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Firstly, it has been awhile. I have to say I've missed the companionship, the camaraderie this site offered, and I've thought of many of you often over the past couple of years. So many times my hand has lingered over the ENTER key after I'd typed in this website's address — only to close my browser with a sad sigh. I can't tell you why because I don't understand it myself. Poignant memories of better days, perhaps? I can say these past 2 years have been difficult for me (and loads of others, I'm sure). The pandemic, the lockdown, the isolation... it took a pretty heavy toll on my mental health. My muse has been utterly silent. Utterly silent. Not a single note written or even hummed. I began to wonder if my days as a composer had ended for good. Thankfully — as you obviously guessed — that turned out not to be the case, and I finally broke my composing fast with this choral piece of a poem by Tolkien. I can slowly feel the music begin to stir inside me once more. Anyway, enough about my sad, sorry life. I hope this piece brightens your day and lifts your spirits. I'm rusty and out of practice, but I cannot tell you how good it feels to stretch these old composing muscles again! The recording is a bit pitchy in places (I had to perform all of the parts myself); hopefully it won't damage your listening experience too much. Thank you all in advance for your time. If you have questions about the harmonies and scales employed here, all you need do is ask. (In fact, I don't even care if you listen. Just a comment from you telling me how life's been over the past 2 years would be simply amazing!) Ah, it feels good to be back, guys! Very good, indeed.

https://musescore.com/user/29293489/scores/8114859

Tranquil. Reflective. Emotive.

> What do you mean by tonged? played with the tongue? do you refer to the way it is notated, or recorded? Every note on a wind instrument has to be started (articulated) in some way; you just don't start blowing. Typically this is done by saying (no voice) the letter "T" into the instrument in some way. This is called "tonguing". Tonguing each note in a phrase momentarily stops the airflow and/or the vibration of the lips or reed that is driving the sound and separates the notes. I'm sure you can imagine there are all kinds of ways of nuancing this separation. Alternatively, not tonguing between notes and keeping the airflow going results in the smooth transition called a slur. If you don't notate articulations, you're either telling the performer that they are free to do whatever they want, or that you want every note separated by tonguing. In the style in which you're writing, doing the latter just isn't characteristic for any wind instrument.