Setting Text for the First Time with a Different Ensemble!

After the recital I took a bit of time before fully deciding what direction the next full piece would be. I eventually decided to go with the setting text with a small ensemble option and went with an ensemble I had in mind to write for for some time. When deciding between two texts I was considering, one from a set of poems in one of my favourite novels and another some work by William Blake, I decided to go with the William Blake. I was thinking of two poems from "Songs of Innocence and Experience" and the decision to use these was influenced by not only possible copyright issues from the newer novel, but also because the Blake poems' themes were reflected already by the instrumentation.

My instrumentation was soprano solo, electric guitar, wooden flute and tuba. The soprano vocalist and tuba were two things I had never written for before, as well as this strange wooden flute with a limited range that I had strangely acquired recently. The electric guitar, by contrast, is an instrument that I was all too familiar writing for. This sense of contrast between familiarity and unfamiliarity related to the themes of innocence and experience from the Blake poems, so I thought it would be a great fit.

Upon presenting the text, there was some possible controversial issues with some words in the poem. These terms were no doubt something considered to be more commonly accepted in the time the poet wrote them, as oppose to today. I decided to omit the segments using these terms or reference to them after all, as the concepts I was hoping to embody would be the contrast of innocence and experience, not racial and belief acceptance (another theme of these specific poems).

Writing for this ensemble proved to be both difficult and easy. Though I struggled with hoping what I had written for certain instruments was achievable, the musical ideas seemed to naturally flow. I almost immediately had an idea of how sections would be structured and their eventual transitions, as well as each instruments roles in each sections. In short, I ended up feeling particularly inspired to compose this piece. I also made a point to rehearse with my group section by section, almost as I wrote the piece. That way it was a gradual step by step process to perform and learn the piece instead of a final crunch before the recital. It just so happened after finishing the piece, that for the most part, all the parts were playable, the text setting was all possible, and the instruments sounded interesting together but fit well!