Resistant Materials for solo percussion was finished today.  Managed to add the last touches after returning from karate training - a heavy day!

I was asked to write a solo Soprano piece for Sarah Leonard as part of the Mmus.  I started work on it a few weeks ago and finished today.  It should be performed on Tuesday.

Balulalow is now totally finished.  Managed to finish it just before midnight. 

It's beginning to do my head in!

I decided to reject the second lot of ideas I came up with and the first set were still buzzing in my head.  It turns out that they just need editing!  The first stanza is now set.

As part of my Mmus, we have to write a 3-4minute piece for solo percussion which is going to be performed at the beginning of November.  I started sketching ideas today or a piece written for 4 metal instruments, 3 skin and 3 wood.  The acutal choice is up to the player.  I plan to have opposing ideas for each 'material' which are gradually layered.

Continued work on Balulalow - wrote a new melody whilst watching TV

I was asked to write a carol for Royal Holloway's Chapel Choir and today decided upon the text:

"Oh my dear heart young Jesus sweet Prepare thy cradle in my spirit And I shall rock thee to my heart And never more from thee depart And I shall praise thee ever more With songes sweet unto thy glore The knees of my heart shall I bow shall I bow And sing that right balulalow."

 

Managed to set most of the first verse today but when I returned to it again this evening, it just didn't work and so I scrapped all of today's work.  VERY ANNOYING

Finished the SATB and piano duet arrangement of 'O Fortuna' for Carmina Burana today ready for Voices Anon.  I thing it should be an easy one to learn although it's quite high in places.  The piano duet should be fun too - all we need now is a new accompanist.

Louise and I thought we'd go to Thorpe Park today and it was great as the park was empty - although a little cold.  Four times on the front of Stealth was enough for me!  There was one guy who kept going around and around all day, he must have had 50-odd goes!

I need to start work on Voices Anon stuff soon.  I have all the piece apart from one planned and ready to go - I just need to do the rehearsal CDs.  It should be a very interesting term.  I plan to allow the choir to attack 2 of my pieces, the Rorate I wrote last year for St. Jude's and a new commission 'Away in a Manger' (both feature of the website).  In addition to this, we shall be looking at the original German version of Silent Night, as well as some other carols and a piece written by a choir member (that the piece I still need to arrange!)

I completed a new composition yesterday (31/8/07) based on the words Away in a Manger.  The piece is scored for SATB and piano and is on the website(s).  It was written for Voices Anon, although I was very pleased to hear that it will be performed at least 3 times this Christmas in Belgium.  The musical director of Voces Capituli has just commissioned a new arrangement of the piece!

I have just returned from Germany where I was working on Life of a Star.  Whilst I was over there and organising my manuscript books I found a sketch of a flute piece called Future Echos dated Jan. 2006.  Looking at it now, it could do with a piano part  - I shall try and work on it soon.

I have just returned from Germany where I was working on Life of a Star.  Whilst I was over there and organising my manuscript books I found a sketch of a flute piece called Future Echos dated Jan. 2006.  Looking at it now, it could do with a piano part  - I shall try and work on it soon.

I was very pleased to hear that 'Distant Lands: Prelude for LH' received a performance on the other side of the pond (USA).  Thank you all for your comments on the piece, I too am very happy with it - it carries it's message well that's to it's muse.

I have also just submitted a piece for a competition - Life of a Star.  I shall post more about the piece and also put it on my website when I know the result of the competition.

I was very pleased to hear that 'Distant Lands: Prelude for LH' received a performance on the other side of the pond (USA).  Thank you all for your comments on the piece, I too am very happy with it - it carries it's message well that's to it's muse.

I have also just submitted a piece for a competition - Life of a Star.  I shall post more about the piece and also put it on my website when I know the result of the competition.

It's been a long, long time since I have writen here - sorry!  For more details on my latest musical efforts, see the Bunce Manor on my homepage.  After just ariving back from America, I have spent most of the time preparing for Voices Anon's two concerts - one at Royal Holloway and the other at St. Piran's.  Most of the music has been arranged now and so the presure is off a bit.

I hope to continue work on my latest project 'The Piano Concerto - for piano, computer & orchestra' during August.  The 2nd and 3rd movements are finished and will appear on my site soon, but the 1st hasn't been started yet.

My latest piece was 'Distant Lands - Prelude for LH' which was composed a couple of weeks ago.  I had been meaning to write this for a while, and the time just seemed right - although it didn't take as long as I thought!  More news on that piece can be found on it's page.

I feel it's about time I also turned back to some unfinished pieces such as the flute sonatina (Lux Pedita) and the Mass - all being well I shall try to work on them during July!  I should really also write some more flute teaching exercises and I feel another set of duets for teacher and pupil coming on.... any way, fun, fun,fun

I was asked by George Kufa of The Gospel Crew to design a website for him.  The site can be found at www.thegospelcrew.co.uk

Check it out for some great Gospel sounds - you can listen to their music and buy CD/DVDs

It's been such a long time since I have written here - I though I should say something.  The last two months have seen me finishing the piece for double bass with effect pedal and percussion called Blue Shift and my first film score.  Both of these were written for my MA and will be posted in due course.  I am presently arranging music for a St. Patrick's day concert at St. Mary's which is fun and begining work on a Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis for solo SATB (again for the MA).  I apologise to all of you who have sent me work to look through - particularly those in far away lands.  As soon as things calm down I shall be able to go through your scores.

 

Keep smiling!

'Rorate' for St. Jude's was completed and posted today.  See the choir section of my website for more details.

I began work on a setting of Rorate for SATB and organ on the 9th of November.  The plan is to break the words into their usual 2 parts and then have the following form:

Intro - organ
Rorate (etc.) - Solo soprano and organ
Aperiatur (etc.) - SATB and Organ
Rorate.... Aperiatur... (etc.) Solo sop and SATB and organ

I completed the introduction by improvising on the 9th and then set the first section on the 13th.  I spent today setting the second section.

I completed PSI 1.618 for solo flute today.  Will post it on the website soon.  The piece was written for my MA and is based on the golden ratio and the Fibonacci sequence.  It uses extended flute techniques such as harmonics, timbral trills and multiphonics (playing chords on the flute)

I spent today putting the Sarabande into Sibelius and completing the Gigue ready for Louise's birthday tomorrow.  I shall try and put both pieces on the website later this week.

Continued working on the Gigue today during my lunch break, completing a new theme and reworking the opening.

Today, I completed the Saraband for Louise's Suite.  It's a basic AB dance movement - will be posted soon on the website!  I also began work on the last movement which is to be a Gigue.  The Sarabande is about Grade 6 and I think the Gigue will be probably Grade 8

With Louise's Birthday coming up, I decided to make a start on a new set of pieces for piano - A Suite.  I plan to add to the suite over the next year to make it 4-5 movements.  Today I wrote the main material for a Sarabande during my lunch break.

Today I finished and published the medley I created for Voices Anon: Do they Wish it could be a Rockin' Merry Christmas.

The piece consists of four popular Christmas songs:

1) Do They Know it's Christmas (Midge Ure & Bob Geldof)
2) I Wish it could be Christmas Everyday (Roy Wood)
3) Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree (Johnny Marks)
4) Merry Christmas (Slade)

 

click here for a preview:  http://www.guybunce.co.uk/music/do_they_know/do_they_know.htm

Well, it's the middle of August and I am sitting here listening to Christmas music :S

It's that time of year again when I'm in the middle of arranging the Christmas music for the VA concert.  Do They Know it's Christmas Time, etc. etc.  I think my neighbours think I have finally lost it! lol

I thought it was about time that I published my remix of the Countdown theme.  It's just a bit of fun, but worth a laugh!

To learn more and hear the remix, follow the link:

http://www.guybunce.co.uk/music/countdown/countdown-remix.htm

I completed the edit of the flute sonatina’s 1^st movement today and published it.  The edit took a lot longer than expected as it was very hard keep things like dynamics, note spellings, and phrasing consistent.  I think that the Hindemith style didn’t help this!  Thankfully, I had Louise on hand to advise and check things through.  She seems to like it (which is the main thing!).  Anyway, when I have completed the whole sonatina, Louise and I plan to perform it – probably early next year.  I hope to perform some other pieces I am writing for Louise along with an arrangement of Danse Macabre for piano duet.  The sonatina will have to take a back seat for a while whilst I complete more pressing commission such as the oboe sonatina, the flute concerto’s 3^rd movement, a party piece, a Christmas carol, and the missa brevis.  When I have completed, the sonatina (and if I am happy with it) I might use it towards my degree.

 

The Agnus Dei of the Missa Brevis was completed a while ago and I had intended to hold off publishing it until the whole mass was completed.  However, owing to the interest that people have shown, and the fact that I haven’t worked on it in ages, I shall try and publish the completed movement next week.

I spent today working on the first movement of the flute sonatina and completed the first draft.  Tomorrow will be a day of editing etc before it's ready for publication.  Watch the website for more news.

Well it's been two week's in the making, but I have finally finished the new website for St. Mary's Slough.  Check it out:  www.stmarys-slough.org.uk

I am particularly pleased with the graphic (at last I know how to use Fireworks) and the Java menu and diary (learning Java was fun :S)

Well it's been two week's in the making, but I have finally finished the new website for St. Mary's Slough.  Check it out:  www.stmarys-slough.org.uk

I am particularly pleased with the graphic (at last I know how to use Fireworks) and the Java menu and diary (learning Java was fun :S)

The concert at St. Mary's today went well.  Louise and I played the second movement of the Poulenc, the 3rd of the Hindemith sonata as well as my own Liebestraume (slushy beyond belief!) and Gaubert's Madrigal.  Thanks to all of you who attended and received us so well.  The concert was a double one with Malcolm Stowell playing the first performance of my Introduction and Fugue for organ.  It was a really interesting experience for me as I have never heard the piece performed and it was so long ago that I wrote it that I was literally listening to it not knowing what was coming next - it has been a long time since I have been able to be objective to that degree.  My original thoughts on the piece were "I don't like it but it is what I meant."  Having listened to the piece a few times, it's growing on me!

Whilst writing the oboe sonatina I felt moved to write a new flute piece.  I had planned to make a flute sonata around Reverie which I shall still do some day, but for now a modern flute sonatina called 'Lux Perdita.'  It will be a short work in three movements, the first already well under construction.  On that note - the oboe sonatina will end up being a sonata :S as the finale that I have written is quite long!  Fun and games as always