Symphony No. 1: Dream Dialogs

2.2.2.2 / 4.2.3.1 / timp.3 perc.harp.pno / strings
22’00”

composed 2013
premiered by the Fresno State Symphony Orchestra (Fresno, California)

Composer’s Note

Music is considered a fundamental part of our human existence. There is not a single culture on our planet that lacks music. Some scholars describe music as a "universal language," capable of transcending all other languages. However, while it can be easily demonstrated that music communicates on an emotional level, what it specifically communicates is abstract and non-translatable. We can listen to music and appreciate its beauty, its intensity, or its subtlety - but we cannot directly translate it into a story without superimposing another language through either written or sung words. My Symphony No. 1 is inspired by this innate property of music to speak on a completely abstract and non-literal level. The form of each of the three movements is generated by taking this property and interjecting dialog patterns found in three very different forms of communication. The resulting music takes on an other-worldly quality, at once recognizable as a dialog, and yet completely distant and incomprehensible, as if taking place in a dream.

The first movement of the Symphony, “Thought in Process”, is inspired by patterns of thought that mimic my own personal inner-dialog. The movement begins with a collection of incomplete motives, representing partial thoughts flitting in and out of consciousness. Over the course of the first section, a single motive emerges as a principle idea. This idea becomes an obsession, a musical thought that refuses to vanish regardless of the presence of other ideas. The music builds in intensity, utilizing repetition and ostinato as a way to highlight and enhance the obsession, pushing it forward towards an aggressive and agitated climax. After an explosion of frustration, the music slowly calms down and retreats back to the quietude that began the movement.

“Spinning Yarns,” the second movement, is inspired by the jazz concept of "trading fours" in which the drummer performs a series of brief solos that alternate with solos by the rest of the ensemble. This concept is related to the musical tradition of "call and response," a method of music-making that directly imitates human dialog. Unlike traditional trading fours, the call and response found in this movement is between all sections of the orchestra, not just the percussion (although the trading does begin there). The form of the movement is divided up into three large sections, which can be further divided into thirteen separate "strands." Each of these strands, with the exception of the middle seventh one, is presented in varied repetition by different sections of the orchestra. The three larger sections represent a more traditional arch form (ABA'), with the two A sections each mirroring one another and the B section representing a mid-point climax of the work.

The third movement, “At a Loss for Words,” is both the most programmatic and emotional of the three movements. The form of the movement loosely mirrors a made-up conversation between two unidentified individuals. The conversation is difficult to understand, although it is clear that there is a emotional conflict between the two parties. This conflict builds organically, slowly introducing musical material in a hesitating and careful manner, and intensifying as "details of the dialog" emerge through thematic development. An "argument" ensues in the middle section of the movement, represented by a sudden increase in overall intensity and a quicker tempo. The argument builds until one voice explodes through a rather frantic and uncontrolled trombone solo. This explosion of anger is followed by a surprising moment of understanding between the two parties. A peaceful and introverted song that incorporates both voices concludes the movement, interrupted ever-so-briefly by a fleeting but intrusive thought from the first movement.

Dream Journal: A Symphonic Blog