FIRE SWIRL
DURATION: 18 minutes
Fire Swirl (for wind orchestra) (2023)
Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, English Horn, Clarinet in E flat, 3 Clarinets in B flat, Bass Clarinet in B flat, Contrabass Clarinet in B flat, Soprano Saxophone in B flat, 2 Alto Saxophones in E flat, Tenor Saxophone in B flat, Baritone Saxophone in E flat, 2 Bassoons, Contrabassoon
2 Cornets in B flat, 3 Trumpets in B flat, 4 French Horns in F, 2 Tenor Trombones, Bass Trombone, Euphonium in B flat, Tuba
Timpani + 6 Percussionists
Percussion 1: Almglocken, Large Triangle, Large Gong (NOT a Tam-tam), Kick drum (not shared)
Percussion 2: Orchestral Chimes, Bongos, Anvil, Kick drum (not shared), Large Crash Cymbals
Percussion 3: Vibraphone, Claves, Tambourine (mounted), Kick drum (not shared), Tam-tam
Percussion 4: Glockenspiel, 3 woodblocks (high, medium, low), Bass drum
Percussion 5: Xylophone, 5 Tom-Toms (low to high)
Percussion 6: Marimba, Suspended Cymbal, Snare drum, Temple blocks, Castanets (mounted)
Piano
Harp
Double Bass
Ever since writing my earlier (and much more difficult!) “Time Processional” for wind ensemble, I have wanted to revisit the medium, especially because since writing my first work decades ago, the Wind Orchestra has grown in both prominence and excellence. Adding fuel to the urge to compositionally revisit the wind orchestra is the added attraction of working at an institution with such a wind orchestra of tremendous ability far beyond the years of the young players that comprise it.
As with all of my recent music, this current work reflects on the environment and environmental change, specifically that wrought by the cataclysmic effects of fire. At the most intense, such fires whip into a destructive frenzy called fire tornadoes or fire whirls. The high velocity swirling nature of these destructive forces gave rise to the imagery that informs this piece. Each of the nine sections of the piece take their titles from an element of these raging fires, some to do with the nature of fire itself and some to do with the human reactions to the profound destructive and frequently deadly force of the fires:
1. Spark
2. Spread
3. Real Pure Flame
4. Ravage
5. Everything Must Burn
6. The Reckoning
7. Sadness and Loss
8. Smoke
9. New Fire
Just as in all of my recent music, these external environmental factors also act as a metaphor in my mind for the various elements of the human heart, mind, and soul. The very immediate and powerful spark that kindles such a devastating flame which develops into an enveloping storm of fire seems to me to parallel many states of mind and heart of our human experience, especially the emotional and passionate states that give rise to love and hate, tenderness and violence..