Progress with Name Music piece in memory of Bette Caddis

 Yesterday I was successful at warding off various potential distractions from emails, workmen painting the outside of our house, and scheduling changes for various appointments for myself and Bear! Instead I played violin early in the morning, and found myself (surprisingly) able to compose quickly and easily, the flow was happening!

What came out was in a waltz rhythm, and in the key of E major (using the D# was an idea that had come to me a day or two previous, arising out of learning to play a piece that Peter Blue wrote for me, called Reel de Mer, which somehow got my fingers going with staying in a straight major key), and suddenly the whole piece made sense.

I like how the piece seems so much more cheerful and spry, which is how I think of Bette, and also seems extroverted and sociable. But an odd little phrase showed up in the middle that I recognized from somewhere, an interval that evoked singing somehow. It took a little bit for me to realize that this snippet came from the round Under the Greenwood Tree. Hm. Is that a problem? Should I try to change that? I’m still contemplating it — I’ll need to try out the piece on different days and see what emerges. There may be other changes that need to happen.

Another urge I’ve had is to also play the basic melody as a reel, which would be very fun as well — put that section in the middle, with the waltz as beginning and end. Initially I wrote that this was an “idea”, but actually the sensation I have is not so much mental as physical, and seems to come from my belly, my gut in particular. But of course my mind is also active! And my mind is saying that perhaps I’m getting ready to immerse myself in a longer form piece now — I’d like a chamber group or orchestra to request a commission! 

Now, who might do such a thing?