Missy Mazzoli
ISSUU Version for perusal only
THESE WORLDS IN US for large orchestra
Full Score
From the G. Schirmer Rental Library
Date of Printing________________
G.Schirmer, Inc.
New York, NY
ISSUU Version for perusal only
Missy Mazzoli
ISSUU Version for perusal only
THESE WORLDS IN US for large orchestra
G. Schirmer, Inc. New York, NY
2 Flutes
2 Oboes
2 Clarinets in A
2 Bassoons
ISSUU Version for perusal only
4 Horns in F
2 Trumpets in C 2 Trombones Tuba
Percussion (3 players):
Player 1: Melodica, Bass Drum
Player 2: Melodica, Snare Drum, Tuned Cowbells (E and G), Hi-Hat
Player 3: Vibraphone and Suspended Cymbal
Harp
Strings
duration circa 9 minutes
The title These Worlds In Us comes from James Tate’s poem The Lost Pilot, a meditation on his father’s death in World War II: (excerpt)
My head cocked towards the sky, I cannot get off the ground, and you, passing over again, fast, perfect and unwilling to tell me that you are doing well, or that it was a mistake that placed you in that world, and me in this; or that misfortune placed these worlds in us.
This piece is dedicated to my father, who was a soldier during the Vietnam War. In talking to him it occurred to me that, as we grow older, we accumulate worlds of intense memory within us, and that grief is often not far from joy. I like the idea that music can reflect painful and blissful sentiments in a single note or gesture, and sought to create a sound palette that I hope is at once completely new and strangely familiar to the listener. The theme of this work, a mournful line first played by the violins, collapses into glissandos almost immediately after it appears, giving the impression that the piece has been submerged under water or played on a turntable that is grinding to a halt. The melodicas (mouth organs) played by the percussionists in the opening and final gestures mimic the wheeze of a broken accordion, lending a particular vulnerability to the bookends of the work. The rhythmic structures and cyclical nature of the piece are inspired by the unique tension and logic of Balinese music, and the march-like figures in the percussion bring to mind the militaristic inspiration for the work as well as the relentless energy of electronica drum beats.
— Missy Mazzoli
“The interviewer, when asked his preference, singled out Missy Mazzoli’s These Worlds In Us, and conductor Osmo Vanska muttered assent. The Mazzoli piece also seemed to be a favorite of the audience, to judge from the applause of all 900 listeners who turned out.”
- James R. Oestreich, The New York Times, review of a concert by the Minnesota Orchestra, December 17, 2006
“Missy Mazzoli’s These Worlds In Us began elegiacally, with hints of Copland, but soon grew edgier and more searching. To me, it sometimes sounded the way psychotherapy feels, with rushes of memory subsiding into despondency and grief.”
-Larry Fuchsberg, Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 5, 2008
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