Monday, July 16, 2012

Recording and Learning

Part of me wants to wait for a quiet moment to write my thoughts in a cogent and useful manner, then the other part of me remembers that nothing will get written if I think this way.  Life is layered, with one unfinished project overlapping the next, and there is nothing tidy about an intensely creative life.  And a creative life can be kind of boring in the telling if not the living....

Tomorrow, Monday, July 16 will be the rehearsals for our Canadian Concerto project, Part One.

Today was spent by both me and Guy in working out our new solos in Michael Occhpinti's new work, commissioned by us, for trumpet, bassoon, electric guitar, percussion and string orchestra.  We wanted something that could fit on on a pops programme and give a hint of the dynamic, propulsive jazz lyricism that Michael is so good at.  As part of the preparation for future performances as well as to give me a glimmer of insight into the process of writing, I have taken some lessons with the jazz bassist Daniel Fortin and I will continue learning about improvisation.  It is something that I have always wanted to do, and now we have a concerto that allows for this.  In the meantime, Michael has written some wonderfully challenging solos for trumpet and bassoon and will fill in with a lot of his own improvising.

The other music that will go on this disc is two concerti that were commissioned by CBC for me and Guy in 2008;  Le Dernier Chant d'Ophélie for bassoon and strings,  and Guy's concerto, Impressions d'Alameda.  We will also record the Oddbird Concerto for bassoon and strings (2012) and a Glenn Buhr work for corno da caccia, bassoon and strings, man will only grieve if he believes the sun stands still (2010)  and a short fast Occhipinti work for trumpet and strings.

Our second disc will be recorded in November, 2013 --- a new concerto by Paul Frehner and 2 works by Alain Trudel, including the beautiful Carnets de Voyages that was also a CBC commission for trumpet, bassoon, percussion and string orchestra.

Rehearsal should be fun tomorrow as we have a lot of music to cover in a short time... Eric Paetkau is leading the orchestra and Michael Occipinti has flown in from his tour on the west coast... Ed Marshall is recording us and the church should be incredibly hot for the next few days...

Stay tuned and I will let you know how it all shakes down.


No comments: