In the Last Days

I wrote this piece ten years ago, but just went through and made an mp3 with myself singing all the parts.  (Pardon my bass line, and thank you autotune for allowing me to fake a bass part).  

In the last days,

When the land is rolled up,

And the seas are poured out,

And every thing is put away,

Come and sit with me, my old friend,

And we'll watch are the stars are turned out,

One by one.

Hi @pateceramics,

On 5/10/2024 at 4:03 AM, pateceramics said:

but just went through and made an mp3 with myself singing all the parts.  (Pardon my bass line, and thank you autotune for allowing me to fake a bass part

We have countertenor, and thx to you we now have countersoprano! 
 

I love the modal feeling here. Those parallel fifths and octaves add the feeling of it. It’s so English here. I like this! Thx for sharing.

Henry

Thanks, Henry!  The Washington Heights Community Choir just sang this on Broadway 😲 and then again in Brooklyn, so I felt like, in case those performances generate any extra interest, it would be good to have some fresh demos for people to take a look at.  Even if that means they need to hear me singing autotuned bass.  Glad you enjoyed it!

Hi @pateceramics!

I like the text of this song!  Did you come up with the lyrics yourself?  It makes me think of the distant astronomical future (the 'heat death' of the universe) where the red dwarfs (the longest living stars) will be the only surviving light and heat sources in the universe before everything goes dark.  I do wonder sometimes if any humans or living beings will be around to witness that.

I like how the beginning of the song slowly exposes the F major tonality gradually by adding more factors of the chord.  There's also some nice word painting at the end where all the voices die out one by one while they sing "as the starts are turned out, one by one".  It's also good that you include a key change for some harmonic contrast although for me, it's not enough, as the song stays in a predominantly diatonic and major context throughout the whole thing.  I yearn for some chromaticism to help bring color to your harmonies and melodies!  But overall, I enjoyed this song - thanks for sharing!

On 5/23/2024 at 5:18 PM, PeterthePapercomPoser said:

Hi @pateceramics!

I like the text of this song!  Did you come up with the lyrics yourself?  It makes me think of the distant astronomical future (the 'heat death' of the universe) where the red dwarfs (the longest living stars) will be the only surviving light and heat sources in the universe before everything goes dark.  I do wonder sometimes if any humans or living beings will be around to witness that.

I like how the beginning of the song slowly exposes the F major tonality gradually by adding more factors of the chord.  There's also some nice word painting at the end where all the voices die out one by one while they sing "as the starts are turned out, one by one".  It's also good that you include a key change for some harmonic contrast although for me, it's not enough, as the song stays in a predominantly diatonic and major context throughout the whole thing.  I yearn for some chromaticism to help bring color to your harmonies and melodies!  But overall, I enjoyed this song - thanks for sharing!

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen!  Yes, I did write the text.  It's often easier to write what you want than to find a text that discusses a particular topic and that is in the public domain.  It often feels like the world is ending lately, between climate change and unstable political situations and Covid, but having someone there with you, even if there is nothing they can actually do to fix anything, makes life a little easier.  

Over all, I was looking for stillness and simplicity with this piece.  I know what you mean that a little chromaticism would have added something, but I didn't want too much lushness, if that makes sense?  More, a sense of the plain and the quiet.  At the end of the world, things are pretty stark.  We're down to the essentials and just quietly sitting.  

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!  I appreciate it!