Post by nomuse on Dec 19, 2005 17:30:09 GMT -4
Our chorus just performed part of Hayden's "The Creation" as part of a Christmas concert. An oratorio is, in our concert-master's words "A large work for chorus, orchestra, and soloists, always on a religious theme or epic story."
As I was at the time trying to find an Agnostica party to go to for a proper celebration of the holidays, it struck me that a fine epic would be the story of the discovery of the universe and our place in it by astronomers and physicists.
If only I could write choral music! (On my best day, I can sketch an arrangement for Glee Club...) But, following is the sketch I made during this weekend's concert:
"The Cosmos" ; an oratorio on the epic discovery of the universe and our place in it, for chamber chorus, chamber symphony, featured soloists and medieval consort. In three movements, performance time 40 minutes.
Ist. Movment "Lights in the Sky."
In this movement, introduced with a solo on Native American flute (hearkening to the depiction of a nova by Pueblo indians), early observations are highlighted; the naming of stars by Arab astronomers, the documents of the Chinese court astronomers, etc. The largest part of the movement is "I am Mars," where the chorus embodies mythological concepts of various heavenly bodies.
2nd Movement "Reason."
To begin this movement a section of the chorus moves off the risers to form a late-model Greek chorus; commenting on the discussion among soloists, which is phrased as a Dialogue. The soloists begin to interpret the observations, developing competing theories. Here, more than anywhere else in the oratorio, the soloists are called on to represent actual historical figures.
A central aria seperates the sections of the movement: the orchestration here features a prominent solo passage by glass harmonica.
A fool with a pig's bladder interrupts to introduce the final section of the movement, bringing the entire chorus into the form of the debate; here is not just debate of scientific theories, but debate of worldviews; the sopranos singing "We no longer know where we are," the basses singing "Copernicus, you have betrayed my friendship," etc.
3rd Movement "Cosmology."
(In the expanded work, there would be a fourth movement and the third movement would be "exploration" and include discussion of Apollo.)
In keeping with the use of scales and motives of other cultures in the earlier movements, the third movement moves both into atonal and serial music, and as well introduces synthesizer and Russolo Boxes into the textures. Were it possible, the score would call for an actual Ondes Martenot.
Also, as staging permits, the footprint of the piece expands from what in the introduction of the oratorio was a single flautist in a spotlight, to placement of choristers all about the hall; understanding expanding outwards towards observable horizon. I see the end as quiet and (hopefully) haunting as the final movement of Holtz's "The Planets."
The difficulty in the third movement, of course, is trying to capture the whirlwind of discovery both in astronomy and in astrophysics, particularly cosmology but also relativity and quantum physics -- and yet not turn into an info-dump.
I hope that Jay, at least, is amused by this idea.
As I was at the time trying to find an Agnostica party to go to for a proper celebration of the holidays, it struck me that a fine epic would be the story of the discovery of the universe and our place in it by astronomers and physicists.
If only I could write choral music! (On my best day, I can sketch an arrangement for Glee Club...) But, following is the sketch I made during this weekend's concert:
"The Cosmos" ; an oratorio on the epic discovery of the universe and our place in it, for chamber chorus, chamber symphony, featured soloists and medieval consort. In three movements, performance time 40 minutes.
Ist. Movment "Lights in the Sky."
In this movement, introduced with a solo on Native American flute (hearkening to the depiction of a nova by Pueblo indians), early observations are highlighted; the naming of stars by Arab astronomers, the documents of the Chinese court astronomers, etc. The largest part of the movement is "I am Mars," where the chorus embodies mythological concepts of various heavenly bodies.
2nd Movement "Reason."
To begin this movement a section of the chorus moves off the risers to form a late-model Greek chorus; commenting on the discussion among soloists, which is phrased as a Dialogue. The soloists begin to interpret the observations, developing competing theories. Here, more than anywhere else in the oratorio, the soloists are called on to represent actual historical figures.
A central aria seperates the sections of the movement: the orchestration here features a prominent solo passage by glass harmonica.
A fool with a pig's bladder interrupts to introduce the final section of the movement, bringing the entire chorus into the form of the debate; here is not just debate of scientific theories, but debate of worldviews; the sopranos singing "We no longer know where we are," the basses singing "Copernicus, you have betrayed my friendship," etc.
3rd Movement "Cosmology."
(In the expanded work, there would be a fourth movement and the third movement would be "exploration" and include discussion of Apollo.)
In keeping with the use of scales and motives of other cultures in the earlier movements, the third movement moves both into atonal and serial music, and as well introduces synthesizer and Russolo Boxes into the textures. Were it possible, the score would call for an actual Ondes Martenot.
Also, as staging permits, the footprint of the piece expands from what in the introduction of the oratorio was a single flautist in a spotlight, to placement of choristers all about the hall; understanding expanding outwards towards observable horizon. I see the end as quiet and (hopefully) haunting as the final movement of Holtz's "The Planets."
The difficulty in the third movement, of course, is trying to capture the whirlwind of discovery both in astronomy and in astrophysics, particularly cosmology but also relativity and quantum physics -- and yet not turn into an info-dump.
I hope that Jay, at least, is amused by this idea.
