a good time. Admittedly, we have swept a few things under the carpet, but ’twas ever thus.
I got on with the business of writing while the capital whirled on around me, and came close to finishing my latest piece, a short choral work for a competition. I am pleased with the way this music is turning out, and feel that it is a slight new step for me stylistically and perhaps formally as well. It puts me in mind of a remark Mahler made about the kind of free counterpoint he developed in his 5th Symphony, and, although my writing is a long way short of his, it has still been intriguing to see how this piece has developed, being bound less by the strictures of form and more by the interrelation of the various melodic motives.
From today my summer lull begins officially, and I have a few days off to spend on getting this piece finished and clearing the decks in preparation for a period spent forging ahead on new pieces. It will be an ideal opportunity, as I have written before, to get the ducks in a row for the year ahead. My immediate aim is to get this current piece finished within the next day or so and then to try to get another three done during August. There look like being other pieces to write in September, and, based on what I have managed to get done over the weekend, it is clear that I can get decent bursts of writing in at the moment, so it is worth making the most of time I have and the momentum I have built up.
Nicholas O'Neill 