I have created this site in order to provide performers, listeners and composers with a description of a composer's experiences with the creative process. The posts will provide discussions of the inspirations, challenges, and successes of a composer from the inception of the piece to the culmination in performance. I will provide a link to where you can see and hear the works in progress. Comments and questions are always welcomed. They will not posted unless you grant me permission.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
High Desert Apparitions for Soprano Sax and Piano 3rd Movement
This
is the third movement of a composition for soprano saxophone and piano,called High Desert Apparitions, being written as a result of a commissioning consortium. It is in three movements at a graduate or professional level. The first movement is called Shapeshifters (Skinwalkers or yee naaldlooshii). These are evil creatures that appear as humans or as animals. This movement would have the piano representing the human form and the saxophone representing various animals. The second movement is Mirages. This movement is ethereal with an interplay of soft sustained notes between instruments. The last movement is Ancestral Spirits. This movement uses Native American sounding melodic lines and would be uplifting in character. The composition would be 8-10 minutes in length. For more information about the consortium, please visit http://cooppress.net
Ancient Spirits is in two sections. The slower opening is atmospheric, evoking images of Native
American flutes calling to the ancient spirits. The second section is chant-like and is influenced by
recordings of Navajo Yeibichai songs. A Yeibichai is a supernatural represented by a masked dancer in an initiation or curative ceremony. The piano chords are dissonant and steady imitating the sound of drums. While the music is repetitive, there are subtle changes to the melodic material as well as the accompanying chords.
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