The Year in Review
Going through an old notebook I recenetly found a list of works I had drawn up for the year 1987. It didn't include the very last things I did that year, but was extremely useful and I thought to myself I wish I had drawn up such a list at the end of every year.
So here is a list of my musical works for 2003. Next year at this time we'll go back and see which ones are finished!
Uncle Dave Lewis: Musical Works in 2003
Compiled by Uncle Dave Lewis 12/20/2003
Abbreviation: UDHUC = “Uncle Dave’s House of Useless Crap�
NEW WORKS
Choral & Extended Vocal
Madrigal, “Usando va montre� for 5 voices (SSATB)
Text published: UDHUC 3/11/2003
Status: Music is complete for concluding bars, idea from mid or late 1990s.
Still would prefer a refinement of my Babelfish enabled Italian text.
The Zagreb Mummy Cantata, for 3 voices, chorus (? Or 3 solo voices as chorus),
2 flutes, 2 clarinets, 2 violins & continuo
Begun: 8/19/2003
Cantata based on English translation of the Etruscan text found on a mummy wrapped in the Second Century BCE. Consists of 49 “panels�, signifying individual strips of bandage.
Status: First panel completed, start of second begun. Keying and instrumentation complete for the entire cycle of 49 panels; gradually refining translation to accommodate a more singable result as I go. This is obviously a long-term commitment, but the work, so far, is going well.
Michael Jackson is a Freak, cantata for voice, flute and continuo
Begun: 11/19/03
A cantata consisting of an aria/recitative/aria/chorale, based on Mr. Jackson’s recent troubles with the law.
Status: Text incomplete, a bit of music for the first aria already sketched out.
Orchestral
Dodecachordon, for piccolo/flute, 3 clarinets, baritone saxophone, bassoon, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, French horn, tuba, electric guitar, 2 pianos, vibraphone, industrial drum kit, standard drum kit and bass guitar.
Begun: 3/2003
Sort of a jazz-rock “symphony� that is an exploration of Renaissance harmonic practices.
Status: Two very detailed sketches; (a) an outline of instrumentation, key to harmonic modulations, tempi and the length of individual sections (times out to about 53 minutes) and (b) eight-measure sketch of the principal theme in a Noteworthy Composer file.
Closure, for string orchestra
Begun: 4/17/2003
An “adagio for strings�, inspired by my hatred of the overuse of the word “closure.�
Status: A sketch on two staves of the opening.
Chamber
C3PO, piccolo, panflutes, pots & pans and bass guitar
Begun: 3/2003
This is a silly, childlike suite in three short movements.
Status: preliminary sketches of all three movements, none very far along.
Stand in Line for What You Gets, for sax & rhythm
Begun: 3/17/2003
Status: Complete sketch of 32 bars or so, all melody but no chord symbols yet.
Cheesy Eurojazz, for flute, saxophone choir, 3 trumpets, 2 French horns, bassoon & banjo
Begun: 3/19/2003
Status: Compact sketch working out to 24 or 32 bars.
Triumphal March of the Evil Empire, for electronics, keyboard and drum corps.
Composed: 2/1/2003 (electronic score), other parts added by 8/2003
Length: 5 minutes
Premiere: SSNOVA Gallery, Cincinnati 8/30/2003
A loop out of phase, taken from a Paul Whiteman record (which I’ve wanted to loop since 1990.) To the basic track I added a live keyboard pattern (played by Keith Larsen at SSNOVA) and a part for drum corps. No drum corps was available for the premiere, so IOVAE and I played drums in an approximation of the part. See also “electronic�.
Keyboard
The Maiden’s Lunch, for piano
Begun: 2/10/2003
A parody of Victorian parlor piano excess, intended for Patsy Morita. Conceived nearly a year before.
Status: Sketch of right-hard part only, of the first section.
Strawberry Lucy in the Sky (with a Walrus), for piano
Begun: 11/09/2003
A piano fantasy on three themes of the Beatles in the style of Busoni.
Status: Preliminary plan of the piece, with transcriptions of source melodies (adapted somewhat) and a sketch for the last section.
Art Songs
“Derriere murcie en fleurs,� for voice & piano
Begun: 3/2003
Song on a French text, intended for Allen Schrott. Sketch is not very long, but that’s because I’ve misplaced the lyric. There is no question as to what the music will be for this, so once I locate the text it won’t require much more work.
Songs of the Iraqi/American Conflict, for voice & piano
Begun: 3/19/2003
1. Red Alert
2. Daumen oben
3. **unknown**
Songs on my own texts, about the Iraq war.
Status: {1) Lyric is now complete, musical sketch is not, but see entry under “Pop Songs�. (2) Text is complete and published in an entry of UDHUC that is now missing from the archive. Music exists in an incomplete Noteworthy Composer file. I was planning to premiere this song at SSNOVA also, but couldn’t get a backing track together soon enough. (3) I figured out what the third song in the cycle would be on the bus trip to Cincinnati in August, and by now I’ve totally forgotten what that was. I probably made notes at that time which I haven’t located yet.
“Never seek to tell thy love,� for voice & piano
Begun: 10/8/2003
Status: Sketch, not very far along. Unfortunately lost track of the text before I got very far with it.
“The Lamb� & “The Sick Rose,� for voice & piano
Begun 10/8/2003
Text: William Blake
In 1992 I composed a William Blake setting that is complete, though not yet in a fair copy. I began to set these additional lyrics in order to have something to go along with the older setting when it was copied out.
Status: Both sketches are incomplete, but “The Lamb� is the farthest along of the two.
Pop Songs
Dolly the Sheep, song for voice, keyboard and guitar
Score: 2/14/03
Premiered: SSNOVA Gallery, Cincinnati, 8/30/2003 by Uncle Dave and Keith Larsen.
Status: Complete lyric is crammed into the left-hand margin of the page in tiny, barely legible hand. Musical lines occupy only first two staves of the page. But this is a complete representation of the song minus repeats. A clearer copy of the lyric was made for the SSNOVA performance, but I’m not sure where that is now.
Red Alert, song for voice & keyboard
Score: (incomplete) 3/19/2003
Premiered: SSNOVA Gallery, Cincinnati, 8/30/2003 by Uncle Dave.
A semi-improvised version of “Red Alert�, with full text and an accompaniment approximately like that in the sketch, was performed in my Cincinnati program.
Al Adamson, for voice, guitar & rhythm
Score: (notated on the back of a postcard) 7/2003
Status: Score missing. I wanted to premiere it at SSNOVA, but can’t find it. Maybe I’ll find it next year.
Walking Song, song for voice, guitar & rhythm
Score: 8/2003
Premiere: SSNOVA Gallery, Cincinnati, 8/30/2003 by Uncle Dave.
A song conceived some time before about my battle with arthritis in my legs.
Status: lyrics only, and pre-recorded backing track.
She is the Soggy Biscuit
Score: 9/6/2003
A happy song inspired by spam porno e-mail.
Status: Score is text only, but the number is folk-like and would only consist of the melody plus chords.
Open Form
A Chic Nostalgia for Tonality
Written: 4/8/2003
Tune, representing a complete phrase or two, inspired by this title, which is taken from a negative review of a Messiaen recording written in the 1970s. Purpose and instrumentation as of yet undetermined.
Dream Melody
Written: 5/12/2003
A few bars of melody remembered from a dream and written down in the morning. Purpose and instrumentation as of yet undetermined.
Electronic
Triumphal March of the Evil Empire
Composed: 2/1/2003
Length: 5 minutes
Premiere: SSNOVA Gallery 8/27/2003
A loop out of phase, taken from a Paul Whiteman record (which I’ve wanted to loop since 1990.) See also “chamber�.
Claudia
Composed: July, 2003
Length: 8 minutes
Premiere: WCBN-Radio in early August (played, unannounced, before my regular program.)
A loop out of phase, with some re-pitching, taken from an organ work of Hugo Distler (which I have known for twenty years or more.) See also “Film Music�.
Canonica Eroica
Composed: November, 2003
Length: 6 minutes
Status: Unfinished
A series of several loops out of phase drawn from a record of a Beethoven Symphony recorded in 1920.
Preliminary version created; I would prefer to tighten this one a bit and add a few details before I roll it out.
Film Music
Claudia2
Composed: August, 2003
Length: 8 minutes
Premiere: SSNOVA Gallery (with film) 8/27/2003
Second performance: Student Activities Building, University of Michigan (with film), 9/17/2003.
A remix of “Claudia�, especially created to fit a “found� 8mm silent film of Little Egypt.
Song Parodies
“The Lobster’s red�
Melody: “Black and White� by Three Dog Night
Published: UDHUC 3/9/2003
“Light Sweet Crude�
Melody: “Three Blind Mice�
Published: UDHUC 3/21/2003
RENEWED WORKS
Choral & Extended Vocal
Songs from the Black Book, a cycle of six songs on texts by Clark Ashton Smith for voice & piano
Begun: October 2002
Status: (Additions) I started this cycle of Klarkashton songs with Allen Schrott in mind. I was positive I would be done with all six by the end of January 2003. Well, here I am at the end of 2003, and all I have is the complete vocal line of the first song, sketches of accompaniment for the first and last songs, and one nearly complete setting of an epigram (drawn from an older piece). I’ll try harder next year.
Orchestral
Angeleno Concerto, for piano & chamber orchestra
Begun: 12/1992
Status: (Addition) A lot of progress made on this long-stalled work in 2003. Completed a Noteworthy File for the whole opening and exposition for the first movement around April 1. Devised some additional material in the form of sketches for the finale late in the year.
Chamber
The Powers That Be, for clarinet & keyboard
Begun: 3/2002
Memorial piece for Frank Powers.
Status: (Revision) A written score and part made in August 2003 from the Noteworthy Composer file. I was planning to play this at SSNOVA with my mother, but we didn’t have time to practice, and I didn’t want her to stay up so late to play.
Violin Sonata for Delmoni, for violin & piano
Begun: 1997
A three-movement violin sonata, created on request from violinist Arturo Delmoni.
Status: (Addition) First and third movements have been complete in sketch, at this point, for years. All this year long different parts of the second movement have been coming to me, and I am writing the ideas down as they come.
Keyboard
Sonata No. 1, for piano
Begun: Spring 1974
Status: (Recreation) On 2/19/2003 reconstructed the first half of this early piano work from memory in a clear pencil sketch.
Offertory, for organ.
Begun: 11/2002
Based on a fragment of Elgar.
Status: (Revision) Made in February 2003 of a sketch dating from the previous November. I was pretty sure I made a fair copy of it at this time also, but I can’t find it. Was intended for a service at Honey Creek Church of the Nazarene, but was not used.
Art Songs
“I’m Open All Night� from Three Cabaret Songs by James Agee, for voice & piano
Begun: 1984
Status: (Revision) Not so much a revision, but a completion of a long-unfinished song undertaken 11/19/2003. The new score is complete for the vocal line, with only some measures of the accompaniment to be filled in. As to the other two Cabaret Songs Agee wrote, I have a good idea for one setting, but am on the fence about the other.
Beckett Song
Begun: 1987
Status: (Revision) Original 1987 score of this Samuel Beckett setting is two-thirds complete, but I lost track of the text and it was sidelined. I acquired the text anew while in Cincinnati in August. Once I got back to Ann Arbor, I began to work on it again only to discover I was taking it into a different direction almost from the opening bars. I intend to complete the overhaul first, and then finish the song out in something approximating the original – thus creating two settings. As to other possible settings of Beckett’s poetry, I think the jury’s still out.
Pop Songs
Life and Police Art
Begun: April 1982
Status: (Revision) In May 2003 I created a Noteworthy file of this vintage 11,000 Switches song to aid in correcting and completing the unfinished manuscript version, made in 1982. As a number in the band’s book, this song was played many times in 1982 and a recording released in 1987 on the compilation “Ring Bells and Blow Whistles� (Let My Puppets Come LMPC-1).
Open Form
Scribbles, for any instrument or combination of instruments
Score: 8/26/2003
Premiere: SSNOVA Gallery, Cincinnati, 8/30/2003 by Uncle Dave, IOVAE & C. Spencer Yeh.
Publication: A few xerox copies distributed to friends and co-workers.
Status: (Recreation) Full graphic score in 2 pages, complete.
Song Parodies
The 1977 Political Parody Cycle
Published: UDHUC, when?
This was a conjectural reconstruction of four (or five?) early political parody songs that were reconstructed and their texts published on UDHUC with commentary. As this extensive bit of work is among those UDHUC posts that are missing from the archive, I can’t comment further here.
“Feels So Good�
Melody: “Feels So Good� by Chuck Mangione
Published: UDHUC 12/3/2003
These words, which fit to a purely instrumental song, were conceived around 1980.
“My Sweet Lord� (after George Harrison)
Melody: “Three Blind Mice�
Published: UDHUC 3/26/2003
Conceived by Uncle Dave Lewis & Greg Fernandez back in 1984 (and performed then too).
Copyright 12/21/2003 Uncle Dave Lewis
Not so bad this year. It's really tough for me to find time for all of this - most of my scoring is done on the bus, as I have few other opportunites to work on it.
If you do not hear from me again before Christmas, may this be your merriest Christmas of all!
Uncle Dave Lewis
uncledavelewis@hotmail.com