Idyllic Reverie
Waltz Astoria
Pleasantly Pining For You
Nocturnal Reverie
Waltz of the Sirens
The Price of ‘Cool’
Happy Go Lucky
The Wistful Spirit
Victory
Celebration
I started my next piece in early September of 2009, as
usual consulting with my better half in choosing 2 or 3 adjectives and a
mode from my list. Another thing we'll do is pick a random note between
A and G, suggesting the possible key or root of the scale.
The adjectives Lenore gave me in this instance were “joyous”
and “triumphant." “Exceptional” was the word that
came to my mind, and indeed, the #86 mode we randomly picked was exceptional
in that it was an ordinary natural minor scale, a pure Aeolian mode. And
since the root note we randomly picked was A, that meant no sharps or flats.
After working with unusual modes for over 5 years, my ears had grown rather
accustomed to the interesting, exotic note combinations that the modes provided.
To suddenly go back to a regular A minor scale seemed really strange to
me. In fact, I felt lost, and for nearly 2 whole months failed to come up
with a single melodic idea that I cared for.
It seemed like a genuine creative block. The thought of abandoning the A
minor scale crossed my mind several times, but in the end I stuck it out
until I cracked the case, finally contriving a short melody that I felt
might have some potential. As it turned out, this new melody was really
in D major tonality, even though it was constructed on the notes of the
A minor scale.
Once I had something to work with, the piece got completed in about 2 or
3 weeks. It’s a festive composition with a rhythm of unrelenting 8th
notes played in the left hand, accompanying the melody in the right hand.
I felt that this piece, aptly titled "Victory Celebration"
was a suitable enough piece with which to cap off my third volume of reveries.
