The Whispering Wind
Michael Gatonska
About this work:
The title for "The Whispering Wind" comes from a line in the poem "Miracle Hill", by Emerson Blackhorse Mitchell. Composed in 2001, the composition begins with small, "echo-like" statements. Gradually, these melodic fragments, or cells, elongate with slowly graduated harmonies. As new ideas are introduced into the composition, older fragments "whisper" back in various juxtapositions, simultanaeities, and orchestral colorings. In addition, other types of "whispering" occur. Old American hymns fade in and out, and the percussion section sometimes suggest Native American drum circles. Small musical quotes from Ives, Varese, and MacDowell are embedded into the streams of textures. This basic compositional process continues until the final measures of the music, where the "breathing" orchestra represents the final stanza of Blackhorse Mitchell's poem:
I come again to my Miracle Hill.
At last, I know the all of me-
Out there, beyond, and here upon my hill.
Version: Symphonic Version
Year composed: 2001
Duration: 12:00:80
Ensemble type: Orchestra:Standard Orchestra
Instrumentation:
Instrumentation notes: 2,2,2,2 - 4,2,3,1- 3 perc, tmp, PF, strings