Music and Texts of GARY BACHLUND
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Verses and Circular Fugue - (2012)
for vibraphone, piano, harp and violins
A subdued opening in C major introduces the "motor" in the vibraphone, which becomes one of the verses in the form to follow. A flurry of gestures from the violins follows, leading to the verses for each instrument.
The verses are of different durations for each instrument and marked with boxed numbers for ease of reading: vibraphone in four-measure spans as the underlying sostenuto which repeat 14 times before the tonic cadence, piano in in longer phrases repeating 11 times, the harp's verse repeats 7 times, the 1st violin in long lines repeats but 4, while the 2nd violin repeats 7 times. For this the musical texture continues while the actual content subtly shifts.
The circular fugue modulates through the circle of fifths, downward first into the flat key regions. The whole circle is represented: C-F-B flat-E flat, A-flat, D-flat, G-flat, C-flat (spelled in some instruments in the sharp key of B), E, A, D, G, and finally C. In each tonal region, several repetitions of the subject first introduced appear in canons, With developing counterpoint the textures change as the tonal regions pass by, with the return to the tonic C major occasioning a short revisit to the opening of the work and a final, forte stretto before concluding brightly.
An MP3 file, circa 9' 30" -
The score is available as a free PDF download formatted for letter size paper, though any major commercial performance or recording of the work is prohibited without prior arrangement with the composer. Click on the graphic below for this score without parts (18 pages).
Vibraphone, piano, harp, 1st violin, 2nd violin parts
