I have completed my piano trio and have finished the editing process. I am extremely pleased with this work as it is my first piano trio and one of my longest works to date. It feels great accomplishing this feat! This semester's seminar class was awesome and I received much helpful feedback on the trio. Everyone has produced great pieces and I'm looking forward to hearing more from each of these composers!
This is my last blog post for both the semester and my undergraduate degree. Over the past few years my compositional skills have been greatly enhanced and developed under the amazing mentorship of both Dr. Ross and Dr. Staniland. They have expanded my compositional language and have opened my eyes to new ideas and possibilities. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to study with these great musicians and people. Even though I will be pursuing a Master's degree in performance starting this fall, composing is a passion of mine and I will take and use all of the compositional knowledge I have learned throughout my undergraduate degree!!
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Last Class of the Semester and Nearing the End
Yesterday was the last composition class for the semester and my last presentation in the course. I presented most of the last movement of my piano trio and received great feedback. I was pleased that the dark, gloomy and dreadful atmosphere I was going for came across to the class. Dr. Ross suggested that I lengthen out the rhythmic values in the "timeless section," a suggestion I really like. I went back and incorporated this idea and it really works well and it makes the whole section much more effective and evocative. I am now in the final stages of finishing the piece and will be going back to the other movements to do some score editing and final touches in the next couple of days. Looking forward to finishing this work!
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Third Movement of Piano Trio
I have just completed the second movement of my piano trio and have made much progress with the third movement this week. The final movement of my trio depicts the lowest three rings in hell according to Dante: Violence, Fraud and Treachery. Dante considers these sins to be the worst ones any person could commit. Therefore, they are located in the darkest part of hell.
Unlike the first and second movements which are highly energized and forceful for the most part, the third movement completely contrasts this atmosphere. I have subtitled the movement "The Frozen Lair," which is in reference to the lowest ring of hell (Treachery). Those persons condemned to this ring are fully or partially submerged in ice, depending on the severity of their sin, and they are unable to move. This movement attempts to evoke this feeling of constraint and stillness through static melodic lines and space in terms of time and musical texture. The piano creates a dark and mysterious atmosphere through use of extended techniques on the strings inside the piano. While I will reference Violence and Treachery in the places where the intensity builds, this movement will mostly focus on the final ring. The form is two large sections. The first depicts the rings and the second will be an epilogue (parallel to the opening prologue in the first movement). The epilogue will have a solemn atmosphere (mourning all of the dead souls) and will end on a slightly optimistic note (depicting Dante and Virgil's ascent out of hell and upward toward purgatory). I am presenting my progress on the third movement this week in class and looking forward to the feedback.
Unlike the first and second movements which are highly energized and forceful for the most part, the third movement completely contrasts this atmosphere. I have subtitled the movement "The Frozen Lair," which is in reference to the lowest ring of hell (Treachery). Those persons condemned to this ring are fully or partially submerged in ice, depending on the severity of their sin, and they are unable to move. This movement attempts to evoke this feeling of constraint and stillness through static melodic lines and space in terms of time and musical texture. The piano creates a dark and mysterious atmosphere through use of extended techniques on the strings inside the piano. While I will reference Violence and Treachery in the places where the intensity builds, this movement will mostly focus on the final ring. The form is two large sections. The first depicts the rings and the second will be an epilogue (parallel to the opening prologue in the first movement). The epilogue will have a solemn atmosphere (mourning all of the dead souls) and will end on a slightly optimistic note (depicting Dante and Virgil's ascent out of hell and upward toward purgatory). I am presenting my progress on the third movement this week in class and looking forward to the feedback.
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