New Music Monday, #51: ‘Finale’

Every Monday throughout 2023 I will be highlighting a different piece of music that I have either written or been closely involved with. And this week, prepare to get married because it’s…


What’s it called?
Finale.

What’s it from?
‘Mongolian Death Worm: A Puppet Show Musical’, the show what I wrote, starred in, directed, produced, edited etc. with my regular collaborator Mister James Ure during the first national lockdown in 2020. It’s a full 68 minutes of silliness, centring around the search for a mysterious creature that has been pilfering steaks from a village community somewhere near the Gobi Desert.

What’s it all about?
Without wishing to give away too many spoilers, it’s a well-known fact that for a musical to be good it absolutely has to end with at least one wedding. Ours is no exception, and this song – which is actually several little songs rolled into one – self-indulgently takes us through the entire ceremony from “Dearly beloved” right through to “You may now kiss the worm”, before a grand song-and-dance finale brings the entire musical to a satisfying close.

Listen out for…
There are so many great details in this one, so here’s a bit of a list:
 

  • The parody of Wagner’s ‘Here Comes the Bride’, but based on the melody of ‘Untitled Worm Song (Part I)’ (0:00-0:25).
  • The parody of ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’, but with new worm-related lyrics (0:43-1:38).
  • The homage to Tony Burrello’s classic comedy song ‘There’s A New Sound (The Sound Of Worms)’ (1:49-2:12).
  • The parody of ‘Minnie the Moocher’, which descends into Shooby Taylor-esque scat singing (2:49-4:07).
  • One of my favourite jokes in the whole show:
     
    ROY: Normally people buy each other metal rings, not fungal infections.
    WORM: But you said, “I want you to buy me a ring worm”!

    •  

  • One of my favourite fills/transitions, which at 7:27 leads into the final section.

Find out more at…
www.michaelgrantmusician.com/mdw

New Music Monday, #50: ‘I Saw Him In My Dreams’

Every Monday throughout 2023 I will be highlighting a different piece of music that I have either written or been closely involved with. And this week, prepare to enjoy the delights of a standard piece of DIY equipment because it’s…


What’s it called?
I Saw Him In My Dreams.

What’s it from?
According to the apocryphal tales, ‘The Attack of the Dancing Demon Lollipop Man from Hell’ was to be the crowning glory in the career of esteemed filmmaker Armando Allegro, telling the story of an ordinary man who becomes possessed by the spirit of an evil road safety officer (with horrific consequences). Sadly the film itself has been lost forever, however parts of the soundtrack did survive to be later reconstructed by myself and the enigmatic Mister James Ure. This EP, released in 2022, is the result of those reconstructions.

What’s it all about?
This is some low-level-creepy background music that was presumably originally written to play in the background of a scene, and give it a general air of unease and supernatural mystery.

Listen out for…
The really really REALLY clever way it turns itself backwards over its duration. This was achieved by first taking the completed piece, reversing it, and superimposing this back-to-front version over the original. Then the forwards version was gradually faded out while at the same time its backwards counterpart was gradually faded in, meaning that over the course of the piece it imperceptibly morphs into its own retrograde. You can hear this most clearly by comparing the noise at 0:25 with its reversed counterpart at 3:05.

By the way, in case you’re wondering, the title is actually a pun on the jazz standard ‘I’ll See You In My Dreams’, but tweaked to accommodate the fact this piece features a solo musical saw.

Find out more at…
www.michaelgrantmusician.com/lollipop

New Music Monday, #49: ‘Stop and Smell the Roses’

Every Monday throughout 2023 I will be highlighting a different piece of music that I have either written or been closely involved with. And this week, prepare to just calm down and chill for a bit because it’s…


What’s it called?
Stop and Smell the Roses.

What’s it from?
My 2019 ragtime musical ‘It’s Not Really the Apocalypse’, which tells the story of four old friends who wake up one morning to discover they are the only people remaining on planet Earth.

What’s it all about?
This song comes quite late in the show, when all the characters have worked through their various conflicts and are beginning to see their situation with new eyes. Joe in particular has realised the folly of his workaholic tendencies, and resolves to let go a bit more and make time to enjoy the world that still remains. In that spirit, he whisks Helen and Lizzie off to the beach for some rest and relaxation, and while there he tells them a story that may even be based loosely on real life. Not that he’d admit it!

Listen out for…
The assortment of rose-related idioms that I managed to squeeze into the lyrics from 5:00 onwards. A particular favourite – and possibly my proudest lyric of the whole show – is my variation on Shakespeare’s “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” quote. When writing that section I initially came up with the idea of “They feel at home in [something something], By other names they smell as sweet”, however now I needed to think of two different soil types, both a single syllable long, one of which rhymed with ‘sweet’. Hmm… Then in a flash of inspiration the solution came to me, resulting in the line:
 

“They feel at home in loam or peat,
By other names they smell as sweet.”

 
Which gives me even greater satisfaction because ‘loam’ also forms an extra rhyme with ‘home’. Lyric writing can be hard at times, but occasionally everything just falls into place like a perfect jigsaw!

Find out more at…
www.michaelgrantmusician.com/inrta

Video: ‘Variations on a Theme’ by Paul Wellings-Longmore

I recently had the pleasure of collaborating with Cambridge-based composer Paul Wellings-Longmore, who despite not playing any musical instruments himself has written some thoroughly charming pieces for a variety of woodwind ensembles. He’s kindly allowed me to share the results of one of these projects, and so I’d like to present ‘Variations on a Theme’, with me on the clarimanet and the bassoooooon parts and the superb Nicole Marriott Fullmer on obomaboe.

Also, bonus points if you can name the theme. I’ll give you a clue: think ‘birds’.
 

New Music Monday, #48: ‘Thunderstorm’

Every Monday throughout 2023 I will be highlighting a different piece of music that I have either written or been closely involved with. And this week, prepare to pack a decent umbrella because it’s…


What’s it called?
Thunderstorm.

What’s it from?
‘Mongolian Death Worm: A Puppet Show Musical’, the show what I wrote, starred in, directed, produced, edited etc. with my regular collaborator Mister James Ure during the first national lockdown in 2020. It’s a full 68 minutes of silliness, centring around the search for a mysterious creature that has been pilfering steaks from a village community somewhere near the Gobi Desert.

What’s it all about?
Those poor villagers have just been singing all about how scared they are of the Mongolian Death Worm and how little pleasure they would derive from meeting it in person, when – shock horror – a thunderstorm begins and sends them scurrying for shelter (because they know it’s the worm’s favourite kind of weather)! Then when they’ve all escaped, a massive sign descends from the heavens proclaiming the title of the cardboard-based epic that is by this time in full swing.

Listen out for…
The big over-the-top horror film chords at 0:23, which accompany the reveal of the film’s title and synchronise with on-screen lightning strikes. Very scary stuff indeed.
 
Find out more at…
www.michaelgrantmusician.com/mdw

New Music Monday, #47: ‘Vision of Triumph’

Every Monday throughout 2023 I will be highlighting a different piece of music that I have either written or been closely involved with. And this week, prepare to punch the air and shout “YESSSSHHHHHHH!!!” because it’s…


What’s it called?
Vision of Triumph.

What’s it from?
‘Miniatures’, my 2023 album of classical piano compositions.

What’s it all about?
A celebratory piece which takes influence from such compositions as Mussorgsky’s ‘The Great Gate of Kiev’ and the final movement of Brahms’ ‘Symphony No. 1’, I can’t help feeling that there is a certain shallowness underlying the bombast of ‘Vision of Triumph’. It feels a bit like an idealised form of victory that comes without a cost, hence the word ‘vision’ – maybe this piece represents what you think triumph is going to be like, even though when it actually arrives it may not be so simplistic.

Listen out for…
The more orchestral style of writing in this piece – you can surely imagine the big block chords being blasted out by a brass section, the lyrical melodies floating over from the strings, and of course the bass tremolos booming out from the timpani. It would definitely be an interesting exercise to fully orchestrate this piece one day, to see what it would sound like in full technicolor.

Find out more at…
www.michaelgrantmusician.com/miniatures

New Music Monday, #46: ‘Empty Walls’

Every Monday throughout 2023 I will be highlighting a different piece of music that I have either written or been closely involved with. And this week, prepare to bemoan the feeling you get when you’ve just run out of ice cream because it’s…


What’s it called?
Empty Walls.

What’s it from?
‘Miniatures’, my 2023 album of classical piano compositions.

What’s it all about?
This is a piece that didn’t have any real-world meaning when I originally wrote it, however I am quite pleased with my choice of title which does anchor it to something more concrete. I chose to name it ‘Empty Walls’ because it has a certain wistful melancholic quality to it, which reminds me of a particular feeling you get when moving house and take down all the pictures from the walls. Suddenly a room that for so long felt like home now feels cold and barren – just another set of unsentimental blank surfaces and nothing more.

Listen out for…
The twisty-turny left-hand pattern that drives the entire piece – very difficult to play (unless you happen to have 6 fingers per hand), but I’m told it’s highly satisfying once mastered!

Find out more at…
www.michaelgrantmusician.com/miniatures

Me, My Eb Clarionet, and Shostakovich

This week, I have been mostly practising… The teeny tiny squeaky squawky Eb clarionet!

Why have I been doing that, you may wonder? Why put myself and my local community through such torment? Surely any instrument that requires earplugs merely to practise should not be permitted at all in civilised society!

Well I’ll tell you why, dear reader: It’s because this Saturday 11th November I’ll be lending my abilities to the music-making behemoth that is Stockport Symphony Orchestra, and contributing the sopranino clari part to Shostakovich’s rip-roaring Symphony No. 5. Do come along if you can, and you’ll also be rewarded with some Chopin and Panufnik.

I thought you may enjoy getting an insight into what it’s like to be my next-door neighbours, as it’ll make you feel so much better about your own life – so to conclude, here are some examples of the glorious high frequencies you can expect to hear on Saturday night!
 

New Music Monday, #45: ‘Main Theme (from The Attack of the Dancing Demon Lollipop Man from Hell)’

Every Monday throughout 2023 I will be highlighting a different piece of music that I have either written or been closely involved with. And this week, prepare to be scared out of your wits (slightly too late for Hallowe’en – I’m now kicking myself that I didn’t think to do this one last week) because it’s…


What’s it called?
Main Theme (from The Attack of the Dancing Demon Lollipop Man from Hell).

What’s it from?
According to the apocryphal tales, ‘The Attack of the Dancing Demon Lollipop Man from Hell’ was to be the crowning glory in the career of esteemed filmmaker Armando Allegro, telling the story of an ordinary man who becomes possessed by the spirit of an evil road safety officer (with horrific consequences). Sadly the film itself has been lost forever, however parts of the soundtrack did survive to be later reconstructed by myself and the enigmatic Mister James Ure. This EP, released in 2022, is the result of those reconstructions.

What’s it all about?
As the title suggests, this is the main theme from the film, and so you can imagine in your mind’s ear hearing it played over the opening titles, or perhaps the end credits. Or maybe even during the film itself, when that evil lollipop man is about to do something nasty and things start to turn very spooky – very spooky indeed!

Listen out for…
The various traffic-related noises that crop up in the middle section – you may be able to pick up the sound of a car indicator, a pedestrian crossing, and car tyres screeching on the road. Also, I do like the chilling effect given by three flutes flutter tonguing in dissonant harmony (0:51-1:53). Note that, for extra discomfort and creepiness, one flute is tuned sharp, one is in tune, and one is tuned flat.

Find out more at…
www.michaelgrantmusician.com/lollipop

New Music Monday, #44: ‘Shibil’

Every Monday throughout 2023 I will be highlighting a different piece of music that I have either written or been closely involved with. And this week, prepare to go on a long soul-searching journey on the back of a horse or something because it’s…


What’s it called?
Shibil.

What’s it from?
‘Music for the Moving Image’, my ever-expanding album showcasing pieces that I’ve written for various film projects, with all the pesky sound effects and dialogue removed.

What’s it all about?
This is another one I wrote for a competition, where you’re given a clip from a film and have to come up with some muzick to go with it. In this case it was Four For Music’s scoring competition last year, and the film is about a Bulgarian guy who looks moody for a bit then gets up on his horse and goes for a walk while a disembodied voice talks about him behind his back. But then another moody guy appears who seems to have more nefarious intentions – he too gets on a horse to go for a walk, before we see a really sneaky-looking character observing from afar, who gives a super secret special signal to send his sneaky-looking pals off to do no good.

As you can maybe tell, I didn’t go to a lot of effort to research the ins and outs of the plot of the film from which this clip is taken. But in this situation it probably doesn’t matter that much, as long as the music adds something to it!

Listen out for…
I don’t habitually use piano in an orchestral context, however I sneaked it into this piece and am quite pleased with the extra flavours it adds to the arrangement. In particular, at several points I’ve included some dissonant thundering clusters right in the extreme bass of the instrument, to add an additional sense of depth and menace to particular accents (e.g. 0:00, 0:35, 1:12). There’s also a little figure at 1:40 which was (unintentionally) inspired by Ravel’s G major Piano Concerto – a descending quintuplet of parallel 5ths of which I’m rather fond.

Find out more at…
https://youtu.be/C8srYRuygEQ , where you can watch the clip in its entirety to the accompaniment of my enthralling music.