Enchanted Falls wind ensemble 1 picc, 3 fl, 2 ob, 1 EH, 1 Eb cl, 3 Bb cl, 1 bass cl, 2 bssn, 1 contra bssn, 2 a sax, 1 t sax, 1 bari sax, 4 trpt, 4 hn, 4 trom, 1 euph, 1 tuba, pn, timp, 5 perc 2001 Duration 10’00” Enchanted Falls was inspired by a visit to Pedernales Falls State Park in Central Texas when I proposed to my wife Amy, to whom this piece is dedicated. In composing the piece I attempted to convey both the beauty and serenity of the Pedernales River and the excitement and anticipation of that day. The two musical ideas at the core of the piece are the pentatonic scale and the opening line of a song that I wrote for Amy. The work opens with several statements of the pentatonic "river motive.” This motive gradually multiplies and assumes the role of an accompanying texture to the two melodies in the piece. One of these two melodies, which is also composed using the pentatonic scale, is first anticipated by fragments heard about fifteen bars into the piece. The melody as a whole is not heard until it is presented by the English horn in the middle of the work. This pentatonic melody is finally used as the basis for a chorale near the end of the piece. The third use of pentatonic material is in the fast sections where different scales are juxtaposed to create varying levels of tension. The opening line of the song serves two functions throughout the piece. In the first large section of music, it is stated three times as a melody against the "river motive" texture. I also used the perfect fourths that are outlined by the melody of the song as a separate "fanfare" idea in transitional passages. Enchanted Falls was completed in April, 2001 in Austin, TX. Enchanted Falls was premiered by the Wayne State University Wind Ensemble (Doug Bianchi, dir.) on 11/2/2001. Listen to a performance by the University of Illinois Wind Symphony conducted by James F. Keene. View a score excerpt. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/parkguide/rgn_hc_014.phtmlhttp://edmartincomposer.com/pdf_scores/enchanted.pdfshapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1
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