Zigzags
Faye-Ellen1 Silverman
About this work:
In keeping with its title, “Zigzags” explores changing moods. The form resembles a soliloquy. The player starts his or her recital calmly, in the present time (represented by eighth notes in the middle range, with soft to medium loud dynamic range). He or she then diverges more and more (as if reviewing past incidents), with increasing ranges and louder dynamic levels, until the divergences assume more importance than the transformed returns to the original material, and a full range of tuba techniques has been explored. Towards the end of the last digression, the “zigzag” structural shape also becomes the musical material in a series of downward, followed by upward runs.
The mood shifts occur in many ways, sometimes so gradually– due to the use of rhythmic common denominators or accelerandos and retards – that it takes a while to perceive the change. At other times, the mood shifts abruptly. Interrelated tempos provide additional structure for the work.
Year composed: 1988
Duration: 00:08:30
Ensemble type: Solo instrument, non-keyboard:Tuba
Instrumentation: 1 Tuba