Adam Schoenberg APOLLO
This%work%was%commissioned%by%the%University%of%Missouri Kansas%City% and%Clarion%Duo
Duration:!ca.!17!minutes!
World!premiere:!September!7,!2018!by!Clarion!Duo,!Voxman!Hall,!Iowa!City,!IA.
Program'note'
Apollo!is!a!threePmovement!work,!for!trumpet!and!organ,!commissioned!by,!and!dedicated!to!the! fabulous!Clarion!Duo.!This!piece!is!meant!to!be!big!and!spatial,!as!if!you’re!traveling!to!outer!space!and! beyond.!My!goal!was!to!create!a!celestial,!outPofPbody!experience!for!listeners.!
Movement%I.%Beyond!begins!with!major!10th!chords!(major!triads!spaced!in!their!most!open!form,!CPGP E)!played!by!the!organ,!while!the!trumpet!plays!a!long!soaring!melody.!The!entire!opening!is!meant!to! evoke!a!sense!of!timeliness.!As!this!section!ends,!the!10th!chords!turn!into!closed!triads!(CPEPG),! creating!a!sense!of!compression.!The!music!here!begins!to!take!off!in!a!much!more!rhythmic!and!lively! fashion,!and!doesn’t!let!up!until!the!movement!ends.!
Movement%II.%Light was!inspired!by!chorales!and!spirituals!that!one!might!find!in!places!of!worship.!The! movement!begins!with!block!chords!played!by!the!organ,!while!the!trumpet!plays!an!elongated! melodic!line.!Similar!to!the!first!movement,!Light!is!more!or!less!divided!into!two!sections.!As!the!organ! block!chords!and!slow!trumpet!melody!come!to!an!end,!the!organ!introduces!a!more!fluid!sense!of! motion!with!a!flowing!section!in!7/8.!The!trumpet!then!plays!a!more!hopeful!melody!than!that!of!the! first!section.!!As!this!section!comes!to!an!end,!the!organ!gradually!returns!to!the!opening!10th chords!in! movement!I.!Without!a!pause,!we!immediately!move!on!to!Movement!III.!
Movement%III.%Return!begins!with!similar!10th!chords!from!the!opening,!but!this!time!modal!mixture!is! employed!and!the!10th chords!cycle!between!major!and!minor.!The!trumpet!becomes!more!virtuosic! and!rhythmic!as!the!movement!develops,!creating!a!sense!of!anticipation!for!the!journey’s!end,!and! the!return!home.
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