Product Description
This three-movement composition began in 2006 with unused material from my Concerto for Trumpet. The opening notes of the quintets third movement were originally intended to open Movement I (entitled Fe, or Faith) of the concerto. With too boisterous of a mood, however, the music gave the effect of a game show theme rather than a deeply religious metaphor. The beginning several measures were filed away, re-orchestrated for brass quintet under the title Cosmology. In this state it awaited its completion until the concerto was finished.
Geology is a fulfilling pastime. I recently purchased a well-written Geology book with many full-color photographs. That book has inspired hours of one-on-one time between me and my children, as well as some short Geological hikes in the foothills of Ahwatukee (southern Phoenix). Some people may not match the jovial music to the serious field of geology, but for me and my children, this subject is nothing but fun and educational memory-making. The musical opening marks the beginning of one of our geological expeditions. The three major classifications of rocks are variously represented in the music, with sedimentary imitation, counterpoint, and pyramids; harmonically and melodically metamorphic passages; and violent, angry igneous sections.
The beauty and sentimentality of the second movement are well expressed in the title The Wu Li Dance, parodying a books title, The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav. This book is the major source of what I know about Quantum Mechanics. Wu Li is the Chinese term for Physics, and is literally translated as patterns of organic energy. Chinese masters of a discipline do not teach the subject to their students; rather, they lead the students to discovery and to further questionsan approach akin to dancing. The use of all conical instruments (flugelhorns rather than trumpets, and euphonium rather than trombone) augments the otherworldly affect, and provides a pleasing contrast to the outer movements to symbolize the perplexing novelty of what the human race is processing through exploring the new physics. Although physicists focus on chance as being a major aspect of Quantum Mechanics, I chose a non-Cage approach to aurally depict the beauty that I see in the sciences currently unexplainable contradictions.
Cosmology, or the study of the cosmos, is indeed one of my favorite pastimes. I collect photographs of galaxies, planetary nebulae, human space exploration, planets, comets, moons, and everything else extraterrestrial. The movement opens with musical pictures of our life-giving, average-sized, middle-aged, yellow star that we call Sun, and continues with my aural view of the planets and their moons, replete with sliding Doppler-esque motifs that I associate with orbits. An exciting groove set up by the first trumpet (m. 93) is my celebration of mankind in space. It quickly yields, however, to the uncertainties involved with the technological feat. Twice in this section there are very loud key moments: sinister chords that scream my reaction to the dangers manifested by Apollo 13 and lives lost in Space Shuttle disasters. A photo of an astronaut hovering precariously over the earth inspired one of the sinister moments. Despite these risks, I am grateful that the space program elegantly persists, dancing as technology advances and as time permits. A motivic collage marks the movements final section. It ends with a return of space explorations groove, as if coming home to a beautiful terrestrial sunset.
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.