The Open Window

I can't promise to have time to do any real blogging this week, except maybe for the day after Thanksgiving. So here to tide you over, is a piece of music I wrote in 1969, arranged in 2003 (while driving my big rig!) and finally orchestrated last week.

It's a song called "The Open Window" and to listen to it, use the player at the right.

Although this is an instrumental arrangement, "The Open Window" does have lyrics, which are as follows:

What lies behind the open window?
Are you afraid of what there lies?
If you will open up the sash and draw aside the drapes
And look right through the open window of the eyes.

What lies behind the open window?
If you explore, what will you find?
The universe can seem so vast
If you forget that it's your past
Discovering the open window of the mind.

You'll find there's memories of centuries of living
You'll feel the magic of receiving and of giving
You'll see imagination strives to richen everybody's lives
And that the greatest good of all comes from forgiving.

What lies behind the open window?
If you search there, will you find your goal?
As you look out, you're looking in
The world expresses what's within
As you create the open window of the soul.
As you look out, you're looking in
The world expresses what's within
As you create the open window of the soul.

What lies behind the open window?
If you search there, will you find your goal?
As you look out, you're looking in
The world expresses what's within
And you'll find God within the window of the soul.
As you look out, you're looking in
The world expresses what's within
And you'll find God within the window of the soul.

In case you are interested in the technical aspects of this recording, it was done entirely in the computer (as was the arrangement). I used the following tools:

• Basic rhythm arrangement using Jammer Pro Windows 3.0 (since replaced by Jammer Pro 6—best money I ever spent!).
• Additional instruments typed or played into Cakewalk Pro (second best money ever spent).
• Rendering by SynthFont, which would be the best money ever spent except it's free software! SynthFont makes use of "sound fonts", which are sampled real-world instruments, encoded in such a way as to let the computer duplicate what a real-life player might have played on his or her sax, flute, piano, etc. Sound fonts allow for incredibly realistic instrumentation. (Or unrealistic, if you prefer—but it's nice to have the choice!)
• MP3 tags implanted by Tag&Rename, which is an inexpensive solution to the problem of managing MP3 tags.