Download Phoenix Flight - DigitalCommons@Olin

Olin College of Engineering
DigitalCommons@Olin
2014 AHS Capstone Projects
AHS Capstone Projects
Fall 2014
Phoenix Flight
Kevin O'Toole
Olin College of Engineering, [email protected]
Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.olin.edu/ahs_capstone_2014
Part of the Composition Commons, and the Music Performance Commons
Recommended Citation
O'Toole, Kevin, "Phoenix Flight" (2014). 2014 AHS Capstone Projects. Paper 26.
http://digitalcommons.olin.edu/ahs_capstone_2014/26
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the AHS Capstone Projects at DigitalCommons@Olin. It has been accepted for inclusion in
2014 AHS Capstone Projects by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Olin. For more information, please contact
[email protected].
Phoenix Flight
Artist’s Statement
Background
While OCO generally plays music that has been reorchestrated to fit its instrumentation, almost everything OCO plays was originally intended for a different type of orchestra than our own. Some music is meant for small, 5­piece chamber groups. Other music is meant for large, 150­member orchestras. Nearly all our music was intended to be guided by a single conductor, rather than by the collective listening and movements of the group. Phoenix Flight, in contrast, is an original composition created specifically to highlight the unique aspects of Olin’s Conductorless Orchestra. Phoenix Flight was written as my AHS capstone, the culmination of Olin’s Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences program. In addition to showcasing the best qualities of our orchestra, a primary goal of the piece is to highlight the value of the capstone project, in providing the opportunity for even the most hard­set engineer to produce something non­trivial in the world of the arts. In particular, the audiences at each candidates’ weekend will get to see first­hand one of the reasons I chose Olin. At another school, I would not have been able to successfully audition into such a high­caliber orchestra, particularly with the time commitments that come with being an engineering student. At Olin, these opportunities are provided to all students, and composing this piece for this orchestra is the culmination of a musical endeavor that only Olin could provide. Introduction
Phoenix Flight is based on the novel The Phoenix and the Carpet, a children’s story written in 1904 by Edith Nesbit. The novel was chosen, in part, because of the ties of the Phoenix character back to Olin College. Olin’s mascot was chosen for a particular reason: a Phoenix represents a desire and willingness to tear down its old form, take in its new experiences and perspectives, and rise from the ashes, transformed. Olin’s values explicitly encourages these dramatic changes in its students and in the college as a whole, and this transformation from the novel is expressed in the form of this composition. Orchestral music based on works of literature are not uncommon, ranging from Listz’s compact Symphonic Poems to Tchaikovsky’s epic Romeo and Juliet1. These pieces generally fall into two distinct groups. Programmatic music sets out to take the audience on the full journey of the novel, recreating individual scenes from the work of literature, and provoking 1
Mueller, Rena Charin: Liszt's "Tasso" Sketchbook: Studies in Sources and Revisions, Ph. D. dissertation, New York University 1986. specific imagery. Absolute music attempts to represent many of the thematic elements of the story, but in a highly abstract sense, drawing inspiration, not direction, from the story.2 Phoenix Flight lies somewhere in between these categories. While the progression of the piece often corresponds with the chronological order, it is mainly meant as an artistic expression of the novel’s ideas, not a one­to­one correspondence to the linear progression of the book. Though the novel tells the story from the perspective of the children, the piece tells the story from the unique perspective of the Phoenix. The Phoenix is a majestic and powerful creature throughout the novel. However, at the novel’s start, the Phoenix is arrogant. He remains removed from the problems the children get themselves into, only to swoop in at the last minute and dramatically save the day. The children view him initially as a hero. However, in their final adventure, in a theater, they observe the Phoenix intentionally lighting their building on fire. With his nature revealed, they reject him as a companion. At the novel’s close, the phoenix parts with the children, having learned his lesson. Having aged considerably and exhausted himself emotionally, he informs the children that he has reached the end of his life. In a ceremonious ritual, he bursts into flames, to become renewed and reborn. These event are reflected in the piece’s finale, the phoenix theme becomes colored with elements of the children’s theme (as noted in the rebirth section). Piece Walkthrough
This section will serve as a listening guide to the piece, stepping through the individual sections, and examining their content chronologically. individual sections from the piece are Lullaby
The piece opens with an ethereal melody, reminiscent of a music box, in the glockenspiel part. The melody mirrors the lullaby that Anthea, the eldest daughter, sings to Lamb, the infant of the group. 'I love my little baby bear, I love his nose and hair; I like to hold him in my arm, And keep him safe and warm.' 2
Kennedy, Michael, "Absolute Music", "Program Music" and "Symphonic Poem", The Oxford Dictionary of Music (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1986, 1985). ISBN 0­19­311333­3≤ The upper melody is grounded in the distant­sounding tones of the marimba, as if connecting to a more ethereal land. Though this passage begins reminiscent of a nursery rhyme, it gradually evolves throughout the section. Birth
Emerging from resolution of the lullaby, the fire theme rears its head for the first time, as the time signature of the piece abruptly shifts to 4/4. The strings begin by building a tumultuous, underlying theme full of energy. Bursts of energy quickly arrive from the horns, in the form of increasingly cacophonous chords at sporadic rhythms. These blasts conclude with a sudden quieting and a shift to a 6/8 time signature: the entrance of the phoenix. The hemioliec3 structure emphasizes the increase in energy at each measure transition, as more and more voices join with each repetition. As quickly as it arrived, the fire theme is gone, as the children jump to this new adventure without hesitation. Carpet Ride
The carpet theme quickly introduces a calmer and more majestic feeling, as brief melodies travel between various instruments of the orchestra. Soon, the flute emerges This melody is taken by an even more serene solo in the baritone, playing a more subdued version of the carpet theme. Island Dance
The island dance is ushered in with a cello solo, accompanied by the snare drum. The underlying feel in this section is of a samba, where the beats lie according to the rhythm shown below: 3
Hemiola is characterized by measures alternating between beats of length 2 and beats of length 3. Here, pairs of dotted quarter notes (2 beats of 3 eighth notes) alternate with trios of quarter notes (three beats of 2 eighth notes) Flame
Eventually, the fire theme quickens the existing dance, and the blasts from the winds are the more cacophonous than before. This barrage represents the scene of the final disaster, in which the Phoenix releases the children from a burning building. The phoenix theme is played amidst the fire theme. Eventually, the hero theme emerges in the trumpet’s part. In the novel, this is the point where the children realize that the Phoenix started this fire to begin with. They arrive at the decision that they must get rid of the phoenix. What follows is an emotional confrontation in which the Phoenix realizes the extent of his own arrogance, and reflects on his experiences. Rebirth
The pace of the piece now slows dramatically, and slowly rise quarter notes play above a strong, unmoving A minor chord. The meter has lengthened to 8/4, and each measure feels substantially lengthened from fiery motion preceding this section. Each repetition of this rising expression only differentiates itself slightly from the last, a vicious cycle which almost refuses to become unstuck. However, the minor changes stick out. A long and slow accelerando drives this entire section. The drone underlying the passage switches from an A minor to an F major chord. Soon, elements emerge which have no precedent in the entire piece thus far. In what will become an unexpected merging of the underlying beats associated with the Phoenix (in 4), and the Children (in 3), we shift to 7/4 as the middle strings begin a concitato4 counterpoint to the main line. Finally, the progression culminates in change of key to D minor. In a sudden relief, the time signature shifts back to 4/4, the droning underlying tone becomes a fully expressed chord in the strings, and a variation on the phoenix melody returns in the new key, a perfect fourth above the original. The new melody is played as a solo, first in the first violin, and then in the cello. The modified phoenix theme explicitly takes pieces of the children’s theme. No longer is it dominated by the constant, static tonic. Rather, it has deliberate movement, flowing smoothly and evenly from note to note. Even the final phrase of the children’s lullaby, (C, C, B, G, A) appears in the transformed Phoenix theme. 4
Stile Concitato is a style of strings bowing multiple times (here, twice) on each note of a passage for a fuller and more dramatic sound. Though the theme is easily recognizable from earlier, its new color and intention embodies how the Phoenix, rising from the ashes, has changed from his new experience. Abstract Motifs
Throughout the piece, musical ideas take on specific roles in the aspects of the story that they represent. This connection is made through the use of abstract motifs and leitmotifs. An abstract motif (often called an abstract theme) is an idea which is explored for the duration of a piece and represented explicitly with a musical form5. In contrast to Leitmotifs, theme are often not necessarily distinguishable at particular moments in the piece. Rather, the combination of musical elements is intended to give rise to a particular set of thoughts and emotions in the audience. The two major abstract themes present in Phoenix Flight are best presented as conflict between contrasting ideals: arrogance against adventure, and wonderment against whimsy. Arrogance vs Adventure
The primary character flaw of the phoenix throughout the novel is his self­centered, arrogant attitude. This contrast manifests itself in a variety of musical forms Passages representing arrogance often contain an emphasis on the tonic A note in an A minor chord: the key of the majority of the piece. This is emphasized in the lower voices which lie static and unmoving. The adventure perspective features more dynamic and moving chords. This is highly evident in the many points in the piece with a transition from A minor to F Major, but also characterized by any passage with steadily progressing chords, dynamically moving with a purpose. One example of this contrast comes in the very beginning of the piece, in which the childrens theme is repeated three times. During the second repetition, shown below, the piece quickly becomes representative of adventure. Moving away from the constant A­minor chord, this section moves to D minor, then to F Major, G major, and A minor. 5
Schoenberg, Arnold. 1967. Fundamentals of Musical Composition. Edited by Gerald Strang, with an introduction by Leonard Stein. New York: St. Martin's Press. Reprinted 1985, London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0­571­09276­4. <http://is.muni.cz/el/1421/podzim2007/VH_53/Schoenberg_Fundamentals.pdf> Wonderment vs Whimsy
Both the novel and this piece deliver a rapid series of high­energy adventures to the audience. An inherent conflict in both is the question of whether to dwell in wonderment in the current adventure or to move on toward the next. One way that this contrast manifests itself in the piece is through various countermelodies. Whimsy is expressed through higher, quickly moving, flighty riffs (independent of the melody), while wonderment is expressed through powerful lower countermelodies, which strongly support the flow of the main melody. Another overarching contrast associated with this theme is time signatures. Often, wonderment is characterised by time signatures with a 4­feel (4/4, 2/2, and 8/4). Whimsy is characterized by time signatures with a 3­feel (3/4 and 6/8). Though the main theme of the children is represented in a 3­feel, elements of their theme does interact in passages of both whimsy and wonderment. The rebirth section falls into 7/4, which combines elements of past 3/4 and 4/4 riffs, an unexpected resolution of this disagreement. Leitmotifs
The leitmotif is a term originally coined by Richard Wagner, who famously wrote operas which used specific melodies and instruments to represent characters and recurring story elements. Children’s theme
The children are represented most prominently throughout the piece in the context in which they are introduced: the lullaby. The first appearance of this theme is at the opening of the piece, where its melody mimics Anthea’s lullaby from the novel. The theme is built upon the ascending, perfect fifth, which appears four times in the melody line. This perfect fifth, alone, is used to draw reference to the children at other points in the piece. For example, at the start of the carpet ride segment, the oboe plays an isoloated fifth from A to E (connected only briefly by D in the middle), harkening back to the lullaby and representing the children’s physical presence in the scene. Similarly, in the rebirth section, the new Phoenix theme is joined, in the first measure, by the glockenspiel, which played the original lullaby in the piece’s beginning. this represents the children’s emotional presence in the transformation that the phoenix has undergone. Fire theme
The fire theme contains fast, turbulent motion, in the melody, but with relatively little underlying chordal movement. This contrast builds anticipation, and a large desire for the passage to resolve into something else. In its first instantiation, the fire theme begins with rapid staccato note from the woodwinds, complemented by spicata from the strings. Often involved in this theme are dramatic, accented hits from the brass section. These hits are short and their placement is syncopated. The hits are often colored with notes only tangentially in the space supported by the underlying chord, but they are short enough that the discordant effect sparks and does not linger. These notes represent the chaotic pattern of flames leaping up: dramatic and unpredictable. Carpet Theme
The character of the carpet contrasts most other elements in this piece. It’s theme is flowing and free, and, when placed after an exciting section, the theme offers a calm relief. The theme itself is highly melodic, and in different manifestations, it may tie in elements of either wonder or whimsy. Hero Theme
The hero theme occurs directly after the two instances of fire on the children’s adventures. The theme itself directly represents the Phoenix’s flamboyant representation of himself as a savior. In the first instantiation, it is played by the flute, and the second instance is a trumpet solo. Each instance has a triumphant, major tone, and draws focus directly to a single player. Phoenix Theme
The original form of this melody is heavily rooted in a drawn­out, A, the tonic of the underlying A­minor key. The chords backing up this melody are A minor, F Major, C Major, and E Major. This melody, being so sparse, is very versatile, and is played in different key signatures at different paces at different places in the piece. The transformed version of the theme is grounded in the same intent, and the same underlying chords, but the motion is distinct. What was once a flat and unchanging is now a moving line, colored by influences from the children’s melody. While the original melody is highly arrogant, the transformed melody is contains a newfound spirit of adventure. Closing Remarks
This piece has been a joy to compose and it has been a pleasure working with the members of OCO throughout the composition process. I would like to offer my special thanks to Diana Dabby, who has been invaluable in shaping the direction of the piece, and Jon Adler, who pushed me through my artistic struggles. I would also like to thank all the members of OCO who made this all possible, my peers who have given their feedback throughout the process, and Olin College, which provided the opportunity to complete this huge undertaking.