Christopher in the Desert

Abstract

The title of this composition "Christopher in the Desert" was stipulated after the nickname of the student residence of the University of Arizona, "Christopher City," where I have stayed during my study at the school. It also represents the geographical environments of the city of Tucson, Arizona. The orchestration for this composition is considerably conventional which is consist of paired winds with solo English horn and tuba, five part strings, and timpani. Frequently, solos and solo ensembles are employed intentionally to build a differentiated atmosphere from the forceful orchestra, The characteristically effective instrumentation of Claude Debussy (1862--1918), and Bela Bartok's (1881--1945) interest informal dimensions and developmental procedures of his own compositional style influenced this work. To organize this three movement composition in a symmetrical attitude, the first and third movement share several common components, especially pitch layouts, while the second movement keeps the most independent and distinctive flowing demeanor. The pitch materials interact both in horizontal and vertical orientations, and the directions and contours of the melodic lines are cautiously controlled to develop and extend the possibilities in the circumstance of unity of the entire piece. Harmonically, quintal and quartal chords are frequently employed in several points to slacken the tensions which have been built, while pentatonic scale-oriented harmonies dominate the harmonic realms of the composition.