Tags
1215: Foundation Of Liberty, Andrew Millington, Exeter Cathedral, Flyht, Intersection, Private Passions, Robert Botti, Simon Over
It was a novel experience to get through the whole of yesterday without receiving some kind of message about The Big Day at Runnymede. Today, I think, the musicians will run through the extract of 1215: Foundation Of Liberty for the first time, so I doubt that radio silence will be maintained throughout the day, but I am still optimistic that I will not have to scramble to Sibelius and rectify various things.
It meant that yesterday was spent away from the composing desk, given that I had spent most of the weekend attached to it, instead wandering around the market at Wells, passing lazy time in a coffee house, changing the battery in the BMW and then taking it for a topless blast through the lanes, sending off a sold board game, enjoying some comfort pasta and, after all that, getting an early night, listening to a mention of my name, along with Simon Over’s, on Private Passions and watching the sky darken behind the trees outside the bedroom window.
Today I’ve been at the desk for a while already, catching up with emails and also preparing for the rest of the day. I’ll be discussing the pronunciation of the Old English in Flyht with Andrew Millington, who is to direct it at Exeter Cathedral next week, and, also this morning, I have found a recording of Intersection, which was performed by Robert Botti in New York last year. Lo and behold, there it is on YouTube and it sounds ok. I know that popping one’s own name into Google smacks of ego gone mad, but, for a composer, it can surprising just how many things it can throw out – performances, recordings, uploads, shocked forum posts, that kind of thing.
I’ll also do a little bit of writing today, most likely on the Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis and maybe sketching out some early ideas for another piece, keeping those wheels rolling. The past month has been almost all about admin and arranging, so I am looking forward to getting back to some composition proper, or, as a young questioner once said to me, “making things up”. The plan, after that is all done, is to settle down for some gaming and relaxation, for the next few weeks are going to be busy, keeping me away from home perhaps for a little longer that I might like, so it is all about investing in the quality now, while I can.
Nicholas O'Neill 