Tracing Arcs
| Year | 2011 |
| Time | 10:07 |
| Size | 13.8 MB |
Tracing Arcs is my largest project to date in terms of duration, instrumentation, and structural scope. It’s my first piece for a full orchestra, and it’s been the central focus for my first three semesters of graduate school. It could best be described as a symphonic poem, a single movement divided in this case into four disparate sections. First, a lush, neo-romantic introduction that establishes the primary motive; next, a brisk, rhythmic postminimalist section; third, a tuba cadenza; and finally, a sweeping conclusion that ends in a whisper.
Each of these sections is concerned with its own version of the initial motive. It first appears as interlocked thirds, and eventually becomes a fourth and fifth, two sevenths, and two (heavily disguised) ninths. This sense of rising and broadening is the catalyst for the piece’s variation process. Note also that the division between the first and second pair of structural sections occurs at about 6:11, which conforms to the principle of the golden ratio.
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Tags: brass, cello, clarinet, electronic, flute, horn, orchestra, piano, strings, tuba, violin