Africa Ascendant

There has been lots of progress over the last two days on Africa Ascendant - a commission from The Liberty High School band in Renton, Washington directed by the esteemed and multi-talented Mr. Phil Donley (sorry I missed that beer at Midwest Mr. Donley!).


I should have a sketch score completed to send to the director very soon along with a recording of the piece so far. The piece is shaping up nicely and I like it - which is not always the case!

It's interesting to me and listenable. It might take some work to nail it, but I think it's very do-able. The central challenge is going to be the pygmy "polyphonic mesh" at the beginning and ending of the work that go over many bars of alternating 4/4 and 5/4 with no discernable pulse. The Aka pygmies have heard and played these rhythms since childhood, have no written music tradition, and their music involves much improv. and variation.

More Christmas Poetry

Craig Mullins and the crew over at Unfilmable.com posted a Christmas poem by Mr. Lovecraft. I thought I would would re-post it here.

The cottage hearth beams warm and bright,
The candles gaily glow;
The stars emit a kinder light
Above the drifted snow.

Down from the sky a magic steals
To glad the passing year,
And belfries sing with joyous peals,
For Christmastide is here!

- H.P. Lovecraft

Lovecraft poster by "Viktor" from the dreamhours.com gallery (I added some snow etc).

Christmas! On It's Way

I didn't know, before the H. P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast mentioned it, that Lovecraft loved Christmas and this time of year. He thought it was fantastic. They have been posting his Christmas poems, narrated by the incomparable Andrew Leman, on their website for download. I own a copy of The Ancient Track, The Complete Poetical Works of H. P. Lovecraft (edited by S. T. Joshi) but have never noticed the amazing number of Christmas poems.

Here is one I like:

[Christmas Greetings to Maurice W. Moe]

May Yuletide pow'rs thy worth reward,
And give thee happiness unmarr'd;
Attending angels guard thy path
And shield thee from celestial wrath.

So now we are on to Christmas. Most of the food and presents have been obtained and we are decorating the tree today and tomorrow.

Chicago is expecting a big winter storm and we think we're prepared. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

The Return of the Light! Celebrate Cycles and Today's Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice occurs exactly when the earth's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26'. Though the Winter Solstice lasts an instant in time, the term is also used colloquially as The First Day of Winter to refer to the day on which it occurs. More evident to those in high latitudes, this is the shortest day, and longest night, and the sun's daily maximum position in the sky is the lowest.

The seasonal significance of the Winter Solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days. Depending on the shift of the calendar, the winter solstice occurs some time between December 21 and December 22 each year in the Northern Hemisphere, and between June 20 and June 21 in the Southern Hemisphere.

Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied from culture to culture, but most cultures have held a recognition of rebirth, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around that time. [- paraphrased from Wikipedia]

I was thinking about this last week. It must have been (and really still is) a fantastic moment of insight when it was realized that the year was cyclical and that the light would return. This fundamental realization and the conveying of it to others was probably the one of the first explorations into imparting a rudimentary faith (that the cycle was real). Extrapolations from that belief most assuredly generated myriad philosophies, world-views, and religions.

It certainly transformed agriculture which is the foundation for a non-nomadic society.

If nothing else - Celebrate the Cycle!

The Midwest International band and Orchestra Convention - Chicago

The Midwest International Band and Orchestra Convention at its new venue - McCormick place in Chicago:

Welcome to the 2009 Midwest Clinic!

Registration

The Entrance to the Exhibit Hall

C. Alan Publications - they publish most of my works for band

The vast display floor

More floor!

Dr. Richard Fischer, Director of Bands at Concordia University, Chicago and myself.

Dr. Peter Loel Boonshaft, Director of Bands at Hofstra University, New York and myself

Monumental - Cavernous - Vast - Epically Proportioned - The Saga of My Midwest Convention Registration

So this is the hot topic of the night...registration for the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic! Exciting, right? Well, this year it's in a new venue - the mega-sized McCormick Place in Chicago.

Just figuring out the parking was an epic experience, not to mention finding where the heck the convention actually was! The place can hold seven mega-conventions at once.

After threading my way through the labyrinth, and wishing I had breadcrumbs to drop along the way, I made it to the vast registration desk in the cavernous F1 Exhibit Hall where It All Begins.

Registration went smoothly but I was not let in to the exhibit hall - orders from "on high." So it was retracing my steps and back home for yours truly until tomorrow.

Hope to see you there! Please stop by the C. Alan Publications booth and say hello!

Concordia Lutheran High School

On Friday, December 11th, I traveled to Concordia Lutheran High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana to rehearse the work for concert band and two choruses they commissioned me to do which is entitled Christmas Heralds. The work is for concert band with children's chorus and Very Large SATB chorus. It utilizes the tunes In Dulci jubilo and Hark! The Herals Angels Sing.

The rehearsal was a rousing success. The students were attentive and fixed problems as soon as they were identified. I felt that everyone was completely engaged and determined to produce good music.

Unfortunately early preparations for the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Convention prevented me from attending the premiere on Sunday, December 13th. I will post here info about the premiere as I get it.

The work was commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the founding of Concordia Lutheran High School in Fort Wayne. In addition to this commission they brought back as many former band directors as they could to conduct a "round robin" of tunes on the podium - changing conductors as the pieces were performed. It was fantastic to watch in rehearsal and I know it went well and entertainingly in performance.

Congratulations to Concordia Lutheran on their 75th Anniversary and a fine performance by all involved!

Amazing Album Covers

A gigantic collection of odd, weird and creepy album covers! See 'em at Cover Browser They also have an amazing collection of covers from many different items like comics and books. Click here for their main site. They have quite a few of Frazetta's covers (and Frazetta rip-offs) as well.

Lovecraft Paragraphs Trailer Hits 400 on YouTube!

My trailer for Lovecraft Paragraphs just hit 400 views on YouTube!


...and there was much more rejoicing.

New Products!

With two flavors of Lovecraft Lemonade!

Not really...I just made 'em up on the Says-It website.

'Tis December

Here it is December already. I continue to work on Africa Ascendant. Robert Cappelletto (Pickman's Muse) has been in touch with me about doing an audio project based on an H. P. Lovecraft story. I don't want to reveal too many details but I'm excited about it.

The megalithic Midwest International Band and Orchestra Convention is coming up in Chicago in a couple of weeks. It's in a new venue this year, McCormick Place, and I hope it will be for the better. We shall see and I will report back here. I will be around the C. Alan Publications booth most days. This year they are publishing my Sunset at Quantico for concert band, commissioned by Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Virgina. Drop by and say "hello!"

My annual sojourn with family and friends to Chucky T's Fine Eats (Charlie Trotter's restaurant in Chicago) will be during the Midwest convention. Check back here for an update soon after the experience.

Interview for the Lovecraft News Network

I was recently interviewed by Jacob Hodgen of the Lovecraft News Network (LNN) about the release of the Original Soundtrack for Lovecraft Paragraphs.

The interview covers the movie, the soundtrack, my experience at the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival this year and many other things. Click here to read the interview.

LNN said that the movie was "a splendid entry from a promising new face in the world of Lovecraftiana." Great stuff! Thanks Jacob and LNN!

Christmas Heralds

I will be traveling to Fort Wayne, Indiana to attend a rehearsal of Christmas Heralds, a commission for the Concordia High School Music Department there. It features children's choir, a very large SATB choir and concert band and combines Good Christian Men Rejoice (In Dulci Jubilo) with Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.

Progress on Africa Ascendant

I made some good progress on Africa Ascendant, a commission for the Liberty High School (Renton, WA) Music Department today. The piece will have three main sections and I know pretty much what I'm doing for each. I made quite a bit of progress on the closing section and will begin to tie the sections together tomorrow. Then it's intro and coda work and "finessing" it a bit, dynamics and articulations and tightening up.

Lovecraft Paragraphs Original Soundtrack now available on Amazon

The original soundtrack for Lovecraft Paragraphs is now offered on Amazon.com for only $8.99! Click here to browse the entire album!






Please visit my page for the original soundtrack to Lovecraft Paragraphs: (Click here)

Mysterious Doings at the Pyramids...

Well, if the world doesn't end in 2012 (fun movie, BTW) maybe it should...

Shadow Over Innsmouth Poster

I received my poster today for the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society's production of The Shadow Over Innsmouth, graciously signed by both Sean Branney and Andrew Leman.

I was fortunate enough to have contributed some sound effects to the production as a "Croaking Deep One."


They are very busy producing their newest movie The Whisperer in Darkness and I look forward to its premiere with great anticipation. Thanks Sean and Andrew!

Wicker Man actor Edward Woodward dies

Edward Woodward, a British actor best known for roles in the 1973 cult classic The Wicker Man and the U.S. television series The Equalizer, died Monday, November 16 at age 79.

Woodward played police sergeant Neil Howie in the occult thriller The Wicker Man - a story of his search for a missing girl on an isolated island.

The movie, famous for its final scene in which Howie is burned alive, also starred Christopher Lee and Britt Ekland.

Personally I didn't care much for the recent remake of this film, but it is not as bad as its reviews. My advice is to stick with the original on this one.





Trailer for The Wicker Man - 1973:

Sesqua Valley and Other Haunts

I just received my copy of Wilum H. Pugmire's Sesqua Valley and Other Haunts. After only two pages I'm fairly sure that I will enjoy this book immensely. I will report back after finishing it.

The Whisperer in Darkness - Official Trailer

Check out the HPLHS trailer for The Whisperer in Darkness:

Lovecraft Paragraphs - Original Soundtrack to be offered on Amazon

I finished uploading all materials required today to offer the original soundtrack from Lovecraft Paragraphs (with and without narrations!) on Amazon.com as an mp3 album download. They say to allow 15 days before it's actually up on the site so I'm not holding my breath. When it is live I will post an announcement here.

Some Days...

Some it's magic...some days it's not.

Lovecraft Paragraphs - The Original Soundtrack

Finishing up mixing on the original soundtrack album for Lovecraft Paragraphs. The first half will contain all music cues with their narrations and the second half will contain only the music. Hopefully it will be available as an mp3 download from Amazon in the near future.

HPLHS Film Shoot at Mount Holyoke for The Whisperer in Darkness

Lovecraft Paragraphs CD or MP3 Collection?

I had the thought today of releasing the music from Lovecraft Paragraphs in CD or MP3 album form. Just a thought at this point. I'm thinking of using Amazon.com's CreateSpace for a distribution point. I've downloaded mp3 albums from Amazon for awhile now with fantastic success. It's easy and fast.