of the
winter
plains
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Background:
Audio: Currently recording these pieces for real, Look for new audio in Winter '08.
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| When I was asked to provide music for this wedding (my seventh as a player, and my second as composer), I immediately had some pretty strong ideas for the music. It was going to be a religious wedding, at a church in Kansas, so I wanted to have some references to traditional church music, as well as a few nods to country and folk as befits an event in the middle of the U.S. I also knew that the couple enjoyed the rock of the 80's, as well as Celtic music, so I thought those influences might find their way in, too.
In the end, I think those influences turned out to show themselves in a pretty subtle fashion, except for the big last piece which is very much like a loud hymn, with one obvious Celtic section and a lot of ringing open strings throughout (an R.E.M/Husker Du reference). What I was probably happiest about was the more experimental tunes, which seemed to go across very well in spite of some dissonance and unusual sounds. "Lynda's Canon", of course, was meant to be a stand-in for the Pachelbel warhorse. As it turns out, that particular composition was a featured part of the wedding music, but was not played by me (I was relieved). And my canon appeared first in the event, so HA. Playing in a quiet church was a great experience, while it definitely made for a more uptight performance than an outdoors situation where sound is often lost and people are generally more relaxed, it was nice to have such a nice acoustic space to make my own. During the more delicate pieces, in particular "Highest Hopes", people really quieted down to listen, which was very rewarding. |
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