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Indistinct

Awakenings

Winner of the 2009 Kansas Music Educator's

Association Composition Contest

Completed in 2008

Duration: 13 minutes

For: Picc, 2 Fl, 2 Ob, E Hn, 3 Cl, Bs Cl, 2 Bsn, C Bsn (opt.), 

2 Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax,

3 Tpt, 4 Hn, 3 Tbn, Euph, Tuba, Timp, Pno, 6 Perc (only 2 for mvmt 1)

 

1. Myst - BV West Symphonic Band
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Premiered April 2008 in Leawood, KS

Blue Valley West High School Symphonic Band

Dr. Craig Miller, conductor

II. Dew - MIDI
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     Myst is a slow, flowing reactionary statement to the morning. With this movement, I depicted the calm mist that hangs over the earth in the morning. While writing, I also realized that this mist-- this phenomenon of nature, is also very mysterious. Thus, that's where the name of the piece came from. No it is not a typo, I wanted to capture both the subtle beauty and mysterious nature of the morning mist.

The piece starts out very calmly in the low voices of the band and builds to a climax that quickly decays back into just woodwind colors. The woodwinds have a chorale that is soon joined by the brass and everything builds to a fermata on a suspended tonic chord with an included resolution. The result of having the third and fourth present in the chord creates an ethereal atmosphere, much like the mist in the morning.

     The piece then moves into an elegiac B section I wrote in honor of a close family friend who had recently passed away at the time. The theme first stated in the solo clarinet presents itself many times throughout the rest of the piece. The constant repitition of the melody represents my own questions about death. After a modulations up a whole step, the piece moves into a much more rhythmic C section.

     The metric excel fanfare heard in four separate sections of the band represents the anticipation of the coming dawn. This idea then unfolds into an understated dance which leads to a false climax at measure 92. Then the recapitulation of the beginning idea throws us into the coda.

     The coda is a flowing crescendo. All of the melodic and harmonic ideas intertwine and build to the climax at 120. At this moment the sun has risen and the earth begins to rejoice. The festivity soon subsides and the gentle nature of the newborn dawn caresses the listener in faint woodwind and brass colors.

     The elegiac B Theme is sounded once more, but ends on the suspension of the tonic chord. This sets up the band to play the tonic chord with the included suspension letting the piece end on an unresolved note. It's almost a question as to what the next day will bring.

     The bass drum roll segues right into the second movement titled, Dew. This movement is based on a chorale first stated by the clarinet section at the beginning. The members of the band soon join in the chorale and hurtle the piece into a frenzy of activity. While writing, I imagined the dew on the grass throwing the sun's rays in all different directions. Almost like a dance of light.

     The piece moves into an ostinato pattern heard in the saxes and clarinets. The pattern firmly says F major with its basis on the F major triad, but the melody and bass voices at letter C are in d minor, the relative key of F major. This gives the melody a kind of ambiguity that creates a very mysterious mood. Percussive elements are used heavily in this piece and the next part of the piece is a percussive variation on the ostinato pattern heard before.

     The tone then becomes much lighter and the chorale theme is heard in juxtaposition with the ostinato theme from before. The piece then recapitulates and comes to an early climax of the chorale theme. The harmonic ideas and techniques in this section are very much like Myst.

     A much slower C section features solo flute and horn with colors provided by the mid voiced woodwinds and trumpets. An homage to Myst is heard just before letter K before a restatement of the d minor theme. This theme hurtles into an explosive and rhythmically intense portion of the piece.

     The purpose of this section is to transition from d minor to an explicit F major. The dramatic shift from the bass note D to the note F provides a direct modulation to a new key. Woodwind flourishes push the piece into an F major exultation. The ostinato from before is heard in an altered form in the marimba and piano coupled with the woodwinds. Then the double time ostinato is stated in juxtaposition with the halftime chorale. The climax is heightened by the hemiolas in the percussion.

     The twelve eight coda is a final statement as all the themes combine in a dramatic end to the suite. The sound pyramid at letter T pushes the piece to the final tonic chord which, much like Myst, has an included suspension. The brevity of the last note allows the dissonant colors of the penultimate chord to resound in an unresolved manner thus giving a heavenly quality to the events that have just played out.

This suite has gone through many drafts and revisions, but the final product is one of beauty, glory, power, and strength. Please enjoy my depiction of an Indistinct Awakening.

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