Life’s Journey
The idea for this piece originated in 2000. Our lives have a wide range of emotions, and there is always some degree of uncertainty. I decided to concentrate on four aspects of our life: The search or quest in our everyday life, life's joy, life's melancholy, and life's hope. Each movement is designed to capture the meaning and emotions that their title represents.
I worked on the main melodic ideas for each movement first, and then I worked on the titles, based on the emotions that the melodic ideas of each movement evoked. The titles, in turn, inspired me to portray their meanings musically. For example, the main musical motif in "Hope" is in the major mode and I tried to represent the meaning of hope with it; in contrast, the main musical motif for "Melancholy" is in the minor mode, in order to represent this feeling. This piece is dedicated to my parents.
I. Searching
Every one of us is in a constant search. No matter what we are looking for, we are always moving ahead in life, looking around and making our own personal stops along life's pathway. This movement is designed to represent this quest in our lives. The movement is written in ABCA form, with the B section representing the search.
II. Joy
We all experience joy as we experience life. As we experience joy, we feel fulfilled because in that moment our search for it is over. This movement is written in ABA form. The A section introduces the main melodic ideas in the piano and violins. The B section contains a developing ground bass. The piece closes with the musical ideas from the beginning.
III. Melancholy
Although there is joy in our lives, we also experience sadness and loneliness. These feelings are also a part of our life's journey. They help us to become stronger and to never take anything for granted. This movement is a chaconne, a repeating pattern in the piano. There is a great deal of canonic imitation in the strings. The tonality is c sharp minor, to portray the feeling of melancholy.
IV. Hope
After everything is said and done, there is always hope. Hope never fails us; it never gives up. It is a wonderful feeling. Hope always remains our source of inspiration in our own lives and in our own personal journeys. This movement is written in an arch form (ABCBA). The main melodic motive is treated in various ways and tonalities throughout the movement. As I came up with the main melodic idea, the idea of hope came into my mind, and hope became the source of inspiration for the rest of the movement.
Recording details:
Saturday, April 20th 2002
Swope Hall Auditorium, West Chester University
West Chester, PA
Sound Engineer:
Robert Rust
Musicians:
Anida Goga, violin I
Dana Weiderhold, violin II
Marnina Shelkin, viola
Krista Nielsen, cello
Arthur Marks, double bass
Carl Cranmer, piano
Guillermo A. Gómez, conductor
