Poetics Movement 3

A triolet is the inspiration for the third movement and it is the first rhyming poem that I am including. There are 8 lines in this pattern; A, B, rhyme with A, A, rhyme with A, rhyme with B, A, B. Once more I used one of my own poetic creations for the programmatic aspect. It is a triolet about creativity and it reflects the creative process of my wife, Anita, when making polymer clay jewelry.

Creativity Triolet by Sy Brandon ©2011 Sy Brandon

Ladybugs upon a leaf
Or a monarch butterfly
Nature's colors, my belief
Ladybugs upon a leaf.
Creating jewelry can give me grief
But mostly I get high.
Ladybugs upon a leaf
Or a monarch butterfly.

I am free with adhering to both the line delineation and the rhyme scheme of the poem. The double bass begins the movement with serene arpeggios in fifths and fourths reflecting the serenity of nature. The viola flits about like a lady bug or butterfly from m. 2-9 representing the first two lines of the poem. M. 10 - 21 reflects the third line with a soaring idea that is treated imitatively and chromatic passage that moves in contrary motion. M. 22-27 uses the first part of m. 2-9 to create a rhyme A.

M. 28-34 has both a change of tempo and meter. There is no evidence of rhyming with A as the musical material is very different because it is reflecting the building of frustration when one tries to create and it is not going well. The repetitive viola sextuplet, the enlarging of the double bass chords, and the growth in dynamics are all symbolic of the trial and error process of creativity. M. 35-40 represent line six with a lyrical melody and implied lush harmony. The softening of the dynamics at the end of this section is a relaxation of the high before repeating M. 1-9 (the first two lines of the poem) and arriving at a pleasing, quiet ending.

I am now using flip pdf technology for the musical examples that go along with my posts. It uses Flash Player that most browsers come with. You will be hearing an mp3 of sampled sounds playing the music and you will see the score at the same time. You will need to turn the pages by clicking on the arrows at the appropriate time. To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/poetics_blog.html.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Dr. B