I
already had the makings of a ballad theme in my head, so I thought I’d use it
as a start for this “song” cycle. I had been wanting to make a song cycle, and
now I had a good idea for one. I originally thought to write twelve “songs,”
but decided eight would be enough. This is where the idea for “Ballad”
originally came from. Let me also make it clear that I never had a concrete
plot in mind for this “imaginary musical,” only suggestions. My concept was to
write a series of pieces that could suggest a vague plot with interactions of
several instrumental “characters.” I do have a suggested song order below,
though they could really be played in any order and still convey some sort of story. Even
the instrumentation can be flexible for necessity or variety (for example, you
could substitute a viola for the violin, piano for vibraphone, or French horn
for trombone). Though I am proud
of how I’ve put it all together, I am not opposed to musicians taking what I’ve
written and providing their own unique interpretations.
From the suggested order below, here is a general plot I’ve come up with: We are introduced to all the characters, as well as their relationships to each other. In general, they are a group of friends and acquaintances. The bassoon has taken a liking to the oboe, though he is hesitant to move forward, much to the oboe’s frustration (“Exposition”). The violin talks with the bassoon and encourages him to follow his heart and marry the oboe (“Encouragement”). The bassoon is very nervous and simply yet sincerely asks the oboe to marry him, and she says yes (“Yes!”). Later, there is a debate between the bassoon and the trombone, which leads to the two of them getting upset at each other, rupturing their friendship (“Debate”). The trombone is especially angry and becomes antagonistic (“No!”). Things have taken a turn for the worse. The oboe and the clarinet lament the conflict and declare their longing for love and their hope for a happier future (“Ballad”). The cello finds himself out alone in the rain, which inspires him and helps him to rise above the pressing challenges (“Inspiration by Precipitation”). In the end, conflicts are resolved and everyone contemplates on the lessons learned, and on their valued relationships (“Conclusion”). This is what I had in mind as I wrote the song cycle, but it doesn’t have to be the only possibility. The songs are intended to have meaning, but the exact meanings are intentionally vague.
1. Exposition—May 30, 2015
During the summer of 2014, a friend of mine approached me about writing a musical based on Pokémon. I was ecstatic!
It sounded like a fun idea! My friend was developing a hilarious plot, as well as
some song lyrics. He wanted me to write the music, and help with the
development of the musical. We had several meetings throughout the summer, in
which we discussed and developed three songs: an exposition song, a hilarious
rap for Mewtwo (titled, “I’m Awesome!”), and a song of encouragement for Brock to sing
to Ash (titled, "Ope Your Eyes"). With other compelling priorities (school, work, family), and realizing
the amount of work required for such an ambitious project, the musical hasn't progressed beyond these three songs. However, I decided not to let these
songs go to waste, so I used the tunes for this song cycle.
Exposition in this song
cycle is directly based on the exposition song intended for the Pokémon
musical. I set up this piece so that the audience could be “introduced” to all
of the characters and some of the relationships between them. This
approach also allowed me to use the same themes multiple times, kind of like a
theme and variations piece. I experimented with time signature,
instrumentation, and dynamics. This was a challenge to write because of its
variety, but I am very pleased with how it turned out. Perhaps my favorite piece in this cycle.
2. Encouragement—Apr. 26, 2015
In the Pokémon musical, my friend wanted a song in a calypso/reggae style that Brock would sing to
Ash after he sees Ash all depressed now that he’s “caught ‘em all.” There is
humor in the song title, “Open Your Eyes,” because Brock’s eyes in the animated
TV show always appeared to be closed. For "Encouragement,"
I took the melody and the steel drum accompaniment from “Open Your Eyes” and
transferred them onto violin and vibraphone parts. I went back and
forth between assigning the solo to the flute or the violin. Either one would
work, really, but I chose the violin in the score because it didn’t have as
many solo parts in other pieces. Apart from the instrumentation, this piece is very similar to “Open Your Eyes.”
3. Yes!—Jun. 4, 2015
This piece was written with a more
concrete scenario in mind. I imagined a nervous bassoon mustering the courage
to ask the oboe to marry him. The bassoon’s opening “dialogue” is adapted from
the first few measures of T. 27, Dialogue
for Two Oboes and Cello. If I were asked to write lyrics for this piece, I
know exactly what I’d write for the repeated bassoon motif: “Will you marry me?”
This is followed by the oboe’s “gasp of surprise.” This is my interpretation,
of course. I’m sure other possibilities are out there.
4. Debate—Jul. 14, 2014
Chronologically, this is the third piece
I finished for Songs from an Imaginary Musical.
I am surprised I got this done so quickly after the second one (“Inspiration by
Precipitation”). The main melody that is used over and over was originally
intended as a setting for the song of the Sorting Hat from the Harry Potter
books. Then one day I decided to see how it would sound with a variation of
another theme that I had in my mind. This second theme was intended for a piece
that depicted a battle scene at some sort of an arena. This theme is plucked by
the cello for most of the piece. With these two themes I developed the concept
of a debate between two instruments, with the accompanying instruments (violin and cello) as
bystanders. As the main characters of this piece, I chose two instruments I
hadn’t used yet: a bassoon and a trombone. Their low tones work well for
the scene of an increasingly heated debate. The basic form of the piece came easily enough, so
all I had to do was write it. To increase the intensity of the debate, I marked
an increase of dynamics and of tempo throughout the piece. This debate isn’t a
shouting match, per se, although the discussion between the two players becomes
more intense as the two instruments continue to interrupt, speak out of turn, and even
debate simultaneously. The violin and the cello keep the setting alive with attacked staccatos and disjointed rhythms.
A word about how the piece ends: because
this piece is meant to be "part of a musical," it (and all other
pieces in the “song” cycle) is written with the assumption that the plot would
continue after the piece was over. This piece ends right at a climax in the
debate, and the sustained note of the violin would provide a transition into
the rest of the imaginary scene.
5. No!—Jun. 5, 2015
This piece is loosely based on the Mewtwo
rap written for the unfinished Pokémon musical. There wasn’t much music in the rap apart
from words and beat-boxing. I used a single menacing motif throughout, which
appears as A-F-D-G in this piece. This was
the last piece I completed for the cycle, mostly because I wasn’t sure
exactly what I wanted to do with it. I knew I wanted something to show evidence
of conflict, and I liked the idea of having two pieces with opposite and
emphatic titles: “Yes!” and “No!” I also knew I wanted to have similar rhythms
and meters as the Mewtwo rap. Then there was the other idea to include some
cello percussion (what you hear as MIDI drum sounds is meant to be the cello player knocking and slapping the wood of the cello). I admittedly threw all of these things together in a short
period of time, seeing that this was the last piece in the cycle and I was
excited that I was so close to finishing the whole thing. I think this piece
as it is fulfills the purposes I had in mind. It is short, but I didn’t have
any reason to make it longer.
6. Ballad—Mar. 4, 2014
This is the first piece I wrote for the
cycle. I wanted to write a duet with an oboe and a clarinet, with a vibraphone
accompanying them (at first I wrote that part for piano, but I chose a
vibraphone because I preferred its sound for this piece, and I was learning
mallet percussion at the time). As I continued to develop the theme of this
piece and write the form of the ballad from my mind onto Finale, a different
motivation began to emerge. This piece became a little more personal as I
decided on a vague backstory. In the imaginary musical, I imagine this ballad to
be sung by two lovers (or two best friends, or two family members) who are at
this point separated from each other. I intended for the piece to convey a
sense of longing, but with unfailing hope for happiness in the future. That’s
why I often delay satisfying cadences and resolutions at the end of phrases and
in the vibraphone part at the very end of the piece. Writing this piece became a way for
me to express my personal longing and hope for a romantic relationship. At the
time I composed this piece, I was feeling frustrated and anxious about the
dating scene around me, and—as cliché as this sounds—I just wanted to find
someone to love. I expressed my longing at that time, as well as my hope in the
future, in this piece. I also expressed these thoughts and feelings a lot in my
journal, including these reasons for writing this piece the way I did.
7. Inspiration by Precipitation—Jul. 5, 2014
This duet was inspired by two songs:
“Rainy Day” by Coldplay and “Singin’ in the Rain.” When I find myself walking
alone in the rain, I often sing these songs to myself. At times, I came up with other
melodies and put the words from “Singin’ in the Rain” into my melodies. I had
the image of a person (me) walking along, admiring the raindrops around him,
and feeling inspired to sing, to create something positive. I imagined the
vibraphone representing the rain and the cello representing myself feeling happy,
refreshed, and inspired by the rain. As I developed the concept and
form of this piece, I enjoyed using rhythmic variety in the vibraphone part that
could come from variations of just a few musical ideas.
My first draft of this piece had two
verses (repeating measures 26–91, the "chorus,"with slight rhythmic variation for the
vibraphone), which made it over six minutes long. Since the other pieces in
this set are no longer than three or four minutes, I decided to cut the second
verse entirely. I still have the longer version on file, but the shorter
version (which now lasts just over four and a half minutes) is the official
installment in the cycle.
8. Conclusion—Apr. 26, 2015
When I heard the opening measures of the
King’s Singers’ arrangement of "Greensleeves,"
I instantly loved it and I wanted to write something like it. This is the
motivation behind a lot of my pieces in general, wanting to create something
that I enjoy hearing, to create music that I like (see Steve Reich quote in the
Introduction). I couldn’t think of any other place to put this piece in the
cycle, so I thought it would be fine for a concluding piece, especially if all
the instruments are involved (like in “Exposition”). The flute hadn’t done much
yet, so I made it the featured soloist, with some support from the trombone. I
really like using the “full chorus” effect, so I did that for the third verse of the
song. The melody is certainly inspired by Paul Simon’s "Scarborough Fair." This conclusion to the song cycle is intended to
be contemplative. What is the subject of contemplation? Why is everyone
involved? Is this truly the end of the musical, or is there more after this
song? For this song, as well as all the others in this cycle, I leave such
questions open for exploration and interpretation.
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