Lexicon No. 1 - 2nd Movement - Oxymoron

This the second movement of four of a composition for SATB Saxophone Quartet and Piano. It is commissioned by Louis Sinoff. I am calling the composition Lexicon No. 1 because each movement will be a musical definition of an interesting word. I envision that there will be many more "Lexicon" compositions in my future.

The word for the second movement is Oxymoron. Its definition is "opposite ideas that don't fit; incongruous." My inspiration is the phrase "melancholy gladness," To represent this oxymoron musically, I use two contrasting sections, the first in an Andante tempo (A) and the second in an Allegro tempo (B). The form is ABA'B'A''B''.

The oxymoron goes beyond the contrasting sections. There are incongruous elements within the sections as well. The A section is in 3/4 and the melody follows that pattern. The accompaniment however uses triplets against the duplets of the melody and the harmonic rhythm, exemplified by the right hand of the piano, is in a hemiola pattern of 2/4.

The Allegro "Gladness" section has a melody and bass line that suggest one set of chords and the inner voices doing another set of chords. The harmony doesn't quite fit the melody and bass line. In the second B section, modulation is used to add to the gladness.

The movement ends with a measure of the melancholy followed by two measures of gladness that once again emphasizes the oxymoron.

After composing this movement, I decided to create a poem to go along with it. Here it is:

Oxymorons of my psyche

Buried beneath the surface

Id, ego and super-ego

Wage unwinnable wars

Anima and Animus mirror

Masculine and feminine

Traits waiting to be discovered

As life unfolds

Yin and Yang interconnect

Creating perfect balance

If allowed to prevail

Over surface turmoil

My melancholy floats

Over contrasting rhythms

A shroud of doubt

Added to my sadness

Then gladness bursts forth

The sun shinning through

A break in the clouds

Dancing in major-colored skirts

I often wonder

Which is the real me

The oxymoron of life

Imprisons my soul

Below is the transposed score and sampled sounds in video format. Your comments are always welcomed.

Dr. B

Lexicon No. 1 - 1st Movement - Rambunctious

This the first movement of four of a composition for SATB Saxophone Quartet and Piano. It is commissioned by Louis Sinoff. I am calling the composition Lexicon No. 1 because each movement will be a musical definition of an interesting word. I envision that there will be many more "Lexicon" compositions in my future.

The word for the first movement is Rambunctious. Its definition is "difficult to control and wildly boisterous." To represent this definition musically, I chose a Vivace tempo in duple meter. The meter changes frequently and contains a lot of syncopation and hemiola, as if the music can't contain itself to a meter pattern.

The movement has a relentless energy and is mostly at a forte dynamic. While I can delineate a form (ABCAB), the contrast is more of mood and texture instead of musical material. Motifs are used freely between sections and develop symphonically, thus making them the same but different. The canonic middle section (C) is wildly boisterous because of the five imitative lines over an ostinato bass.

After composing this movement, I decided to create a poem to go along with it. Here it is:

Rambunctious is a scrumptious word

That rolls around my tongue

Rapscallion sounds are often heard

And playful tunes are sung

Scampering chords set the mood

Syncopated rhythms abound

Down and up the melody feuds

Playful turbulence all around

An instigator emerges from the pack

Others begin to follow

Maybe the leader should be on Prozac

To control the urge to wallow

Scampering chords and syncopated rhythms

Become more boisterous and wild

Wondering what can be done with him

How to control this unruly child

Below is the transposed score and sampled sounds in video format. Your comments are always welcomed.

Dr. B

Travelogue Movement 3 - The Alhambra

This is the third movement of a composition being composed as a result of a woodwind quintet commissioning consortium. The title of the piece is Travelogue and is an aural representation of interesting places from around the world. The places to be represented are the Sailing on the Mediterranean Sea, Rocky Mountain Starlight, and the Alhambra. The composition would be 10-12 minutes total. For more information about the consortium. please visit http://cooppress.net

I tried to create a movement that represents the strength of this famous fortress that has stood for hundreds of years through occupations of different powers. The movement has Spanish flavor because of the use of the Phrygian mode with its characteristic lowered second degree. The movement appears to be in A minor because of the key signature and the way the melodic line starts out, but the tonality and modality constantly shift over the the descending bass line that is 4,3,2,1 in the Phrygian mode.

There are three main thematic sections in this movement and each constantly vary. These thematic sections appear to use similar melodic ideas, but they are different in key and mood. Think of m. 4-11 as A and m. 22-30 as B. There is also a canonic section from m. 40-47 that we can call C. The resulting form is AA'BB'CB''A''A'''A''''B'''C''B''''A'''''Coda. Beginning at m. 80, the music seems quite different because of the running 16th notes, but it is really variants of the three sections.

Another key ingredient that is a constant yet also varies is the four note cadence idea at the end of each section. Notice how this is varied by repeating itself, changing key, elongating the rhythm, and the use of rests. When it elongates, it has the characteristic Spanish two feel against the 3 feel.

Below is the transposed score and sampled sounds in video format. Your comments are always welcomed.

Dr. B

Travelogue Movement 2 - Rocky Mountain Starlight

This is the second movement of a composition being composed as a result of a woodwind quintet commissioning consortium. The title of the piece is Travelogue and is an aural representation of interesting places from around the world. The places to be represented are the Sailing on the Mediterranean Sea, Rocky Mountain Starlight, and the Alhambra. The composition would be 10-12 minutes total. For more information about the consortium. please visit http://cooppress.net

This movement is in ABABA form. The instrumentation of the musical material changes in the A sections but is similar in the B sections. To add variety, there are differences in tempo and dynamics. In addition, the movement should be performed with rubato. I have written in the major places where rubato occurs, but the performers should feel free to add more. In other words, the tempo should be very liquid.

The movement is modal, polytonal at times, chromatic at times, lyrical, and has interweaving lines. The accompaniment is homophonic at the beginning and the end and frequently arpeggiated in the middle. All this adds up to a movement that reflects the wonder and beauty of a clear evening in the high elevations of the Rocky Mountains where one feels they could reach out and touch the stars.

Below is the transposed score and sampled sounds in video format. Your comments are always welcomed.

Dr. B

Travelogue Movement 1 - Sailing on the Mediterranean Sea

This is the first movement of a composition being composed as a result of a woodwind quintet commissioning consortium. The title of the piece is Travelogue and is an aural representation of interesting places from around the world. The places to be represented are the Sailing on the Mediterranean Sea, Rocky Mountain Starlight, and the Alhambra. The composition would be 10-12 minutes total. For more information about the consortium. please visit http://cooppress.net

This movement is very free in form representing the carefreeness of sailing in a sunny, warm climate. Most of this Moderato movement is very gentle. It reaches three climaxes where perhaps the wind becomes stronger adding excitement to the adventure. One is at measure 22, another at 58, and the last at 66.

The flow of the movement is interrupted at m. 8 by a staccato 16th note motive. This motive represents sun reflecting off of the wave crests and interrupts and permeates the movement as the movement progresses.

The harmony is tonal throughout and even though the movement appears to be in g minor, it is bright and sunny most of the time due to the frequent tonality and modality shifts, some use of mild polytonality, and counterpoint. At measure 32, the music echoes the previous measure but with minor modality. It is as if a cloud has drifted in front of the sun for a brief moment, darkening the sunny landscape.

Below is the transposed score and sampled sounds in video format. Your comments are always welcomed.

Dr. B