This week is going to be slightly busier than the last, and I shall need to find some time to get my Parliament Choir work done. Rather optimistically I am hoping to have this all ready and sent off by the end of the week, leaving us a rather large window to deal with any problems which might arise, but I am aware that it will need some effort on my part and that some other projects might have to sit in the background for now.
The work for string orchestra will therefore have to take second place for the time being, although I intend to use those periods when I am away from the computer to continue sketching. As the Parly Choir work involves setting the parts on Sibelius I will be unable to do that when I am out and about, so instead my A4 folder with various scraps of ideas will travel with me. By the time I am able to knuckle down and work out how this piece fits together I should have enough material to make the task much easier.
I’ll be performing the Festive Voluntary again next Sunday, in the evening at St Mary Abbots, a chance to get my fingers around the notes I did not quite catch last time around. Apart from that, it looks as if the next performance of my music is not until next month, but at least that is not too far away.
I also need to spend part of this week searching for a suitable text for my new choral commission, Although this piece does not need to be finished until the end of August, and hence will fall mainly into my post-Anghiari work load, the more preparatory work I can do now the better, and I am really looking forward to applying my new approach and ideas to this new work. I really do believe that they apply to all levels and languages of writing, and I was pleased to see a student of mine grudgingly admit yesterday that “composition can be quite fun”.
The week ahead will therefore see me wedded to my computer screen while at home, and probably hunched over manuscript in a quiet corner of some Pret or other when out and about. These daily efforts, like a pianist’s practice, can feel mundane, but the every journey is just a case of remembering to keep placing one foot in front of the other.
Nicholas O'Neill 