"Simon,
Where are you?"
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Simon Godden
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Simon Godden's Discussions
My Medical Status as at this present moment
Started this discussion. Last reply by Adrian Allan Mar 4. 2 Replies 0 Likes
Health Update - December 2012
Started this discussion. Last reply by John Banting Jan 24. 4 Replies 0 Likes
Health update
Started this discussion. Last reply by SEDstar Oct 3, 2012. 5 Replies 0 Likes
Simon Godden's Page
Latest Activity
Adrian Allan replied to Simon Godden's discussion My Medical Status as at this present moment"As I said on Facebook, it's pretty harsh to say the least. Difficult to know what to say without sounding glib.
No doubt your thoughts have been a million miles away from composing music.
Best wishes
adrian"
Gav Brown replied to Simon Godden's discussion My Medical Status as at this present moment"How awful - I am so sorry to hear this story Simon. I have enjoyed talking with you over the years. Look for a PM from me in follow-up to this message - best - Gavin"
Simon Godden posted a discussionMy Medical Status as at this present moment
I have some bad news. Queen Victoria Hospital of Plastic Surgery in East Grinstead have given up on me, after all 5 of my gruelling operations failed to work.You see, I suffer from a complaint known as "Primary Lymphodoema Tarda". Lymphodoema is a condition that causes my lower limbs to fill up with water and swell. The word 'primary' signifies the fact that this particular condition was not related to a secondary complaint or treatment and it is of unknown origin. The word 'tarda' relates…See More
John Banting replied to Simon Godden's discussion Health Update - December 2012"Hi mate. Haven't been on here for a while, so I'd not realised how much you're going through. Try to be brave - I'll be thinking of you. Take care."
Andrew Gleibman replied to Simon Godden's discussion Health Update - December 2012"I wish you full recovery Simon! "
"Hang in ther buddy, 2013 will be better."
Janet Spangenberg replied to Simon Godden's discussion Health Update - December 2012"Wishing you the best of all outcomes, soon, Simon."
Simon Godden posted a discussionHealth Update - December 2012
Hi forum friends. I'm sorry I haven't been very active in the last year. I'm afraid my medical problems haven't got any better. I've had two skin grafts now, and neither of them held for enough time to let them heal. Anyway, the surgeon has now said that the only option left (before BOTH my feet are amputated) is to apply a revised skin graft in 3 stages whereby firstly, they apply the skin of a dead person (as opposed to my own) onto just two ulcers (the ones on the ankles). My admittance…See More
Simon Godden posted a discussionHealth update
Hi forum friends,Just to let you know that I'm having another skin-graft operation on my feet on 19 June, as the last one didn't hold. My consultant has stressed how urgent it is for me to give up smoking. I've been smoking, on average, 40 fags a day, and even though it has been slowing down the healing process of my legs, I've still not had any desire to quit. It wasn't just the nicotine, I just enjoyed it too much. However, after trying one of those disposable "10 motives" "cigarettes", I…See More
Simon Godden posted a discussionA couple of ideas after a year of inactivity
As you all know, I have been incapacitated with extreme pain over the last year (since October 2010), so I haven't been at all capable of composing any music, which to me, is painful in itself. Now that my skin grafts are healing (or at least some of them are) and I am now being prescribed a realistic amount of analgesia, I've tried to get a couple of things together. There have been three big problems with this. The first is that I have had to get used to Windows 7, Cubase Artist 6 and…See More
Simon Godden posted a blog postMy Year of Hell
Hi everyone, for all those in the dark as what exactly has been happening, I decided to write to the Guardian "Experiences" with the following: "From the age of 17, apart from my years at University studying music, I had always worked. And then at 42, I developed a permanent condition known as 'Primary Lymphodoema Tarda' (cause unknown) and had to give up work. This debilitating condition causes my legs to retain water and swell from the feet upwards. It is very uncomfortable and extremely…See More
Simon Godden posted a blog postMy present health
Well... after some nerve racking skin grafting surgery, it appears that my leg will remain free from amputation. The operation was a partial success (after painful complications), and I'm pleased to say that the ulcers are healing (slowly but surely). The only part of my foot that is having problems is the toe next to my big toe, and it doesn't matter how large or numerous the ulcers are, the pain always seems the same (unbearable). However, I'm still being dosed up with morphine etc, and the…See More
Andrew Gleibman left a comment for Simon Godden"Simon, glad to see you back! I wish you full recovery, and continue with your beautiful muisic!"
Simon Godden posted a discussionCubase 6
Because I don't have enough RAM capacity on my computer to load up as many instruments/articulations as I wish to without bits of the music stuttering, I have to work on a main template, and then for audio mixdown, I have to turn 3 or 4 sections into audio tracks to that I can hear the whole track without interruption.This isn't too much of a problem in itself, but I would like to know how to mix the audio tracks from there on. For example, if I've created 4 audio tracks on to a new project:…See More
Profile Information
- What have you composed for? Or what medium do you work around?
- Choir, Orchestra, Small Ensemble, Big Ensemble
- What is your favorite genre or style of music?
- Classical - Modern freestyle (eclectic)
- Is music your main income source?
- No - Not Yet
- Where do you live?
- Canterbury
- About Me (MUST be more than 10 words to be approved):
- I just read my previous mini-bio, and I couldn't amend it (because it was crap anyway), but I couldn't leave it on there.
Basically, I'm an unemployed (but very hardworking) composer based in Canterbury, Kent, UK. I completed my first symphony last year (I'm still notating the bloody thing) and I'm now working on a full scale Requiem to be ready by the autumn of 2014 (for obvious reasons).
I've played the violin (and a bit of piano, guitar and drums) since I was a kid, but only started taking it seriously in the early '90s where I went to adult FE college and then on to university to study composition.
Since then, I've been composing avidly. I'm slowly re-building my portfolio (I say "re-building" because my ex-fiancee burnt my last one. 10 years of work down the pan) and hope to attract some professional attention in due course.
Feel free to listen to my music. I hope you enjoy it.
Cheers,
Simon
Hardware: Intel Core 2 duo, 2.5 gb RAM, Midistudio - 2 (PROKEY), M-Audio 2496 ASIO soundcard.
Software: IK Multimedia Miroslav Philharmonik, HALion Symphony Orchestra, Sampletank 2.3, Finale 2010, Garritan and Notion 3.
Prologue to my new novel - "Ludwig's Hi-fi"
Prologue
Vienna – March 1827
The grey-haired, emaciated figure awoke gently and surveyed the room slowly. They had left, thank goodness. He knew they meant well, Herrs Schindler and Hutenbrenner, but the effort to accommodate their presence in his mind was physically exhausting, painful even. There had been someone with them, a mysterious looking gentleman, very quiet and unassuming. He was short and stout with curly hair and glasses. Was he imagining it or had he remembered his friend Schindler introducing him? If so, he had not caught his name. He recalled this strange fellow nodding to him nervously whilst he placed a portfolio on the far corner of his bed. Was he another of those confounded lawyers coming to meddle in his affairs? His affairs were sorted, thank you very much, no more portfolios. His latest annuity would keep him until the very end, so that his nephew might inherit his estate.
His breathing became more shallow to avoid the pain of coughing as he tried to shift his shoulders up against the bedstead. All of his body was wracked by a dull persistent aching as the cirrhosis affected the surrounding muscle tissue. When he finally managed to sit up, he turned slowly to the cabinet on the right side and reached for the bottle of imported laudanum that Herr Hutenbrenner had kindly brought with him. He raised it to his lips and drank a small mouthful of the soothing liquid, slowly swilling it around his mouth before swallowing. Was that enough? he wondered. He examined the bottle carefully but could not find any instructions. He took another drink, screwed the lid back on and placed the bottle back on the cabinet and waited. Fifteen minutes later a warm glow began to engulf him as the opium and alcohol took effect. He lay back and drank in the comforting sensation, almost floating. He was ready now.
He gently rose, gripping the bedside cabinet for support. When he was upright he stood firm, waiting for any sign that he might either fall or faint. The laudanum made him feel pleasant but weak and slightly giddy and he knew he couldn’t afford the chance that he might fall. He slowly raised both hands and reached for the large oak beam on the sloped ceiling, carefully avoiding possible splinters, and started to walk towards the commode past the foot of the bed. He knew that once he had finished his business he could relax more, maybe take another drink of that glorious beverage. As he sat above the basin, he noticed rhythmic vibrations in the wooden door as someone knocked. He desperately wished it was the maid and not more visitors.
“Nicht jetzt! Ich benutze die Toilette,“ he cried.
The door stopped vibrating.
When he had finished, he washed himself in the porcelain dish that had been left there by his maid and made his way back to bed. Once he was sitting up comfortably he took a large slug of the laudanum and reached for the portfolio that Schindler’s friend had brought. I might as well have a look at it, he thought. Not that it’s much use to me now.
Upon opening it, he was annoyed. Why, why, why, he thought, looking down at the handwritten music, must I spend my final hours looking at people’s work for them?
After five minutes of reading he understood everything, and a smile erupted as he thought of his dear friend Schindler. The mysterious bespectacled gentleman had not presented his work for mere proof-reading. Oh no, these fine songs had been given to him for his own pure and personal pleasure.
“Ah Herr Schubert, besitzen Sie den göttlichen Funken,” he said aloud.
Yes indeed, he thought. Schubert, you have the divine spark, my gifted friend. He continued to read.
Vienna – March 1827
The grey-haired, emaciated figure awoke gently and surveyed the room slowly. They had left, thank goodness. He knew they meant well, Herrs Schindler and Hutenbrenner, but the effort to accommodate their presence in his mind was physically exhausting, painful even. There had been someone with them, a mysterious looking gentleman, very quiet and unassuming. He was short and stout with curly hair and glasses. Was he imagining it or had he remembered his friend Schindler introducing him? If so, he had not caught his name. He recalled this strange fellow nodding to him nervously whilst he placed a portfolio on the far corner of his bed. Was he another of those confounded lawyers coming to meddle in his affairs? His affairs were sorted, thank you very much, no more portfolios. His latest annuity would keep him until the very end, so that his nephew might inherit his estate.
His breathing became more shallow to avoid the pain of coughing as he tried to shift his shoulders up against the bedstead. All of his body was wracked by a dull persistent aching as the cirrhosis affected the surrounding muscle tissue. When he finally managed to sit up, he turned slowly to the cabinet on the right side and reached for the bottle of imported laudanum that Herr Hutenbrenner had kindly brought with him. He raised it to his lips and drank a small mouthful of the soothing liquid, slowly swilling it around his mouth before swallowing. Was that enough? he wondered. He examined the bottle carefully but could not find any instructions. He took another drink, screwed the lid back on and placed the bottle back on the cabinet and waited. Fifteen minutes later a warm glow began to engulf him as the opium and alcohol took effect. He lay back and drank in the comforting sensation, almost floating. He was ready now.
He gently rose, gripping the bedside cabinet for support. When he was upright he stood firm, waiting for any sign that he might either fall or faint. The laudanum made him feel pleasant but weak and slightly giddy and he knew he couldn’t afford the chance that he might fall. He slowly raised both hands and reached for the large oak beam on the sloped ceiling, carefully avoiding possible splinters, and started to walk towards the commode past the foot of the bed. He knew that once he had finished his business he could relax more, maybe take another drink of that glorious beverage. As he sat above the basin, he noticed rhythmic vibrations in the wooden door as someone knocked. He desperately wished it was the maid and not more visitors.
“Nicht jetzt! Ich benutze die Toilette,“ he cried.
The door stopped vibrating.
When he had finished, he washed himself in the porcelain dish that had been left there by his maid and made his way back to bed. Once he was sitting up comfortably he took a large slug of the laudanum and reached for the portfolio that Schindler’s friend had brought. I might as well have a look at it, he thought. Not that it’s much use to me now.
Upon opening it, he was annoyed. Why, why, why, he thought, looking down at the handwritten music, must I spend my final hours looking at people’s work for them?
After five minutes of reading he understood everything, and a smile erupted as he thought of his dear friend Schindler. The mysterious bespectacled gentleman had not presented his work for mere proof-reading. Oh no, these fine songs had been given to him for his own pure and personal pleasure.
“Ah Herr Schubert, besitzen Sie den göttlichen Funken,” he said aloud.
Yes indeed, he thought. Schubert, you have the divine spark, my gifted friend. He continued to read.
Simon Godden's Blog
My Year of Hell
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 1:42am 7 Comments 0 Likes
Hi everyone, for all those in the dark as what exactly has been happening, I decided to write to the Guardian "Experiences" with the following:
"From the age of 17, apart from my years at University studying music, I had always worked. And then at 42, I developed a permanent condition known as 'Primary Lymphodoema Tarda' (cause unknown) and had to give up work. This debilitating condition causes my legs to retain water and swell from the feet upwards. It is very…
Continue My present health
Posted on November 26, 2011 at 3:54am 4 Comments 0 Likes
Well... after some nerve racking skin grafting surgery, it appears that my leg will remain free from amputation. The operation was a partial success (after painful complications), and I'm pleased to say that the ulcers are healing (slowly but surely). The only part of my foot that is having problems is the toe next to my big toe, and it doesn't matter how large or numerous the ulcers are, the pain always seems the same (unbearable). However, I'm still being dosed up with morphine etc, and…
ContinueComment Wall (33 comments)
- At 8:50pm on May 13, 2013,
Kristofer Emerig said… Simon,
Where are you?
- At 5:11am on November 22, 2011, Andrew Gleibman said…
Simon, glad to see you back! I wish you full recovery, and continue with your beautiful muisic!
- At 1:12pm on November 9, 2011,
Sylvester Wager said… Your courage is inspiring to us all. Lots of great works come out of time spent attending to life's (major) setbacks. Take care.
- At 7:54pm on August 24, 2011,
Paulo cesar Maia de Aguiar (Br) said… - Amazing works !!!
- At 8:37am on June 23, 2011,
Chris Rodier said… - Hi simon!
I admire your work and I think you might be able to help O___O. I'm having some troubles with transitions and making my phrases "long enough" - What are your opinions on how long phrases should be and how short is too short? And what advice do you have for transitions between major phrases?
- At 12:50pm on April 4, 2011,
Doug Lauber said… - Good luck with getting your Symphony out to print! That's exciting. East-West is supposed to be very good, so I'm looking forward to hearing how you use it.... Hang in there.
- At 2:11pm on February 7, 2011,
Marek Klučka said… - Hi Simon, I have to say I really enjoy Second Movement of your symphony. My English isn't so good to explain what I really feel ( and I have much to say - also about Requiem ). But nice work!
- At 11:28am on November 17, 2010, Doug Lauber said…
- Requiem- You are so prolific! On a technical level, I liked the choral samples- what were they? I liked the composition most around the 4:00 mark, although the string section samples could be better- what samples did you use there? Excellent composition and thanks for posting it!
- At 10:02am on October 5, 2010,
Tombo Rombo said… - Just listened to the 4th mvmnt of your symphony, impressive! I am envious of your ability to write a 14 minute piece and keep it engaging throughout. I particularly like the metrical ambiguity of the "do-re-me, me-re-do" ostinato, my perception keeps oscillating between 1e&, 2e& and &a1 &a2. Reminds me of the first movement of Beethoven's 7th in that way. Bravo!
- At 3:27pm on September 29, 2010,
Bill Ricci said… - April Market is one of my favs. Very clever use of basses. All your work is enticing! Very enjoyable!
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