For movement 2, I chose Di Tanjung Katong for the basis of this movement. I heard two different versions on youtube, one was slow and the other fast and I preferred the slower performance as it was hauntingly beautiful. Once again, the beauty of the music lies in its simplicity of melody and harmony and I wanted to preserve that quality, yet put my own individual stamp on it.
The first thing I did was to change the meter from 4/4 to 7/8 to give it a slight "lilt" quality. In addition, the opening is rubato, which further disguises the strictness of tempo. This becomes the opening A (m. 1-17) of an ABA form.
The B section is a passacaglia (m. 18- 49). I created passacaglia theme from the melody of the first eight measures by taking only the most essential notes (creating an outline of the melody) and changing the meter to 6/8. I then build a set of four variations on top of the passacaglia theme. A concern arose after I completed this section regarding the regularity of the rhythm. I went back and put more dotted notes in and that help solve the problem. The climax of this section and the movement is the minor/chromatic passacaglia variation at m. 42-49.
The final A section elaborates the 7/8 treatment of the theme with flourishes and triplets before ending with a slower version in a lower register.
To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/Phantasie_on_Singaporean_Folksongs_blog.html. You can view and hear the score if Scorch is downloaded on your computer and/or listen to the mp3 file.
As always, your comments are appreciated.
Dr. B
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