In The Moment's Light
Paul Seitz
About this work:
Cambium Music Publications/Subito Music, publisher.
In 1998, conductor Donald Schleicher asked me to write a short piece for a big orchestra. We both hoped that the piece would offer opportunities for the performers to engage the kinds of musical challenges more often discussed in connection with chamber music than in symphony orchestra performance, e.g., listening across the ensemble, negotiating an interpretation of cantabile playing of melodies shared by variety of different instruments, being aware of the variety of roles played by each instrument and choir within the piece, etc. But involving every member of the orchestra in these ways, in such a short piece, was a challenge for me, initially. Eventually though, I learned to embrace the short duration as a means to explore the ephemeral nature of aesthetic experience -- a momentary awareness of beauty, the sudden and unexpected arrival of a good idea, the instant of perfect light for a visual artist – all the many things we mean by "enlightenment."
Year composed: 1998
Duration: 00:06:00
Ensemble type: Orchestra:Standard Orchestra
Instrumentation: 1 Piccolo, 2 Flute, 2 Oboe, 1 English Horn, 3 Clarinet, 1 Bass Clarinet, 2 Bassoon, 4 Horn in F, 3 Trumpet, 2 Trombone, 1 Bass Trombone, 1 Tuba, 1 Timpani, 2 Percussion (General), 12 Violin, 6 Viola, 6 Cello, 4 Double bass, 1 Harp
Instrumentation notes: Listen to excerpt:
Audio sample (Mp3).