This was written in the winter of 2023-2024. I can't remember the order the movements were sketched out in, or finished in, but I did write "Feb 19 2024" at the end of the middle part of the third movement, which I think must have been when I finished writing it.
I don't have this entered into any music notation software but I will do that sometime. But I want to upload scans of this because I find it a terrible almost opressive feeling to have something complete and not released into the world. I would like to find a way to perform it or have someone play it.
I know I was listening to Good King Wenceslas sung by The Dellar Consort at bedtime and it struck me how beautiful this simple song really is. The second movement is also a set of variations on a melody by Yoko Kanno, from the videogame Ghengis Khan for the NES. It may be called "Mongol Theme." I find it incredibly beautiful. The third movement, if I remember, starts as a final variation from movement 2.
Spending time playing music from "The Real Book", which I discovered from YouTube videos during the pandemic enabled me to devise a way to sketch music more quickly. It also helped me build better intuition around harmony and even notes, and improved my piano playing incredibly. In terms of composition, I had always felt frustrated and in some sense trapped by digital tools-- what I really want is to just write music, not deal with sounds, per se. I finally felt able to do that, here.
Please tell me if you attempt to play this, it would mean a lot.