Three Movements for Orchestra
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Abstract
Three Movements for Orchestra was composed in 2011-2012. It is scored for symphony orchestra, and has a total duration of approximately 17 minutes. Three Movements for Orchestra represents a stylistic shift in my work, moving away from a dense, highly chromatic, gestural language in favor of music featuring more repetition , more clearly articulated meter, a leaner (though still quite chromatic) harmonic vocabulary, and a more limiting approach to musical material.
The first movement opens with a descending semitone motive that pervades much of the rest of the work. The movement develops similar material in two contrasting styles; the first approach is more outwardly expressive, characterized by sweeping, scalar figures and long lines, while the second builds on motivic repetition and block-like orchestration to create an almost mechanical effect. The movement intensifies as the contrasting materials work themselves together, culminating in a fast, coda-like passage built on a sequence of the opening motive.
The second movement opens with a long melody, first heard in the horn and bassoon, and later passed through various instruments. There is a middle section of similar character, but contrasting material, which builds intensity through imitation as the same material is layered upon itself in an increasingly dense orchestral fabric.
The final movement features short motives characterized by rhythmic accent and syncopation. The material is built around a strong sense of pulse, but the pulse itself is often absent from the music itself, leaving only syncopated material. The effect is something like a dance, but one that is hampered by metric shifts and motivic
interruptions that sometimes stall the momentum of the piece.
Description
Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston University
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