Prince
Instrumentation: 2 Flute, 2 Clarinet in B-flat, 2 Oboe, 2 Bassoon, 4 Horn, 2 Trumpet in C, 2 Trombone, Tuba, 3 Percussion (Vibraphone), Timpani, Harp, Strings
5:08 min.
©1995
Publisher: Reese & Hassing Music
BUY Sheet Music
BUY CD
Description
Rock, Latin, and Afro-Cuban rhythms are the basis for this exciting piece. Melody is secondary to the pulsating beat of the orchestra.
Program notes
The Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, one of the finest youth symphonies in the United States, commissioned Prince. I composed the Rock and Latin sounding music to appeal to the young musicians (ages 13–18) in the orchestra.
The physical appearance of the famous rock musician, Prince, is the inspiration for this piece. Prince looks so scary, complex, and ominous. His music should sound like that, but it doesn’t. I love the way he looks, so wicked. I wanted to write something that sounded the way he looked.
Most of the music I write relies on melody. I wanted to try some new techniques in this work. I decided to concentrate on rhythm, texture, and exploit a harp technique known as glissés de pédales. I created a rhythmic texture from an intricate layering of Afro-Cuban or Latin rhythms (samba, surdo, mozambique) and a set of rhythms derived from the Fibonacci series (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 etc.). Listeners interested in numbers should pay attention to the strings at the beginning of the movement. This is how the Fibonacci series sounds!
I did not eliminate melody, but its importance has been diminished in the pulsating beat of the orchestra. Two competing themes weave in and out and around each other. Theme two frequently appears canonically.