Spiral Dream
The latest addition to the store is a piece for concert band / wind ensemble called Spiral Dream. It consists of three sections: a melodic introduction, a chromatic/tone structured middle section, and a tonal conclusion. I started out writing the middle section, but decided I needed to get into it somehow and wrote a little introduction that expanded into a big introduction, and the middle section needed something more than the collapse to end it, so I composed the third section (I needed just one more cymbal crash). I just kept writing and eventually a nearly twelve minute piece had been revealed.
The structure of the middle section is based on the Fibonacci sequence 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21. It continues on indefinitely, but 21 was the largest interval I could exploit before going digital. I also started in the middle of the keyboard, at the Bb just below middle C (I did go with Bb since this is for concert band), and expanded outward both up and down, which helped creating more interesting harmonies.
The piece doesn't tell a strict story, but it does evoke images. And the structure lends itself to a discovery (thing A), which leads to something else (thing B), and concludes (thing C) in a way that I hesitate to say is victorious, but definitely suggests a complicated achievement. And allowing the listener to have a unique experience.
I called it a dream because the entire piece seemed ethereal. The melody seemed wispy. While samples don't portray the true intent of the opening, low flutes supported by saxes playing so soft the sound is barely audible is how the piece begins. Sounds that dissipate like smoke, gone in a breath.
A quick word about the mockup, I used a combination of Vienna Symphonic patches, solo and ensemble woodwinds, Dimension Brass, Cinesamples brass and woodwinds libraries, Project Sam True Strike, and Sonivox Orchestral Percussion. Cinesamples was a lot of work to integrate since I am very familiar with VSL, and it is programmed in a very different way and the instruments respond very differently. Ultimately I'm happy with the result here and I think it provides a very good idea of what I have in mind.
I look forward to this finding an audience one day. I think it would be as much fun to perform as to experience. Listen to the mockup below: