One Day Wonder #246

For 2 horns.

What was it I said back in #235? I think it was something like: “The oddball chorale is the last refuge for an idea-deprived scoundrel like myself” or something like that. Well, the polyrhythmic invention is the new oddball chorale. With that said, though, I really do like this piece. It’s just that I’ve been spending a lot of time in the polyrhythmic camp. The good news is that after a few not-very-sincere tries to get Finale to generate quintuplets (you know, five quarter/eighth/sixteenth/etc. notes in the space of four of their counterparts), I finally succeeded. So yes, I’m going to feature them prominently here. You’ll hear them a lot; they’re the ones that proudly proclaim: “I’m a quintuplet!” This piece tries to skate a lot of thin lines. It tries to obscure its own sense of tempo most of the time, but ends up in a rhythmic canon a 2 later on. It tries to highlight polyrhythms, but at the same time, it strives to be lyrical. It tries to be busy, yet at times ambient. In other words, it tries to be all things to all people. I think that many things in it work very well. Sure, it’s no #242, but I find it a strangely captivating tune.