My readers have been clamoring for more covers of classic rock and pop hits, but I continue to deliver up self-indulgent neoclassical foolishness.  Have no fear, friends—I will have some timeless classics back soon.

For now, I’m offering a three-for-one deal with a polytonal piece of reedy churchiness.

“Three Chorales in Diminishing Length”—or “Three Chorales” for short—is the result of a composing experiment combining a scribbled condensed score in concert C and D major with NoteFlight. Typically, I’ll write evolving chord progressions and only play them later, seeing what will result from a purely theoretical set of movements. This time, I “spot-checked” the handwritten score as I went, making adjustments to it and the digital score.

The results are still delightfully weird and borderline atonal, but “Three Chorales” came out well overall (although I’d tweak some of the dynamics for the screeching clarinet part if I ever revisit it). The first chorale is six measures in the original manuscript (seven here to allow the bass clarinet to move to the tonic for a more satisfying chord); the second chorale is five measures; and the third chorale is four measures. Reducing the length of measures added an additional fun challenge in trying to make a musical “point” in a very short space. I don’t know if I succeeded, but I had fun trying!

Here is the handwritten manuscript.  I did something a bit differently with this piece:  I started it by hand, but then spot-checked it in NoteFlight as I went, making corrections to the handwritten manuscript as I went.

It appears I originally named it “Three Progressively Shorter Chorales,” but I preferred “Three Chorales in Diminishing Length.”  My only regret is that I did not change the “in” to an “of”; oh, well!

Happy Listening!

—TPP

Other Editions of Open Mic Adventures:

• “Open Mic Adventures I: Oingo Boingo’s ‘Just Another Day’“
• “Open Mic Adventures II: Billy Joel’s ‘Piano Man’“
• “Open Mic Adventures III: Joanie Sommers’s ‘Johnny Get Angry’“
• “Open Mic Adventures IV: KISS’s ‘I Still Love You’“
• “Open Mic Adventures V: ‘There’s a Light (Over at the Frankenstein Place)’“
• “Open Mic Adventures VI: Journey’s ‘Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’“
• “Open Mic Adventures VII: ‘Suite: Judy Blue Eyes’“
• “Open Mic Adventures VIII: Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘The Sound of Silence’“
• “Open Mic Adventures IX: Journey’s ‘Faithfully’“
• “Open Mic Adventures X: ‘Time Warp’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XI: Spooktacular Supergroup Covers ‘Monster Mash’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XII: ‘Ghostly’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XIII: The Penguins’ ‘Earth Angel’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XIV: ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XV: ‘O Holy Night’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XVI: ‘Please Come Home for Christmas’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XVII: ‘L’il Divertimento in C major’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XVIII: ‘Satiean Motion’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XIX: ‘Two-Day Minuet for Left Hand’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XX: ‘Sleepy Student’s Serenade’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXI: Styx’s ‘Come Sail Away’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXII: ‘Blessed Assurance’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXIII: ‘Gabbi’s Gavotte’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXIV: ‘Softly and Tenderly’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXV: ‘Venite, exultemus Domino’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXVI: ‘Sonatina’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXVII: ‘Heavenly Sunlight’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXVIII: ‘Song of the Bigfoot’”
• “Open Mic Adventures XXIX: ‘Lavender’s Blue’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXX: ‘Chorale for a Sleepy Wednesday’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXXI: ‘Carousel’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXXII: Hymn Medley“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXXIII: ‘Spore Song (Mushroom Dance)’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXXIV: ‘Chase’s Dilemma’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXXV: ‘The Rings of Saturn’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXXVI: ‘The Rings of Saturn’ LIVE!“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXXVII: ‘Private Lessons (Goth Chick)’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXXVIII: ‘Quasi-Date’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXXIX: ‘(I’m in the) Business of Love)’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XL: ‘Parada’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XLI: ‘Serenade for a Sleepy Student No. 2’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XLII: ‘1001 Arabian Nights’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XLIII: ‘Greek Fair’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XLIV: ‘Skeleton Dance No. 1’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XLV: ‘Skeleton Dance No. 1’ – BASS“
• “Open Mic Adventures XLVI: ‘Canon Event’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XLVIII: ‘Skeleton Dance No. 2’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XLIX: Sloppy ‘Hipster Girl Next Door’ Medley“
• “Open Mic Adventures L: ‘Lament of the Lizardman’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LI: ‘Bigfoot Boogie’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LII: ‘Minuet for a New Moon’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LIII: ‘Andante in D major’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LIV: ‘I Need Thee Every Hour’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LV: ‘”Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LVI: ‘Orange Roll’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LVII: ‘Firefly Dance’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LVIII: ‘Kartofelsalat’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LIX: ‘Listless Chorale’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LX: ‘Silent Night’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LXI: ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LXII: ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LXIII: ‘FRANTIC!!’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LXIV: ‘Snowfall’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LXV: ‘Uninspired Étude in E major’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LXVI: ‘Scribblings I: Post-Christmas Concert Scribbling’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LXVII: ‘Ode Napoléon’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LXVIII: ‘Cook’s Brief Bourrée in E minor’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LXIX: ‘Triumphant Processional’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LXX: ‘Moody Noodling’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LXXI: ‘Epistemology’“