Fragments

Program Notes

This piece is somewhat representative of myself. Fragments is a further endeavor in atonal music by Zach that, from the start, had a plan. The title says it all, as the piece is not truly developed until the very end of the piece. The first movement starts out subtle, and slowly introduces fragments of the first idea of the piece that is heard in the Piano/Marimba about two-thirds through the first movement. The second movement starts with a rhythmic drive that slowly introduces a small idea in the flute part that comes to fruition once the brass take over and from there, this movement is a fiery tango that features the brass soaring with the rest of the ensemble performing immensely complex rhythmic patterns underneath. Movement three begins with a 30 second interlude that serves as an abrupt end to the tango from movement two and is driven by the piano looking back at the last movement and looking forward to the next, as demonstrated by the large dynamic contrasts. The main portion of movement three features flute and viola in almost a duet of sorts, almost tonal and a huge contrast to the rest of the piece. Once the Flute drops back out, the viola has an Arabian sounding solo that is backed only by the Bass Drum and Double Bass, so as to represent emptiness amidst a sea of excitement and grandeur. The delicate nature of this movement quickly comes to an end as we transition to the fourth movement where the tempo and notes seem to double instantaneously. This opening 24 bars to movement four are insanely fast and act as a storm, changing the atmosphere and feel of the piece abruptly and without notice. These bars, once again, have a flute part that hints at what is to come, almost as a form of divine intervention. This melody that is reinforced by the rest of the group is brought to an abrupt halt by the same interlude from earlier, but this time we see the entire thing, with the brass, strings and flute finally taking part in the piano's descending line. After this we hear the movement four melody come back and is soon running over the Double Bass playing something that resembles movement two, a shadow of what is to come. As movement four comes to a close we hear rhythmic drive return to the piece that remind us of movement two and as the Bass Drum comes back in we are at movement five and hear the return of the fiery tango from movement two. As movement five progresses we start hearing the different melodies from the piece come together and, by the end of the piece, we hear every melody accompany one another as the piece ends with a loud conversation between the three principle melodies of the piece.