Unexpected Inspiration
In my migratory move across the country, my personal Oregon Trail so to speak, I’ve immersed myself into each place encountered, observing the obvious, listening to each place’s unique sounds, and trying to absorb as much as possible about the geology, history, culture, human stories and change. Art reflects our life experience, but my composing was completely arrested while working on the renovation of my 1926 house. I was entirely engrossed in the details of tile grout, wall texture, paint color, insulation etcetera, and quite frustrated that contractors dust and wall banging were such a detriment to my creative process! Some composers can create in airports- not me.
In discussing this with another composer, I brought up Darius Mihaud’s La muse ménagère (The Household Muse) that he composed for his wife Madeleine. This imaginative work is little known, but should be. Fancifully, I stated that I should write a multi-movement piece about the renovation process. She proposed RENOVATIONS as a title. The possible movements emerged in my imagination immediately. Well I’m committed now; I have a title.