Sunday, April 5, 2009

April 5 - Palmy Balms and Bombs


While Harriet is at a Fresh Voices rehearsal, finish the orchestration of King David: XX. Passacaglia of Sex and Death and the composition of Psalm 51, Part 2, the former including the death of David and Bathsheba's first son, the birth of Solomon,



the rape of Tamar by Amnon,



and the death of Amnon by Absalom -- an awful lot of content (and arguably a fair amount of awful content) in a piece that, at present, clocks in at slightly under a minute.



Onward with the maximal miniatures: completely orchestrating XXI. I Will Lift Mine Eyes and Songs of Degrees: Psalm 121, with the first including Absalom sleeping in a rooftop tent with 10 of David's concubines; and beginning instrumentation of



XXII. Song in the Forest of Ephraim. At last, Harriet returns, and we have further reasons to celebrate.