Citadel of the Stars
General Info
Commissioner: Brian West and the TCU Percussion Orchestra
Copyright: 2016
Publisher: C. Alan Publications
Level: Advanced
Duration: 00:09:05
Cost: $60.00
Instrumentation
Player 1: Glockenspiel & Chimes
Player 2: Chimes & Crotales
Player 3: Vibraphone & Glockenspiel
Player 4: Vibraphone & Wine Glass (Medium)
Player 5: Xylophone & Chimes
Player 6: Marimba & Tibetan Singing Bowl (Large)
Player 7: Marimba
Player 8: Marimba & China Cymbal
Player 9: Marimba
Player 10: Timpani & Suspended Cymbal
Player 11: Suspended cymbal (Large) & Ride Cymbal & Low Cymbal Stack & 4 concert Tom-toms & Triangle (Large)
Player 12: Tam-tam & Triangle (Large) & Suspended Cymbal (Medium) & Cymbal Stack (Medium High) & Mark Tree & Bass Drum (Upright) & Snare Drum & small wine glass
Player 13: Bass Drum (Large) & Sizzle Cymbal & Triangle (Medium) & Suspended Cymbal & Snare Drum (Piccolo)
Program Notes
"National boundaries are not evident when we view the Earth from space. Fanatical ethnic or religious or national chauvinisms are a little difficult to maintain when we see our planet as a fragile blue crescent fading to become an inconspicuous point of light against the bastion and citadel of the stars." - Carl Sagan, Cosmos
In retrospect, I can easily note three main influences in Citadel of the Stars: my strong affinity for electronic music (recently, the likes of James Blake and Moderat), my deep admiration for the music of Alejandro Viñao (notably his use of multiple time in simultaneous voices), and my profound respect for Carl Sagan, which has grown significantly in recent years. This piece is a sort of homage to him and those who continuously search and explore the marvels of the universe.
Although this piece does not follow any specific formal structure, a few themes and motifs connect the five main sections, presented as quasi-variations rather than through programmatic means. Most notably, I have taken Sagan’s last name and exploited it for various uses including five sections for its five letters as well as its pitch-collection (S, fixed do-si/Bb; A, A natural; G, G natural; A, A natural; N, n for variable). Furthermore, an extensive use of echo is apparent throughout as my musical interpretation for the Einsteinian laws of gravitational relativity. Lastly, I’ve applied instances of “rhythmic curves” between various instruments and the sonic layers they create, inspired by the wormhole scene in Christopher Nolan’s film Interstellar. Put simply, a wormhole bends space-time and “distorts” our reality. I’ve lightly interpreted this into a rhythmic motive, occasionally blending with echo effects and dissipating melodic cells throughout the piece.
Recent Performance
Works for Percussion by this Composer
Aether- Percussion 12
Affinity - Percussion 14
Chakalaka - Multiple Percussion
Citadel of the Stars - Percussion 13
Ephemera - Mallet Sextet
Fuerza Negra - Percussion Sextet
La Fractura - Percussion Trio
Monolith - Percussion 14
Nalu (Percussion Ensemble) - Percussion 13
Nalu (Marimba Quartet) - Marimba Quartet
Selva Luminosa - Mallet Quartet
Tesseract (Ensemble Version) - Vibraphone & Mallet Sextet
Time Dilation - Percussion Octet
Volcán de Fuego - Percussion Quartet
Voyager (Perez) - Percussion 12