This is a follow-up to the last entry about the HCSO piece (still untitled). I outlined what the overall structure of the piece as it looked about a week ago, but there was little detail on each of the movements.
Last week, I really only had about 12 bars for the opening of the slow first movement, but now it’s nearly complete, and will be more than 5 minutes long. The result is a mainly contemplative opening movement that builds into a wild cs�rd�s (a fast Hungarian dance), and then recedes back to reprise the main slow theme of the beginning.
As described in the earlier entry, the movement opens with a pentatonic melody played by the two violin sections divided in five parts in the form of a homophonic choral. This original tune is interlocked with the opening phrase of the Mad�rka, mad�rka tune, which never manages to proceed beyond that. The interplay develops into a more contrapuntal texture with a few tense moments, giving way to a new theme.
The new theme is is an E minor tune with a slow, pulsating accompaniment. This is actually a tune I made up about a year ago, when I thought it would be fun write a Hungarian folksong. (I don’t know how convinced the Hungarian audience will be, but I like it.) The tempo increases and builds up to boot-slappin’ fast dance. I’m trying to imitate the string playing in Hungarian folk band music, but also trying not to sweat it too much; authenticity is not one of my goals. The E minor tune returns in the final movement in a major variation that is somewhat less Hungarian, but probably more interesting.
Yet to be worked out is the transition back to the contemplative opening chorale, which ends the movement.
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