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ENDLESSLY ROCKING
(2004)
was written for and commissioned by New
Life on Stage, an annual festival for amateur brass and wind bands in the
Netherlands, in conjunction with the publishers Mansarda
Sintra, Hilversum. It is based on a poem by Walt Whitman that begins with
the line 'Out of the cradle endlessly rocking' (1881), referring to a revelatory
experience by the seaside. The work was intended – and
ultimately written – for the level of a
grade-5 wind band. Although its first performers may not be selected from that
category of performing ability, I believe that, in time, Endlessly
Rocking should find its way into their repertoire as soon as a good
recording is available and familiarity with the music can readily be obtained
from it. This depends, of course, on the skills of good and adventurous conductors,
unafraid to tackle a more unusual language or idiom, and confident that, in the
final analysis, musicians can be seduced by the quality and power of the music
itself. As the orchestra is pitched
at grade 5, I assumed the choir to be in the same league. Initially,
the piece might benefit from a debut performance by a choir which can do justice
to its potential; but ultimately
the music's rhythms and harmonies should sit comfortably within their range and
musical appreciation. They follow the rhythms of the poem more or less
naturally, almost without exception. As the lyrics are very much in free verse,
the lines are flexible and vary constantly, unrestricted by the rigidity of
strict rhyme. This was one of the qualities of Whitman's poetry that appealed to me as it
would guarantee great flexibility in the design of the music. Because the orchestra is a full-sized wind band, a matching volume of singers is required to create a fair balance. However, I have avoided the use of tutti in the orchestra as much as possible for reasons of both transparency and instrumental coloring. A
performance is scheduled for November 2005. Back to |
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