Re-scoring Min Gud

Monday the 31th of March. Today there would have been a stage-rehearsal of Bus number 13 at Tampere Hall, but sadly didn’t have time to go there. I just understood yesterday evening, that in case I want to get my song cycle for choir “Min Gud” printed, it would be the best to get it printed this week, so that my parents can bring the published notes from Helsinki by car next Saturday when they are coming to watch Bus number 13 (rather than paying post fees). But that means I have to send in the score to the publishing company Music Finland by Wednesday! So I am quite in a hurry.

I was in the composition studio almost all day working on rescoring the piece. I wrote Min Gud (to the text of Psalm 22) originally for women’s choir in 2010, but Markus Yli-Jokipii said to me last week “It’s too good a piece for only existing for women’s choir”, so now I’m rescoring the 8 voiced women’s choir piece (SSSSAAAA) for a 10 voiced mixed choir (SSSAAATTBB).

Re-scoring Min Gud from 8 voiced women's choir to...

...10 voiced mixed choir.

It has been rather fun day, working with the piece. Although it’s already 4 years old, I still really like the piece. Many composers always tell me about how they look at their old pieces and think “oh what crap I wrote back then!”. Well, I notice that I haven’t always written things in the most “efficient” way, but still I’m fond also of most of my old pieces as well. It’s like having children, maybe they aren’t all perfect, but you like them with all their imperfection and there is no use in being ashamed of them. I’m looking forward to finally hearing Min Gud being performed at my composition concert on the 14th of May!