September Canticle -
Joseph Schwantner
About this work:
(Published by: Helicon Music Corp)
September Canticle (In Memoriam) was commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. The instrumentation includes: four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, 4 percussion, amplified piano, organ and strings.The mood and tone of the work have been strongly influenced by the deeply tragic events of September 11, 2001. While writing the piece, the moving words of Swedish poet and Nobel laureate, Par Lagervist continued to resonate in my mind:
All is there, only I am no more,
all is still there, the fragrance of rain in the grass
as I remember it, and the sough of the wind in trees,
the flight of the clouds and the disquiet of the human heart.
Only my heart’s disquiet is no longer there.
Cast in a single extended movement, the work opens quietly and simply (lontano e sospeso) with a Db major chord sustained by strings in their upper register. Against this suspended backdrop, the cellos, contra-basses and tubular bells (played off-stage) intone an insistent and disconcerting D natural. Gradually, the strings slowly descend with a chromatic sequence of tonal suspensions and resolutions and finally advance to an obsessively recurring six-tone sonority (A, D, F#, Ab, Db, F) that generates the primary harmonic kernel employed throughout the work. These introductory musical elements comprise the principle building blocks for much of the composition.
- Joseph Schwantner
Published by Helicon Music Corpation
For further information, please contact:
European American Music Distributors, LLC
15800 NY 48th Ave
Miami, FL 33014
Phone: (305) 521-1797
Fax: (305) 521-1638
Contact: Sue Sinclair
ssinclair@eamdc.com
Year composed: 2002
Duration: 00:18:00
Ensemble type: Orchestra:Standard Orchestra
Instrumentation: 4 Horn in F, 3 Trumpet, 2 Trombone, 1 Bass Trombone, 1 Tuba, 1 Timpani, 4 Percussion (General), 1 Piano, 1 Organ, 1 Strings (General)
Instrumentation notes: 433(btbn)1/timp.4perc/amp.pno.org/str