Movement 3

Movement 3 is titled "Lake Atitlán" after the deep blue volcanic lake. I began by looking for some deep and rich rolled chordal sounds. I started with the interval of a perfect fifth in each hand and then began moving the parts to create the rest of the harmony and melody. The chord progression is non-traditional. The 3/4 cadence chord at measure 8breaks up the 4/4 pattern. I then started to hear a syncopated 16th note ostinato pattern that was used in measure 9. The rolled melodic idea enters in measure ten. I wanted the ostinato effect to continue, but I made smaller intervals so that it could be played with the left hand only. This section builds in intensity by repeating measures 12 - 15 up a fifth at measures 16 - 19. The 5/4 measure at 15 again breaks the 4/4 pattern as does the 2/4 measures in this section. Measure 22 ushers in a repeat of the opening measures up an octave and slightly varied, climaxing in measures 25 and 26 before relaxing into the 16th note ostinato idea at measure 33. Measures 10 - 19 are repeated next, but the octaves are changed and the idea is slightly varied. The ending shifts the listener's ear to a new tonality as the memory of the lake fades into the distance.

I envision soft mallets throughout this movement so that the strokes of the rolls are not very prominent. Unfortunately MIDI doesn't have mallet options, so the movement sounds choppier than the way I hear it. Imagine a deep blue lake with the image of a volcanic mountain reflecting on its surface for the sustained sections and sunlight glistening off the waves for the 16th note sections.


To see and hear what is discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/guatemayablog.html

Dr. B