The Next Big Thing

Susan Lanigan has tagged me for The Next Big Thing.   It’s been buzzing
charmingly around writer circles recently.   Maybe it can go
cross-disciplinary?

Susan Lanigan is a multi-award-winning creative writer.
Her short stories and poetry have been widely published and she is
currently revising her historical novel.   She somehow finds time to
provide literary advice and record music on the side.
Check out her blog at www.joyofwriting.net.

Would it be self-deprecatory of me to wonder if composers are less
sociable than writers?   Nonetheless, pro forma, I tag Fergus Johnston
and Siobhan Cleary.

The questionnaire has been lightly amended (“piece” instead of
“story”, etc.)


1) What is the working title of your next piece?

For brevity, “Chop-Noc#20”.
Subtitled, “Dusk descends; Fryderyk Chopin gets the blues…”
It’s an unorthodox arrangement of Chopin’s Nocturne in C♯-minor (#20,
the one published posthumously).


2) Where did the idea come from for the piece?

It was a piece I’d tried my hand at, teaching myself piano as a kid,
one that was slightly beyond my ability to play properly at the time.
The problem was the execution of all the sustained trills and grace
notes – I just couldn’t phrase them satisfactorily.

It occurred to me many years later that keyboard might not be optimum
for the monophonic melody.   A string or wind instrument might allow
greater articulation of the ornaments as they unfold over the slow
nocturnal arpeggiation.

The idea arose to give the melody to electric blues guitar.   With an
arrangement then on the cards, I thought I’d go against the grain of
breezing through the triplet mid section.   Instead, I’d slow down and
give it to a harp to carry, with its sonorous and contrasting timbre.
Giving intro & coda to the harp frames the piece nicely (along the
lines I’d been thinking, at least).


3) What genre do your pieces fall under?

Fusion of electronic, classical, contemporary, rock, and folk.   These
days, blues seems to be a common, and perhaps unifying, theme.


4) What musicians would you choose to play the piece?

Anne-Marie O’Farrell played the harp part for me, and I’m very
satisfied with what she did.   She’s a pro.

For the guitar, in my dreams, I’d love the late great Paul Kossoff or
perhaps Johnny Fean.   I wanted to try a gritty heart-felt bluesy tone
to accentuate a sense of more urgent distressed yearning and for its
rich articulation.   Peter Green’s cleaner understated tone would
furnish a rendition more in keeping with received interpretations of
Chopin.

I played the piano and guitar parts myself.


5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your piece?

Alternative arrangement of Chopin’s nocturne #20.


6) How will the piece be published?

On SoundCloud initially, with links thereto.   Video to follow.


7) How long did it take you to get a first sketch of the piece together?

I’ve remained quite faithful the score, providing a part score for the
harpist only, so no significant work there.   Recording and editing has
taken a long time though as other life stuff has intervened.


8) What other works would you compare this piece to within your genre?

Jacques Loussier has been putting out jazz interpretations of Bach
since the late ’50s.   He also turned to Chopin.   His rendition of this
C♯-minor nocturne is more upbeat with less emphasis on the melody.


9) Who or what inspired you to write this piece?

Covered in Qn 2.   [The questions are closely related…]


10) What else about the piece might pique the listener’s interest?

In the conservative world of commercial classical music, Chopin is
customarily given a refined genteel performance.   The composer himself
is said to have played very softly indeed.   (Could this have been
aristocratic affectation?)   To conservative classical ears, this
version may sound vulgarly heavy handed.   This is not intentional;
trenchantly conservative ears are not my targeted audience.

If you happen to be familiar with the piece, the instrumentation alone
should be a tad surprising.   If not, well, you might recognise it
anyway when you hear it as it featured prominently during his
bicentenary, 2010.