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SKU: A0.755338
Composed by Sy Brandon. 20th Century,Contemporary. 81 pages. Sy Brandon #6619959. Published by Sy Brandon (A0.755338).Hope Collage was commissioned in honor of Hope College's 14th President, Matthew Scogin.
President Scogin was inaugurated in 2019 and exemplifies the qualities of hope represented in
this piece.
The first movement "Castles In The Sky" is in 6/8 meter with some of the syncopated rhythmic
figures that pit 3/4 against the 6/8. The major tonality is disguised by chromaticism either in the
melody or in the counterpoint and harmony. The form is basically AB with a Coda.
The slow second movement "A Light at the End of the Tunnel" has the tenor and baritone
saxophones representing the darkness of the tunnel using minor and slightly dissonant harmony.
The light at the end of the tunnel is represented by the alto and soprano saxophones. Even though
they are still in minor, their brightness and rising arpeggios represent a glimmer of hope. By the
time the movement nears the end, optimism has taken over and the entire ensemble is in
shifting major tonalities leading up to the quiet, yet, prayerful end in B major.
The third movement "Knock On Wood" has a Scherzo quality and is at an allegro tempo. The
opening theme sets the tone of optimism with its combination of quartal, quintal, and triadic
harmony along with staccato articulation. It is answered by the saxophones doing rhythmic slap
tongue in a pyramid formation that represents knocking on wood. The theme and its variations
alternate with the slap tongue throughout most of the movement. In several places, the theme
and slap tongue appear in canon. Towards the end, the theme becomes fragmented and the slap
tongue dominates. The fragments become pieced together leading to a final outburst of 16th
note joy before the last chord. The movement ends with foot stomps that rhythmically suggests
"knock on wood."
The last movement "Promised Land" is in two parts. The first is meditative and prayer-like in
a moderate tempo. It has a passacaglia bass line and contrapuntal lines are added above it. It
also grows in intensity until it reaches the Allegro, which is the second part and is celebratory.
The Allegro begins with a sixteenth note motif that plays an accompaniment role in many
places throughout the last section to the slower moving declarative lines. Near the end, motifs
from the Moderato section are transformed in the Allegro, therefore linking the two sections.
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