Bridges (2014)
for orchestra
LISTEN
Quad City Symphony Orchestra
Mark Russell Smith, conductor
Mark Russell Smith, conductor
PREVIEW / PURCHASE
PROGRAM NOTE
Bridges, for orchestra, was commissioned by the Quad City Symphony Orchestra in celebration of its 100th season (2014–15). When considering the past century, it is remarkable to realize how many things have changed. At the same time, though, much has stayed the same. Bridges is inspired by the experience of passing time and how change is perceived in relation to duration. The work begins with six different pitches articulated by undulating strings, while crotales in the percussion section chime the passing of time and hint at harmonies that will arrive later. Wind and brass instruments form “bridges” between the peaks, fading in and out as the work unfolds. Over the course of the composition new pitches are added one at a time, but as each new note is added an old one is taken away. By the end, the original six pitches have been replaced by a complementary set. This final sextet of notes is a simple transposition of the first, but heard in a register and vertical ordering that is entirely different from that of the start. A final low note in the basses adds a seventh pitch, completing what turns out to be a C-major scale. The new has become familiar, and the familiar sounds new again.