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Programme
Note
Landscapeswas commissioned by
Stemnet and the Communications Research Council of Canada
through Learn Canada for students in three Canadian high
schools: J. Percy Page (Edmonton, Alberta), Earl of March
High School (Kanata, Ontario) and Holy Heart of Mary High
School (St. John's, Newfoundland). One movement was written
for each school and the entire work was performed over a
high-speed internet connection with each movement played
sequentially.
The students in all the schools were
encourage to suggest elements that could be included in
their respective movements and I tried to incorporate as
many as I could in the work. In the end, all of them
suggested aspects of their environment, both physical and
economic, and this led to my calling the work
Landscapes.These aspects are described in greater
detail in the notes for each movement. However, even though
the work is firmly rooted in Canadian life, the general
nature of the elements that were suggested can apply equally
well to many cities and regions throughout the world: the
majesty of mountains, the eternal flow of rivers, the
dynamic and driving force of modern technology.
Movement I:
Gateway to the North
The first movement was written for
the students of J. Percy Page High School in Edmonton,
Alberta and is entitled Gateway to the North,the
motto of the city of Edmonton, in western Canada.
The movement opens with a majestic
passage for full band representing the imposing Rocky
Mountains. After a brief passage suggesting a gentle rain,
the movement gradually increases in dynamic intensity to
suggest the pounding derricks of the Alberta oil patch. For
this section, some members of the band are required to blow
across empty 2-litre soda bottles (a gesture suggested by
the students) to represent the extra-musical sounds of the
machinery. After a brief transition passage, a quiet melody
is introduced in the solo clarinet. This tune (composed by
the Edmonton high school students) is gradually passed from
section to section in a fugue, culminating in a varied
restatement of the opening majestic theme before a final
statement of the fugal melody for full band. A powerful coda
brings the movement to a close.
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Edmonton, Alberta:
Gateway to the North
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The Canadian
Rockies
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Movement II:
River of Dreams
The second movement was written for
the students of Earl of March High School in Kanata, Ontario
(a suburb of Ottawa) and is entitled River of
Dreams.
This region of Canada surrounding
the nation's capital is rich in rivers. The movement
describes the eternal quality of one of these rivers as it
flows by natural landscapes or the concrete monuments built
by the inhabitants of Ottawa. It is written in the form of a
passacaglia. The initial eight-note motif is repeated
throughout the movement with the addition of a variety of
new harmonies and melodic ideas. To me, this represents the
eternal quality of the river, always the same, but always
changing.
The movement begins as the river
emerges quietly and gently from its source, gradually
building in strength and volume, getting stronger and fuller
as it flows by the natural beauty of the surrounding
Gatineau hills. The river becomes more active, as the flutes
and clarinets perhaps describe a whirlpool or rapids.
Suddenly the river passes Parliament Hill in Ottawa with the
flickering of the eternal flame, the sounds of the clock
chiming 12 within the majesty of the Parliament buildings
themselves, and the dynamic, vital nature of modern Ottawa.
As the river passes the city, it is in full force. Suddenly
the river is frozen in the cold Ottawa winter. The river
gradually eases its flow as material from the beginning
returns and the last, quiet, majestic view of the river is
seen before it retreats into the distance and
silence.
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The Parliament
Buildings, Ottawa, with the eternal flame and the
Peace Tower
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A view of the Ottawa
River at sunset
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Movement III:
Torngat
The third movement was written for
the students of Holy Heart of Mary High School in St.
John's, Newfoundland and is entitled Torngat, the
name of the mountain range in the north of
Labrador.
The opening depicts the harsh,
bitter cold of the Torngat mountains. Soon a solo trumpet
enters playing the main theme of this movement, a poignant
melody representing the awesome beauty and isolation of the
landscape. This melody is taken up by various groups within
the band, gradually reaching a climax. A passage
representing the dripping of melting water leads to a
majestic restatement of the theme in the horns. Another
transition passage (using fragments of the main theme) leads
to a violent storm. This is a free-time section for the
band, where players are encouraged to improvise around a set
of given notes, while members of the percussion section spin
hollow tubes in the air to recreate the gale-force winds of
the storm. At its height, the main theme is heard in the
full brass. This gradually fades away to a scene of quiet
calm, where the rays of the summer sun usher in a brief
period of warmthb. Eventually the first movement material
depicting the Rocky mountains reappears leading to a
majestic restatement of the third movement theme in the full
band. A final, imposing coda includes melodies from all
three movements: the horns and saxophones play the fugal
theme of the first movement; the lower brass play the
eight-note motif of the second movement, and the trumpets
and upper woodwinds play the theme of the third
movement.
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