A Marriage of Seasons
Michael Wittgraf
About this work:
I began composing A Marriage of Seasons in November of 1996 and completed it in June of 1997. It is for full orchestra and is approximately 10 minutes in length.
Since 1995, I have been developing a mathematical procedure employing algebraic polynomials to generate compositional material. The procedure, which is still evolving, basically converts one set of numbers into another set of numbers. I then have the freedom to apply these sets to any aspects of the music in ways that are appropriate to the work that is being created. There are two ultimate goals that share equal importance in my mind: First, the music must be intellectually and emotionally stimulating and satisfying to myself; second, it must reflect the inner mechanisms and relationships revealed by the mathematical procedure. As a trained mathematician, I have found mathematical systems to be profoundly beautiful, and have attempted to express that beauty in much of my music.
The work is in three large sections with a short introduction and coda, and three short interludes. The outer large sections are related to each other, and are generally loud, fast, and thickly orchestrated . The inner section is soft, quiet, sparsely orchestrated, and contains an interpolation that is rhythmically related to the outer sections, but harmonically related to the inner. The lengths of each section are determined by the mathematical procedure described above.
The title of the work arose from the fact that the sets of numbers produced by the procedure more often than not appear unrelated on the surface. Likewise, the seasons of the year are not usually perceived as coexisting (when it is summer, it is not winter). A Marriage of Seasons abstractly refers to the union of apparently unrelated objects. I chose the word “marriage” to remind us that although the four seasons do not exist simultaneously, they are inseparable partners in the creation of the yearly cycle, just as the music’s sets of numbers are partners in the creation of the work.
Year composed: 1997
Duration: 00:10:00
Ensemble type: Orchestra:Standard Orchestra
Instrumentation:
Instrumentation notes: 3+, 3+, 3+, 3+, 4331, timp, 3 perc, piano, strings