When The Sheep Won't Come

Description

Guitar — WHEN THE SHEEP WON'T COME:xa0 A SLEEPLESS NOCTURNE FOR GUITAR was composed for Joseph Hagedorn, winner of the 1990 GFA solo competition, and premiered by him in November 1999.xa0 My original idea was to write a serene and moody nocturne in several movements.xa0 However, as I began researching and listening to new guitar pieces, I came across Toru Takemitsu's "All in Twilight," and it immediately made a profound impression.xa0 At the time I found it beautiful, moving, and inspiring, but I also felt I didn't have anything to add to what Takemitsu already did, and that I needed to find a new concept for my piece.xa0 So, I decided to view night as a potentially restless time, rather than a serene time, and portray states of mind one might go through during a sleepless night.xa0 The names of the movements evoke, at least in my mind, the moods I am to depict, and the piece becomes progressively more convoluted as it goes on.xa0 By the end, the music is a surreal and weary shadow of the opening