American Mosaic
Betsy L. Schramm, Ph.D.
About this work:
American Mosaic was written as a celebration and remembrance of things American. It is programmatic music in only the most general sense - a musical portrayal of general themes. In a novel departure from most premieres of a concert work, I am delighted that the Minnesota Ballet will be dancing to and enhancing my music with the choreography of Alan Fields. When I first began writing the work I inquired as to whether a few dancers might be engaged to dance and add a visual dimension to the work. I was delighted to hear that this was indeed possible and that Alan Fields would do the choreography. His energy, warmth, and talent are very apparent in the choreography.
The first movement is a celebration of the spirit that so well defines America, evoking the energy that has always characterized our youthful country. Triple and duple figures give the linear presentation of the brass chords in a fast-moving, metrically diverse, driven dance. At each reiteration of the initial chord one or two activated chords is added, increasing the pattern by one or two beats. This additive process uses the Fibonacci number series so commonly found in nature. The strings eventually come in with a theme that occurs as another layer over the sharp chords and activated rushing figures. Vertical sonorities are primarily composed of stacked fifths or fourths. The first sonority has a major ninth in the bass with stacked fourths occurring an octave and a major sixth higher. The "open" middle part of the sonority is filled in on the next beat with a major second dyad in the brass. The string theme which occurs at the double octave in violins and cellos surrounds the interior brass chords and woodwind fluttering. For the most part melodies use the Dorian or Myxolydian modes.
The second movement is an elegy, written in remembrance of those Americans who gave their lives in war and in remembrance of those who lost loved ones to war. The opening solo flute melody is interjected by a slowly building chord progression in the low brass and strings. Clarinet and oboe join the flute interjections. As the progression continues and rises into the upper brass and winds, first violins play an accompanying figure, with an ostinato-like quality. Horn and trumpet solos lead to the final elongated version of the chord progression. Sections with an unmeasured feel such as the flute solos are complemented by the measured sections of brass and string chord progressions.
The third movement celebrates the American folk heritage of fiddling and dancing, while also evoking the bright intangibles of nature's beauty. The sprightly initial theme in the first violins is developed and elongated, occurring in different guises throughout the movement. The head motive is heard in different instrumental colors, while the theme is given varied contrapuntal treatments.
Program Notes © Betsy Schramm. 1996.
Year composed: 1996
Duration: 00:17:00
Ensemble type: Orchestra:Standard Orchestra
Instrumentation: 2 Flute, 2 Oboe, 2 Clarinet, 2 Bassoon, 2 Horn in F, 2 Trumpet, 3 Trombone, 1 Tuba, 3 Percussion (General)
Instrumentation notes: Total violins I and II is 12-32. Ist fl. dbles. picc. 3rd. tbn. is B. Tbn.