Concert Band
The Young Explorer Part 1
Eine musikalische Entdeckungsreise
Komponisten-Werkstatt
Composer's Workshop
Info
The trilogy THE YOUNG EXPLORER is a special edition of the series EXPLORA. Composer Kees Vlak wants to show with this extraordinary project how a composition and the work of the composer develop.
Part 1 COMPOSER’S WORKSHOP
In the first part COMPOSER’S WORKSHOP he composes a main theme that consists of eight measures. Particularly important are the first two measures: That beginning is the main motif.
1. Unisono Version
First we hear only the main theme. All instruments play the same notes; this is called unisono.
2. Orchestral Version
To make it sound like a real orchestra, the theme needs of course some additional chords, in this case in a bright major key. Based on this orchestral version the composer can now create several variations.
3. Minor Version
This is a sad variation in a slow tempo and a gloomy minor key. The high instruments play the main theme whereas the bass instruments play a counterpoint.
4. Waltz Version
Now we hear a variation in the form of a waltz, which means in 3/4 time. Kees Vlak composed that variation in the style of the famous “waltz king“ Johann Strauß, who wrote many waltzes, such as “An der schönen blauen Donau“.
5. Dodecaphony (Twelve Tone Technique)
The next variation is contemporary music. The rhythm stays the same, but the notes appear in a very different order. The composer Arnold Schönberg once created a system, that allows each note only to appear again, when all the other 11 notes of our tonal system have been used, too. In the beginning, this sounds very strange, but with time, we recognize the music.
6. Farandole
Now the composer needs an effective finale. Kees Vlak was in France, when he composed this piece, so he wrote the last variation in the style of an old French dance, a Farandole. In earlier times the performing musician played the drum with one hand and at the same time the flute with the other hand.
These six variations of the main theme are enough material for the composer to begin with the actual work. He decides to write two compositions: a festive OVERTURE and an ESSAY (experimental piece).
eXplora Grade 2
eXplora Disc 13