A better night, though woke late. A day of more tweaks and finalising work on The Golden Age. At these times of intense focus on one measly album I get frustrated, impatient and wonder why I'm doing it. The benefit is, partly, already conferred. There is no chance that the music will produce a 'hit' or make a big impact on the world, but some people will hear it, some may like the odd tune. These are the social rewards for art, but for me, the rewards are in learning new skills and in the very act of producing new work, which is the primary duty of all artists.
I'm pleased with many aspects of the album, however imperfect other aspects are. The project began because at the start of 2008 I wrote a few zany surrealistic songs about 17th century paintings, and I thought it was time to realise some of these rather than forever say that I'd written some once. That task is done.
The final details of mixing and mastering are to me the most tedious and anxious. It's easy to chase ghosts, unsure of what one wants. I listen to similar songs - balance this like that, but really, that's not right either, as each new work is its own. Recorded music has many standards to make it sound 'the same' but perhaps this restricts the art.
I'll keep tweaking and workin on it. even today, I added a few vocals to the Tycho Brahe song, and Rembrandt. Here is the track list (timings for the CD version, this is mostly like the stream one, but a few tracks segue into each other):
1. Welcome to my Gallery (03:59)
2. Franz Halz (03:11)
3. The Laughing Cavalier (01:48)
4. Girl Reading a Letter (02:29)
5. Autumn's Shadow (03:47)
6. Nature Morte (02:16)
7. Cotán (03:16)
8. Tycho Brahe the Noseless Astronomer (04:20)
9. The Lace Maker (01:36)
10. The Girl with the Pearl Earring (02:22)
11. Rembrandt (03:19)
12. The Legend of Zurbarán (03:56)
13. Art For Me (03:04)
