# A Thread for Things I Made While I Was Away



## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

Some people here might remember that I used to post in this sub-forum regularly, obviously I haven't been keeping track so I don't know how many of my old friends are still here or what. Since I've been away for around two years, and since I seem now to be back, at least in some capacity, I thought I would post some stuff I made in that time.

Starting with *Starlite Revue*, the big one I wrote last year. This is my longest single piece. Written for a septet of piano, harpsichord, bandoneon, marimba, cello, oboe, and French horn, the piece is structured by instrumentation, with the outer movements using the full ensemble, and each of the other short movements using a subset thereof. The structure is symmetrical by ensemble size, ranging from solos to a quintet. The music is generally easy and sometimes romantic in tone, but it is also dense with motifs, some of which are established in the first movement and recur/develop throughout, while others are more movement specific.

I decided to post this one first because I think it's my best, and I enjoy going downhill. I'll probably post and briefly discuss another one here tomorrow or in a couple of days, but you can of course navigate very easily to several other works from the link posted above.


----------



## Guest (Oct 12, 2018)

Oh yeah I listened to this one a little while back. Not as good as your usual, so I guess the downhill slope won't be too steep 

I actually love it, as I love most of your creations. There's something a little more serious amidst all the whimsy, was that the idea with this piece?


----------



## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

Thanks! And no, that's just how it came out. The original idea was something along the lines of "sprawling long form scherzo".


----------



## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

Here be the next one, *Noisy Dreamer*. This was originally intended as a cycle of independent pieces with varying instrumentation, it ended up being more like a four movement piece but still kept the instrumentational differences between movements. It is written, counting all movements, for wind quintet, bass clarinet, two pianos, celesta, electric organ, double bass, theorbo, two synthesisers, glass armonica, and various bells and shakers. I find it very difficult to describe so, y' know, ain't gonna bother, but what's important is it somehow works.


----------



## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

For this next piece I have to get on over to YouTube, since I had to remove it from Soundcloud to make space for new stuff.






_Pints of Brine_ is a piece for massed pianos of various tunings. It is also a piece that I consider a failure, and I'm going to explain a little here why that is. To begin with, the idea was to create a musical body that would have other, smaller musical bodies orbit around it. So the piece is spatial in its conception, but due to my own technological limitations here at home, I can't really do much of anything in terms of 3D sound. Projecting three dimensional movement in two dimensional space doesn't work, full stop. I tried to approximate, through the use of three envelopes, volume, pan, and wetness (attached to a generous reverb effect), the sensation of a thing moving towards and away from the ear. Now, that's not to say that there isn't good music in this piece, I think most of it came out pretty well, but in terms of achieving what I set out to do, this one got away from me right at the start and I didn't realise it until it was all over. Nonetheless, I find it very interesting to think about.

If you care to download it, the mp3 release has a short but substantial accompanying essay, examining in detail the composition process and all the different factors of the work. The essay is also notable in that I was much more positive about the work, i.e.: that it was a success, back then. It's probably something I will go back and forth on as I get farther from it in time.


----------



## Guest (Oct 16, 2018)

Pints of Brine, when I first heard it, took me by surprise as having a different energy and more of a focus on 'depth of field' than most of your other pieces. It's very nice, like taking big gulps of brine and vomiting repeatedly in a slow motion real life endless montage I am trapped in.


----------



## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

shirime said:


> Pints of Brine, when I first heard it, took me by surprise as having a different energy and more of a focus on 'depth of field' than most of your other pieces. It's very nice, like taking big gulps of brine and vomiting repeatedly in a slow motion real life endless montage I am trapped in.


You associate my work with some odd stuff.

Anyway, 'tis time for more! More? Yes, more! This time, my quasi-take on a suite comprising traditional forms-very quasi. How much more quasi could it be? None. None more quasi. It's *An Ængliscmans Partyta* for violin, pretty much all movements of which are a sort of mash-up of passacaglia, theme and variations, and rondo. Yes, it is wacky, but that's just how I do.


----------



## Guest (Oct 19, 2018)

Crudblud said:


> You associate my work with some odd stuff.


I like to treat matching your titles with your music as a little puzzle or a game for the imagination.


----------



## Alexanbar (May 11, 2016)

During listening of first 10 minutes of Starlite Revue It seemed to me that It can be converted into more traditional music similar to Shostakovich one.


----------



## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

Mahler and Bach, among other things, were inspirational in the composition of Starlite Revue, and it is quite traditional in the way it deals with some things, and not so traditional in the way it deals with other things. I must say I don't see the connection to Shostakovich, but we all hear music differently and make different associations between pieces. In any case, I hope you enjoyed it enough to carry on listening past the 10 minute mark.


----------

