05A18FBA-05B1-4085-8644-EFDA9E54A637
| ID | 05A18FBA-05B1-4085-8644-EFDA9E54A637 |
|---|---|
| Titlecode | R00184 |
| Title Name | Melting Voices |
| Marketing Copy | (not set) |
| Instrumentation | 3(1d Piccolo).3(1d English Horn).3(1d E-flat Clarinet, 1d Bass Clarinet).3: 4.3.3.1: Percussion(2).Piano(d Celesta).Harp: Strings |
| Commission | (not set) |
| Dedication | (not set) |
| Program Notes | Melting Voices, completed in 1986, is a 13-minute work in three movements. Each movement is a musical response to a fragment of poetry, appended at the end of the movement in the manner of Debussy's Preludes for piano. Movement 1, "The Kitchen Full of Time," takes as its literary point of departure the following from Dylan Thomas' Under Milkwood: 'His sixty-six singers all sing at different hours.' The melodic material unfolds at different speeds, in varying degrees of simultaneity, and culminating in a single line presented in 'melted' fashion: a heterophonic unison begins in the strings and spreads to the entire orchestra. Movement 2, "The Annunciation," is a scherzo based on a fragment from Marpa of Tibet (11th century): 'the sun and the moon dance and blow trumpets'. The minimalism of the scherzo is interrupted several times by peremptory tutti strokes, and featured solo elements have the habit of slowing down, creating a somewhat dizzying effect relative to the continuing ostinato of the scherzo. The third movement is based on an excerpt from a poem by John Milton: 'The melting voice through mazes running, untwisting all the chains that tie the hidden souls of harmony...'In this movement, thick chords are presented at the outset, then gentle melodies weave through fragments of them. As in the first movement, the main melodic idea is melted, this time through a many-voiced canonic imitation, leading to a climactic return of the opening chords, which dissipate and resolve into a quiet, elegiac D minor. --Donald Crockett |
| Title Brand | 2 |
| Year Composed | 1986 |
| Copyright Number | (not set) |
| Copyright Year | (not set) |
| Duration | 13 |
| Ensemble Size | 13 |
| Date Created | 2008-10-31 20:31:21.000000 |
| Date Updated | 2025-09-30 20:31:21 |
| Inhouse Note | (not set) |
| Bsc Code | (not set) |
| Text Author | (not set) |
| Premier Performance Memo | (not set) |
| Recording Credits | Recorded by Orchestra of the Americas, Paul Freeman, An American Composers Salute, Fanfare Records, CDS 3413. |
| Review | "...[Melting Voices] was a good choice too, with unusual and effective scoring, and very clear lines of development. This was the most sensitive and original piece of the evening, and one could see why its subtleties would appeal to a conductor. It felt interesting for the players too and the ASO [Adelaide Symphony Orchestra] responded with some very beautiful sounds..." --Tristram Cary |
| Awards | (not set) |
| Title Category | 7 |
| Title Movements | I. The Kitchen Full of Time II. The Annunciation III. The Melting Voice |
| Title Grade | (not set) |
| Set Series ID | (not set) |
| Title Instrument Category Text | Full Orchestra |
| Title Sub Category Text | (not set) |
| Title Sub Category | 31 |
| Title Instrument Header | 41 |
| Title Grade Text | (not set) |
| Clean Url | melting-voices-r00184 |