About this work:
Tales of Science and Magic is a four-movement suite for orchestra, loosely based on the relationship between the logical and intuitive sides of our nature, and influenced by ideas from science fiction and fantasy.
Movement one, THE INFORMATION AGE, is a musical portrait of life in an advanced and complex society. The pace is fast and active, in constant motion. Abruptly and with no warning, a clarion brass call sounds and introduces us to an alternate world - a much more exotic, primitive and intuitive place. Lyrical and melodic themes drift past in shifting meters, moving freely from three to five to four. Eventually the clarion brass call sounds again to bring us back. We return, changed from the journey, with elements of the naïve world still staying with us.
Movement two, THE INNER LANDS, is a sonic trip into introspection. A tranquil three-voice chorale is handed off from one section to another, intertwining with a long and singing countermelody (first introduced by solo french horn). Midway through the movement there is a set of bright and luminous “revelation” chords, played by the winds, high strings and harp, which echo away as we settle back into the quiet stillness again.
Movement three, ANTI-GRAVITY SCHERZO, is an invention, based on a simple repetitive theme – a theme so childlike that it might have been a nursery rhyme. Substantial nonsense ensues, with lots of athleticism, gimmicks and creative technology, all played at a barely-in-control tempo. Inevitably there comes a grinding of the gears and a confounding of the machinery, slowing us down, deepening the feel, and leading directly into movement four, INFINITY’S CLOCK.
The musical attitude here is huge, unstoppable and inexorable, a sound tailor-made for large orchestral forces. The main theme is a broad quarter-note line featuring wide interval skips, played over a monolithic and endlessly-repeating rhythm riff, laid out with the weight and force of the entire orchestra.
After a brief contrasting interlude (a call from the horns, which leads to a massive full-orchestra chorale and a small pastoral aftermath), the main theme returns with even more force and power. A brilliant cascade of trumpets leads us to the triumphant return of the revelation chords (this time played with the full power of the entire orchestra), and the whole piece winds up with what I like to call a hyper-coda, arriving in a blaze of C major glory - a buoyant, intertwining mix of all the themes from the suite, leading to a grand finale.