Product Description
This four-movement suite is designed to be a modest challenge for the advanced pianist and utilizes techniques associated with 21st century music, yet in a decidedly tonal and accessible form. Each of the four movements, while utilizing the same quartal- and quintal-based harmonic language, has a unique feel. The movements are as follows:
I. SKA
This movement draws its rhythm and form from Jamaican ska music of the 1960s, but it is also imbued with a sense of chaos and panic contrary to the relaxed feel of its namesake. It demands rhythmic fluidity and precise hand placement, but rhythmically, it is the simplest of the four movements.
II. BERCEUSE
This movement draws its inspiration from the lullabies of Chopin and Liszt, yet subverts the expectations given by its name considerably. Dark, mysterious, and suspenseful harmonies contrast over the sweet rocking motions of the rhythm before giving way to a stormy climax before the piece fades back to its original theme. In contrast to the almost mechanical nature of the first movement, this movement is overly expressive and lyrical, even during its most turbulent sections.
III. MARCH
A playful reference to the marches of John Philip Sousa, this movement makes rhythmic references to a few different pieces, including "Fairest of the Fair." It is a return of sorts to the chaotic atmosphere of the first movement, and it ends rather abruptly, providing a sense of suspense before the final movement.
IV. TOCCATA
The longest and most complex of the movements, "Toccata" combines the tonal and harmonic structures of the first three movements with complicated, syncopated rhythms and unusual time signatures. A number of themes are manipulated via augmentation, inversion, retrograde, and diminution, and abrupt changes in texture and tempo grab the listener's attention.
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.