May Microscores - a ginormous month of tiny things

During this year's New Zealand Music Month I wrote 31 musical microscores, and far out, what a month it was! I decided back in this post that I would do the project - each microscore would be from 30 to 60 seconds and I would do them in a maximum of one hour each day. I was initially unsure how it would shape up musically - would they all be completely different, how would they relate to each other - but once underway it was clear that small sets of microscores was going to be the way to go.

Another thing I was unaware of was the difficulty of taking one hour out of an already extremely busy working day, especially for 31 in a row. I made it though, with a few catchup days here and there.

It was interesting to see the voice that came out through the compositions and how they relate to each other even when they are for very different instruments and based on a very different idea. Some I wrote for instruments I know well, others I wrote for instruments I have not worked with much.

Below are most of the microscores - have a listen. The rest are still on their way due to technical disasters.

Below is the full list of microscores:

FOR PIANO, a response to my piece for orchestra, “blimp”, which was premiered on May 1 at the Auckland Town Hall by the Auckland Symphony Orchestra.

• May 1: “the pilot” Yes, it is about the pilot of the blimp.
• May 2: “the view” Yes, it is about the view from the blimp.
• May 3: “the flock” Yes, it is about the flock of birds that hit the blimp.

FOR VIOLIN - Alexey Kurkdjian, a set about memories from Brazil.

• May 4: “Carrão” About a metro station in São Paulo where we spent a lot of time.
• May 5: “Liberdade” About a district in São Paulo - the largest Japanese community outside of Japan.
• May 6: “Rocinha” About a favella we visited in Rio de Janeiro.
• May 7: “Pão de Açúcar” About the famous Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro.
• May 8: “Terra Brasilis” About our hostel in Rio de Janeiro.

FOR PERCUSSION, a set about living in Auckland.

• May 9: “a moment last week” for drum kit with bongos.
• May 10: “a moment out west” for marimba.
• May 11: “a moment of rain” for xylophone.
• May 12: “a moment of colour” for xylophone.
• May 13: “a moment of grit” for drum kit with bongos.
• May 14: “a moment of quiet” for xylophone.
• May 15: “a moment to share” for triangle and crotales.
• May 16: “a moment imminent” for marimba and crotales.

FOR TROMBONE - Peter J. Russell, a set based on the fact that some frogs can be frozen solid, then thaw out and continue living.

• May 17: “he freezes”
• May 18: “he thaws”
• May 19: “he lives”

FOR FRENCH HORN - David Kay, a set of three based on the three sleep stages referred to as non-rapid eye movement (NREM).

• May 20: “NREM sleep: N1″ This is the light sleep stage where it is common to experience restlessness and hypnic jerks.
• May 21: “NREM sleep: N2″ This is the medium sleep stage where the sleeper can be easily awakened.
• May 22: “NREM sleep: N3″ This is the deep sleep stage where night terrors and sleepwalking can occur.

FOR CLARINET - Yvette Audain, the original name for butterflies was flutterby.

• May 23: “flutterby I”
• May 24: “flutterby II”
• May 25: “flutterby III”
• May 26: “flutterby IV”
• May 27: “flutterby V”

FOR TRUMPET - Brendan Agnew, a set of three about a flea circus.

• May 28: “flea circus: opening night”
• May 29: “flea circus: race day”
• May 30: “flea circus: the escape”

FOR PIANO, the development of my favourite idea from all microscores written in May. And I also happened to sit on a rather large swiss ball to write all 31 microscores.

• May 31: “sitting on a ball”