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16th Feb was a difficult day for me, and in the end I said "sod it" to work and did some gardening instead.
Yesterday was a bit better, but though I was working on composing for part of it, I didn't really... get anywhere.
I think on days like that, it would be better for me to set a timer for 30 minutes and if I haven't written anything, give up and do some reading or some listening.
It wasn't a completely wasted day, though, because there was a ULCC rehearsal in the evening. I always feel better after a good sing. We rehearsed Tallis 'Sancte Deus' which I love; it has that ambiguity over major and minor, and instability of key, that I enjoy so much. This time I noticed that in the final "Amen" section, every part has a sort of ascending pattern: the highest note in the phrase is one higher than the last, for three phrases. This makes me think that the word underlay in the alto part of our copies is wrong, as they have one more "Amen" than the rest of us; whoever put it in (rather than just having one very long A----------men) clearly wasn't paying attention to that.
We also worked on John Ireland's Mass setting, which is rather lovely, and SS Wesley 'Wash me Throughly', which again is harmonically somewhat twisty.
Today is a sort-of work day, too. I've moved the draft of Winter Stars onto the computer, and I'm participating very gently in the February Crowdfunding Creative Jam.
Lent starts soon and I've been thinking about a Lenten discipline to take up. One strong contender: "some PhD reading and some PhD listening every day". Sundays are exempt. I don't generally give up physical things (chronic pain means my flesh is, essentially, self-mortifying already), and there's a bit of me that is thinking "yes, but a Lenten discipline shouldn't be something you ought to do anyway" -- but if taking this up as a religious discipline would allow me to get into the habit and stop being avoidant about it, then it would be a good thing, to be sure. And working through fears and blocks, getting over one's self if you like, is very much part of Lenten discipline, for me; I cannot focus on, listen to and obey Christ if I am so busy avoiding my fears that I am unable to fulfil my academic or creative duties.
That said, there are other contenders, not for discussion here, which may yet win out; I haven't decided. The biggest danger for me is of choosing too many things, so that my Lenten discipline looks something like "give up snooze button, go to Morning Prayer, 2h bike ride, reading, spend no money" and I give up after half a week, or cannot schedule it around other commitments.
Yesterday was a bit better, but though I was working on composing for part of it, I didn't really... get anywhere.
I think on days like that, it would be better for me to set a timer for 30 minutes and if I haven't written anything, give up and do some reading or some listening.
It wasn't a completely wasted day, though, because there was a ULCC rehearsal in the evening. I always feel better after a good sing. We rehearsed Tallis 'Sancte Deus' which I love; it has that ambiguity over major and minor, and instability of key, that I enjoy so much. This time I noticed that in the final "Amen" section, every part has a sort of ascending pattern: the highest note in the phrase is one higher than the last, for three phrases. This makes me think that the word underlay in the alto part of our copies is wrong, as they have one more "Amen" than the rest of us; whoever put it in (rather than just having one very long A----------men) clearly wasn't paying attention to that.
We also worked on John Ireland's Mass setting, which is rather lovely, and SS Wesley 'Wash me Throughly', which again is harmonically somewhat twisty.
Today is a sort-of work day, too. I've moved the draft of Winter Stars onto the computer, and I'm participating very gently in the February Crowdfunding Creative Jam.
Lent starts soon and I've been thinking about a Lenten discipline to take up. One strong contender: "some PhD reading and some PhD listening every day". Sundays are exempt. I don't generally give up physical things (chronic pain means my flesh is, essentially, self-mortifying already), and there's a bit of me that is thinking "yes, but a Lenten discipline shouldn't be something you ought to do anyway" -- but if taking this up as a religious discipline would allow me to get into the habit and stop being avoidant about it, then it would be a good thing, to be sure. And working through fears and blocks, getting over one's self if you like, is very much part of Lenten discipline, for me; I cannot focus on, listen to and obey Christ if I am so busy avoiding my fears that I am unable to fulfil my academic or creative duties.
That said, there are other contenders, not for discussion here, which may yet win out; I haven't decided. The biggest danger for me is of choosing too many things, so that my Lenten discipline looks something like "give up snooze button, go to Morning Prayer, 2h bike ride, reading, spend no money" and I give up after half a week, or cannot schedule it around other commitments.
