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 put a brave face on things because it’s…
What’s it called?
Please Don’t Die.
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?
The first act of the musical ended with everything going rapidly downhill – Gary abandoned the group, everyone had a big falling-out, and Helen was suddenly taken ill. Several days later Helen is showing little in the way of improvement, and with no medical professionals around to consult there’s not much that the others can do to help. Needless to say, this is a cause of concern for her boyfriend Joe, who bravely tries to make light of the circumstances through gritted teeth with this unconventional love song.
Listen out for…
The little musical jokes I’ve worked into the arrangement. Specifically, note how at 1:45 the pianos give a very literal reflection of Joe’s line “It always makes my heart skip a beat.” Also, at the very end he sings “Don’t leave me on my own”, which is followed by a single concluding note in the accompaniment to represent his feelings of isolation.
Find out more at…
www.michaelgrantmusician.com/inrta
‘Miniatures’ Debut Performance: A Retrospective
It may have escaped your notice if you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past couple of months and didn’t see any of my posts about it on this blog or Facebook or Instagram or Linkedin, or any of the 100 posters I distributed round South Manchester, or the feature I got in the local paper, or the events websites I listed it on, or the endless promo videos I posted on YouTube, or my posts about it in a myriad of relevant Facebook groups, but last week I put on a concert! It was the debut performance of my suite of twelve ‘Miniatures’, and now, a full seven days on from the event, I thought it would be nice to write a few words about how it went for anybody who wasn’t able to attend on the night.
Here’s Jack playing da piano, and if you look carefully you can see my image spookily imprinted on the side of the instrument.
The performance took place in the magnificent Emmanuel Church in Didsbury, and it was a real treat not only to hear these pieces played live on a real piano (which believe it or not was a new experience for me), but especially to hear them on a grand piano in such a sumptuous acoustic. Tinkling the ivories with aplomb as ever was Mister Jack Mitchell Smith, who put in a real shift giving beautiful renditions of a full 50 minutes worth of music. I almost felt guilty for just sitting there and watching him do all the work!
Well, not quite all the work… On the posters I had boldly promised ‘commentary from the composer’, and therefore before each piece I prattled on a bit about any relevant inspirations behind it and any notable features people may want to listen out for (aided by Jack for the occasional musical demonstration). It’s always hard to tell in these situations whether anyone’s actually invested in what you’re telling them or whether they’re bored stiff, but I rambled on regardless and from what I gather it was in fact appreciated by the audience. I think it does help especially when people are listening to such a large quantity of brand new instrumental music in one go, to give them a bit of context and some pointers to help them get a foothold in what they’re listening to.
Speaking of audience, I’m pleased to say that there was one – not huge in numbers I’ll admit, but of excellent quality and very appreciative. I saw a lot of unfamiliar faces who had been drawn in by my posters and online promotion, and to whom I am grateful for choosing to take a gamble on music they didn’t know and may not have liked! Judging by the extremely positive comments I received at the end (and by the fact almost everyone left their email addresses to be contacted about future concerts) it was a gamble that paid off, and I’m pleased to say that as far as I can tell everybody was fully satisfied with their evening. Hooray!
This is by no means the last you’ll hear from the intrepid duo of Smith and Grant, as we are already casting our minds to the future and dreaming up new innovative ways to build on the success of this performance. But for now, I hope y’all enjoy this little video I’ve put together featuring some clips and photos from the evening, to give you an impression of how it all went:
New Music Monday, #42: ‘Obfuscation’
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 crack open the dictionary because it’s…
What’s it called?
Obfuscation.
What’s it from?
‘Miniatures’, my 2023 album of classical piano compositions.
What’s it all about?
Another abstract piece, this one isn’t meant to represent anything specific. However, the title does give some clues as to the general character of the music. An ‘obfuscation’ is sort of the opposite to an illumination – rather than make everything bright and clear, it is something muddies the waters and confuses matters. Or, to take a dictionary definition, it is “the action of making something obscure, unclear, or unintelligible”.
Listen out for…
The swirling pattern of semiquavers, consistent yet constantly changing, that provides the foundation for the piece and over which sits the simple haunting melody.
Find out more at…
www.michaelgrantmusician.com/miniatures
Concert Teaser: ‘Empty Walls’
The programmes are printed, the venue keys are collected and the banter is well and truly planned – all is set for the concert premiere of ‘Miniatures’ tomorrow night!
But at this late stage, have I lost my drive for relentless self-promotion? Not on your nelly! See below for one more teaser video featuring a clip from ‘Empty Walls’. Incidentally, I came up with a hilarious joke about this piece today, but if you want to hear it you’ll have to come along to the concert!
Concert Teaser: I Promise It Won’t Sound Like This!
I know what you’re thinking.
You’re thinking, “What if I go along to Michael’s concert on Friday and find that the whole thing’s a big joke and that all the music will actually be performed by an AWFUL trio of trad. jazz clarionet, broken sousaphone and £30 violin!?! What then?”
Well don’t worry! I promise you that every single note on Friday will be performed on a nice big grand piano by a nice normal-sized human, and it will all sound beautiful. Not at all like this rendition of Miniature no. 12, ‘Parting Waves’, which I have put together specially using The Jelly Roll Soundfont…
Concert Teaser: ‘Breaking Outwards’
Have you heard the neeeewwwwwwws?
I’m in the paper again! For the right reasons, I should add. If you’ve picked up your copy of Didsbury Post you’ll have found this lovely little spiel in the ‘What’s On’ section. What you won’t have found, though, is today’s teaser video – see below for a clip from ‘Breaking Outwards’…
Oh, and BUY TICKETS! TIME RUNS SHORT!
New Music Monday, #41: ‘The Planning Song’
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 brainstorm some ideas because it’s…
What’s it called?
The Planning Song.
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?
Our four protagonists are now the only people left on the planet (that they know of), and having more or less come to terms with it they now need to think practically about how to continue. They therefore do what they (as former employees of some-company-or-other) do best: hold a meeting.
Listen out for…
There are quite a lot of niche musical jokes hidden in this one which may make you chuckle in a ‘Radio 3’ sort of way if you pick up on them. Here are a few that spring to mind:
- The key of the music matches whichever plan is being discussed – Plan A is in A minor, then there’s a key change to B minor for Plan B. Plan C is in C minor, then Plan D Flat is in… Well, it’s in C# minor. But only because Db minor isn’t really a sensible key!
- Whenever somebody comes up with a new plan idea, there’s a ‘ding’ in the piano as though a lightbulb has come on over the character’s head (e.g. 1:05). This ‘ding’ is always an octave, except for Lizzie’s Plan C when the ‘ding’ is a dissonant major 7th (to reflect the fact her plan isn’t fully formed) (4:06). The high-pitched piano tremolo that follows is also a little unstable for this particular plan (4:09).
- The backing vocals that crop up at various points sound a bit like generic scat lyrics, however listen closely and you’ll hear the characters are actually singing “Ba- Bad idea” (e.g. 1:38-1:59).
- I’m quite pleased with how the characters spend ages proposing loads of different ideas, only to eventually settle on the very first one they came up with. We’ve all been there, I’m sure!
- When they do finally agree on a plan, you can tell how un-enthused Gary is by the dissonant notes he adds to each chord (6:09-6:19).
Find out more at…
www.michaelgrantmusician.com/inrta
‘Miniatures’: The Scores Are In!
My my, look what arrived in the post this week – it’s only the full printed scores for my suite of twelve original piano solos, ‘Miniatures’!
That’s right, you can now own every single note of the music, beautifully engraved and printed on 52 entire pages of the finest paper money can buy. So if you’ve ever listened to my pieces and thought, “I fancy having a go at that,” well now you can!
Eventually I’ll get round to putting these scores up for sale on my website, but if you want to get your hands on a copy sooner than anyone else then come along to my concert on Friday where they’ll be available to purchase! Click the links below for details and tickets, or watch this video for another sneaky little preview…
Concert Teaser: ‘Obfuscation’
Are you going to be a million miles away from Manchester this Friday?
Do you really really hate classical music, and wouldn’t be seen dead attending a solo piano recital?
Well don’t worry – there are still things you can do to help spread the joys of music and make the world premiere of ‘Miniatures’ a reverberating success!
- Tell your friends about it. Tell your neighbours. Tell your worst enemies. Whoever you tell, they’ll have a lovely time if they’re able to attend!
- Give a ‘like’ and a ‘share’, or even a ‘comment’ to my beautiful and thoroughly well-written social media posts. The more people who do, the more the algorithms will work in our favour to disseminate the information further!
- Invite everyone to the Facebook event. Because yes, people do still use Facebook!
- Make yourself a sandwichboard plastered with publicity material and buy a big bell, then wander round your local neighbourhood shouting and ringing maniacally. That’ll get their attention!
As an advance ‘thank you’ for your efforts, here’s another brand new teaser for the concert, this time featuring the wizard that is Jack Mitchell Smith tinkling away at an excerpt from Miniature no. 6, ‘Obfuscation’. ENJOY!
(Oh, and if you want to know what ‘Obfuscation’ actually means, I promise to provide a full dictionary definition during the performance on Friday.)
Concert Teaser: ‘Lullaby’
“What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play!”
So said Liza Minelli, and I would strongly advise you to heed her advice this coming Friday – now only a week away! More specifically, come hear my full suite of twelve solo piano pieces, played on the grand piano of Emmanuel Church by the one and only (to the best of my knowledge) Jack Mitchell Smith.
To whet your appetite even further, I have another new teaser for you today featuring the most soothing of all the Miniatures, ‘Lullaby’. Don’t wake the baby!
Book directly or via:
Stop, look and listen:
