Body Beat and Alternative Percussion

Soliloquy for a Passing Century - Score-'All music be it 'abstract' or 'descriptive ' or 'popular' or 'serious ' must speak for itself. Words about it are irrelevant unless they be lyrics or narration. That being said I will attempt a few words about my piece because I was asked to do so and the very special nature of the event in which this first performance takes place. Therefore I offer a guide to the musical gestures and terrain that make up the work and hopefully helpcommunicate my music to the listener.'Remembrance Day' opens softly with a prologue evoking a distant nostalgic Lullaby. As it fades a sudden loud chime combines with high Clarinets in an anguishedsequence that cries out a musical pattern establishing and shaping the body of the work. The music alternates between elegiac thematic references and the pulsations and accents of chimes and tolling bells. A slight pause-thensubdued but menacing sounds from muted Trombones Tuba and Percussion. Over this is a variant of the Clarinets initial 'cry of anguish'- but this time in quiet grief-turning into a funeral cortege. The cortege proceeds to chantsand responses that grow in intensity changing to hymn-like swelling and embellishments. A sudden explosive interruption brutal and violent-the previous menacing muted trombone motif now unleashed. This leads to a full-blown andaffirmative chorale. Following this climax the work winds down diminishing in intensity. There are passing references to what was heard before. Now comes a last variation on the chant and a pianissimo echo variant in mutedTrumpets and then Woodwinds of the hymns and chorales. As this recedes comes the plaintive cry of anguish again-unresolved. Once again quiet pulsations a short silence-and the epilogue-a few fragments of the opening lullaby-somefinal pulsings-a few timpani beats-silence.I am honored to have been asked to write this work and I thank the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Foundation for making this possible. I also hope that our children's