Overture: Arthur's Conquest
For Orchestra
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Written: 2023
Duration: ca. 6:30 Instrumentation: Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, English Horn, 2 Clarinets in Bb, Bass Clarinet in Bb, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets in C, 2 Trombones, Bass Trombone, Tuba, Timpani, Triangle, Suspended Cymbal, Crash Cymbal, Tam-Tam, Anvil, Slapstick (Whip), Snare Drum, Bongos, Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Marimba, Harp, Violin I, Violin II, Violas, Cellos, Basses |
Program Notes (From 2023 Mostly Modern Festival)
As you may have guessed from the title, this work is an overture to an opera I've had rolling around in my head for most of a decade now. I knew I wanted to write an opera, because I have a great interest in musical storytelling. It struck me one day in college that there was a hole in opera I would love to try to fill: the definitive English language opera retelling of the King Arthur myths. Albeniz's Merlin perhaps didn't get the fair shake it deserved, but also exists as the first of a hypothetical trilogy. Operas don't need sequels. Speaking of unnecessary sequels, Wagner wrote several operas, in German, on Arthurian themes. Though often performed, they simply don't have the immediacy of connection to my intended audience that the English language brings. So I knew what opera I wanted to write, and have been working piecemeal on it ever since. The opportunity for an orchestral reading at the 2023 Mostly Modern Festival initially sparked a panic in me: I had no idea what I wanted to write! Stone, meet birds. The need for a piece finally got me out of the endless "research and preparation" mode I'd been in and into putting musical ideas on the page. I'm immensely proud of the final result, and hope you enjoy.
Imagine, if you will, that you are seated in the opera house. The lights go down, the curtain slowly opens. And then, in a rush of metal and color, the stage lights are thrown up and the stage is suddenly crowded with armored soldiers, swords crashing. Hear and see the confusion of battle, ordered and solidified by the entrance of Arthur. Resplendent and terrible conqueror. His first advance is narrowly pushed back off the stage as the back doors are thrown open and another group of soldiers comes charging down the aisle. The lights dim and we see Lancelot. Beautiful, self assured, graceful, and arrogant as he enters opposite Arthur. But, the two are unable to unite their cohorts, rebuffed by the clash of swords and the terrible battering of drums. Lightning strikes the balcony, sending soldiers tumbling. Merlin has made himself known, escorting the idealistic chorus of Knights soon to form the Round Table. The sound of battle fade as we see Gwenievere, perhaps in one of the boxes. Safely locked away from any chance of danger, no agency given but to wait and worry. She ponders as the roar of battle grows ever closer, her safe location no longer so. The rescue galvanizes Arthur and his forces in one final pitched battle, until he stands on the hill that will become Camelot. Triumphant, blood-soaked, mythic.
Imagine, if you will, that you are seated in the opera house. The lights go down, the curtain slowly opens. And then, in a rush of metal and color, the stage lights are thrown up and the stage is suddenly crowded with armored soldiers, swords crashing. Hear and see the confusion of battle, ordered and solidified by the entrance of Arthur. Resplendent and terrible conqueror. His first advance is narrowly pushed back off the stage as the back doors are thrown open and another group of soldiers comes charging down the aisle. The lights dim and we see Lancelot. Beautiful, self assured, graceful, and arrogant as he enters opposite Arthur. But, the two are unable to unite their cohorts, rebuffed by the clash of swords and the terrible battering of drums. Lightning strikes the balcony, sending soldiers tumbling. Merlin has made himself known, escorting the idealistic chorus of Knights soon to form the Round Table. The sound of battle fade as we see Gwenievere, perhaps in one of the boxes. Safely locked away from any chance of danger, no agency given but to wait and worry. She ponders as the roar of battle grows ever closer, her safe location no longer so. The rescue galvanizes Arthur and his forces in one final pitched battle, until he stands on the hill that will become Camelot. Triumphant, blood-soaked, mythic.