NEW CHAMBER MUSIC
ABHANDENGEKOMMEN
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Variations for Orchestra
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Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2 - 4.2.3.1 - pno, timp, 2 perc. str
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Duration: 20'
Program Note
Currently in progress, this piece adheres to the classic variations format, but only to a point. The Theme first appeared in a set for flute, clarinet, cello and piano, titled "Four Little Jokes." True to the original title, what became the Theme for this piece is quirky, snarky, and doesn't take itself seriously (the score marking says: "With Character).
What follows is a more indepth examination of a "variation." In the traditional sense, variations would include shifting the theme from major to minor, simple to compound time, would include some slight rhythmic variations, or go so far as to present the theme in inversion, or retrograde. What I've done, however, is pick apart the entire Theme movement - accompaniment, harmonic progression, countmelodies, rhythmic figures - and have constructed a series of short pieces around each fragment.