Noemi

My first self-publication, 'Noemi' is a piece in 3 movements for solo guitar, written for and inspired by my fiance, Naomi.

First, a brief history of the piece: why, if her name is Naomi, would I entitle the piece Noemi? Noemi is the french equivalent of Naomi (it should have an accent over the 'e') and my fiance tells me that there was some debate over whether or not her name should be the English or the french version...

Her father is from Mauritius and as such his first language is french; her mother, however, is from London and finally won the battle to give her daughter an English name. I decided, however, (for no other reason than the romance of it) that the piece would use the french name.

Now, the composition itself. It was my intention that the three movements would show different aspects of our relationship and of her personality.

The first movement is full of rich harmonies and rising figures/patterns for no other reason than to demonstrate the overflowing love that we have for each other. The syncopated rhythms of the final section of this movement give the sense of drive and forward motion; Naomi is continually pushing into new areas and thinking of how to stretch the boundaries. I also take the opportunity in this movement to introduce the 'Naomi Motif' which takes the shape of brief arpeggiated figure across a wide range; this idea returns in the other movements and is there partly to show the immutability of our mutual love and partly to show that, despite the different characteristics of her and our relationship that we are exploring, she is still the same person.

The second movement is much slower and more meditative. I wrote it with the view of depicting the quieter moments that we share, the times when we just sit and hold each other and neither of us has to say a word. The middle section of this movement, then, could come across as confusing as it seems to turn the piece into something more aggressive. Other than creating a pleasing musical contrast, this section serves as part of the isomorphism as well: it is in these quieter, more still moments that my imagination and mind run away from me. I start to think of everything we've shared and been through, and all the things that are still to come and the ideas and memories pile up on me one by one, become more and more dense every second. The third section of this movement is a steadily rising pattern that is simple there to reflect my rising heartbeat as these thoughts pass through my mind. It is also worth noting that the second section of this movement is built entirely upon the Naomi Motif.

The third and final movement is far more energetic than the other two and it focuses on our future together. When we discuss what's to come in our lives my heart begins to race with excitement and enthusiasm and that is what this movement is about. The slower section within this movement again is not solely for the purpose of musical contrast. Some of the things that we are going to face in our lives and on some level scary and intimidating and this section expresses the occasional vulnerability that I feel.

All in all I hope this composition shows just how much I love Naomi and how frustratingly ineffable that love is...

Conducting the Universe

A striking parallel struck me: perhaps one way of thinking of our relationship with God is to compare it to a composers relationship with a performer of his work.
Many an hour of my university career has been spent practicing my guitar. I've reached a standard now where I don't have to think too much about playing the right notes and can instead focus on my interpretation of the piece, i.e. how accurately I realise the composers intentions.
A musical score is not simply a collection of notes. It should be properly noted with expressions and dynamics. Even when I read all of these, however, there is still another level to which I can go. By studying the composer and learning about his history and the context in which the piece in question was composed I can inform my performance even further and come even closer to what the composer had in mind when he penned those dots.

God created the world and He did so perfectly. How accurately are we going to realise his intentions?
Sometimes we will make mistakes; they might be obvious and performance crippling errors like forgetting the melody and freezing part of the way through (Adam and Eve eating the apple?) or maybe a minor error; playing mezzoforte instead of mezzopiano or plucking/bowing a note pontecello rather than tasto.
Unlike musical performance, however, where a wrong note or a lapse of memory will keep us from reaching our goals, the errors in our performance of life have been accounted for and cleared up. I might not play a single chord in tune but I can still be a great guitarist in Christ...

A final note is that if studying a composers context can add an extra and deeper layer of meaning to my performance, then studying God and His word can add an extra layer of depth and meaning in our lives and help us achieve His plan for us more accurately.

Pertaining to Plucking

Why does music (or even art in general) matter?

This is a big question and even if we can't answer it, we still have to accept that it does matter; it holds sway over people's emotions and infiltrates almost every aspect of our lives. Although I can't proffer a definitive answer, what I can say is that music matters to me a lot and for many different reasons. Let's start by talking about just one of these: why I play the guitar...

My Dad plays and although he is no Giltrap, he has a confident command of his technique and the control and dense tone that he creates inspired me and held my attention as a young boy. So that's why I started playing the guitar, but why carry on? Why let it become one of the defining factors of my life and personality? When you consider the truly deep and profound questions of life and the universe, music or specifically playing the guitar could seem a little...trivial?

But consider this, every time I'm happy I can pick up my guitar and rejoice. Every time I'm sad I can pick up my guitar and grieve. We're told that it's important to talk about our feelings but if my guitar is always my outlet then I learn to use notes instead of words.

I love my guitar because it frustrates me and challenges me but also is completely in my command. It is satisfying and soothing and without it I would be a frustrated recluse.

Everyone needs to express themselves. I'm not a great writer nor a greater painter or orator, but I can play the guitar. It is introspective and man's most worrisome troubles can be solved and put to rest behind your instrument of choice.

Introduction

Wunch's world is a yarn of many threads.
This space shall be an outlet for my itching fingers and active mind
...enjoy