Thesis.

Thesis. It's a monster.

I've been told a few times by different people that the difficult part of doing a thesis isn't the composition process, but the process of writing about it afterwards. I've been told several times that for most composers, this is the hard part- writing about their own work. I don't think I've ever had issues with this in the past, but I figured- that's probably because I tend to keep a fairly good record of what's going through my head while I write. I plan and plan and plan and plan, and then start composing- with reference to the plans I've made, sketches I've drawn, etc. I reflect a lot, so I generally have a decent idea of what's going on when I write music...But just in case this thesis is any different, I've decided to keep track of stuff here. It's not going to be professional, it might not be witty or enlightening, BUT it'll hopefully help me in the long run when I actually have to sit down and defend why I wrote what I dun writ.

SO: What is it?

I am taking certain lines from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem "Evangeline," and set it to music. I'd like it to be narrated, and possibly sometimes sung, when appropriate- but I'm not sure I want it to be sung in an opera-esque style. The ensemble will be a modified chamber ensemble, and will use some Acadian/Maritime folk tunes but I will probably disguise them so they're not blatantly apparent. That's it in a nutshell- I've already begun working on it and will continue to do so and post more details in the future.