Monuments

Monuments

Duration: 05:55

Instrumentation: Symphony Orchestra (2,2,2,2 4,2,3,0 2 perc. 2 timp.)

Technical Specifications: .wav 48kHz stereo audio

Performer: The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Conductor: Julian Pellicano

Year: 2017

Conceptually based off of the 19th century poem Ozymandias by Percy Blysshe Shelley, this composition is one piece out of a set of three that I composed around the poem’s many themes.

Building on the central theme of the poem, which explores the idea that all empires and their leaders inevitably decline despite their pretensions to greatness, I attempt to examine concepts of monarchical/colonial musical deconstruction, fragmentation, juxtaposition and evolution, and attempt to create the psychoacoustic elements needed for these abstract concepts to register with listeners.

The piece begins with a fanfare, a musical genre largely associated with nationalism and militarism. This is then deconstructed, with fragments of the fanfare appearing throughout the piece and merging with musical phrases that seek to evoke the marching of soldiers, the violent interruptions of war, and the faith we put in our societal 'monuments'.