4 movements:
I Mountain invocations: Maestoso
II Summer song: Slowly
III Hummers!: Fast!
IV Rainstorm
Clefs
Treble, bass
Meters
C, 3/4, 2/4, 6/8
Key signatures
1b, None, 2b, 1#
Range
Horn 1: c1 - c3
Horn 2: f - g2
Horn 3: g - a2
Horn 4: c - g2
Horn 5: F - g1
Creator's Comments
... for my colleagues in the Tucson Symphony Orchestra: Shawn Campbell, Kristine Crandall, Kathleen Demlow and Victor Valenzuela
This piece is programmatic in nature. Each movement depicts my impressions of various aspects of the Southwestern desert.
1. Mountain Invocations: There are mountains that soar to an elevation of 9000 feet surrounding my home, and each of them is mysterious and magnificent. These invocations are what I imagine these mountains “say” each day.
2. Summer Song: Summer in the desert can be very calm. I’ve tried to represent the languor invoked by a summer’s mid-day.
3. Hummers!: Hummingbrids about near my summer home; darting here and there. The stops and starts in this movement portray their flight patterns and way they “dance” with one another.
4. Rainstorm: In the desert, the summer monsoons provide dramatic thunderstaorms that bring torrential downpours and incredible lightning. This movement brings together two themes, on harking back to the first movement. The “Rain” theme, after it’s initial statement is then presented in augmentation, combined with the “Mountain” theme, no in 6/8 meter, and the piece closes on a dramatic note.
- Jacquelyn M. Sellers
Performance Notes
The first movement is characterised by homo-rhythm, long notes, and a theme that consists of two quavers (eighth notes) upbeat (the first time, the second this it’s a triplet), a double dotted crotchet (quarter note), two semi-demiquavers (32nd notes), and a minim (half note) tied over to a semi-breve (full note).
The second movement has a few characteristic elements: chord build-ups through shifted entries, a theme of seconds and thirds in the first horn, chordal accompaniment, and a second voice joining the first on occasion.
The third movement is an (almost) continuous flow of semiquavers (16th notes), divided in differing fashion between the parts. The interruptions mentioned in the comments above are four G.P.’s, a few chords, and some flattertongue chords.
The fourth movement is a quick 6/8, starting off with a fifth horn solo, and moving on through all the parts. There is hand stopping, and the alleged dramatic ending is chromatic build up to a B flat major chord.