Se Brota La Flor for Orchestra

Se Brota La Flor YouTube Video Link

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Se Brota La Flor 2.35 MB 76 downloads

Se Brota La Flor ...

During the COVID-19 isolation, I found solace in learning to compose for orchestra.  My composition teacher, Adam Schoenberg, patiently took me through the step-by-step process, building my knowledge with a whole new palette of sound.  Sitting in the audience of a major symphony, I dream professional musicians will play an orchestral piece I compose, an extremely rare event for an  unknown composer.  Still, I dream.  Please share this page with any of your music-loving friends to bring me closer to that dream; ‘se brota la flor’ translates roughly as ‘the flower breaks forth,’ exactly my hope for this piece.

I hope you enjoy Se Brota La Flor – WT “Steve” Stephenson.

Composition Notes: The musical textures for this piece derive from Quintal Harmonies (“stacked fifths”) — playing a “dominant” chord on top of its “tonic” chord.  A typical A minor chord would be spelled “A-C-E”, or the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes, and it’s “dominant” chord is E major, spelled “E-G#-B”.  In this piece, I explore the rich sonorities created by stacking a dominant chord above its tonic.  Aaron Copland uses these “stacked fifths” in the opening of Appalachian Spring, and I studied that piece as I began this composition. You can hear the result in the opening Harp motif, and it is explored and expanded throughout.  In fact, the basic chord structure for over half of this piece’s 308 measures is based on this paradigm, presenting it in minor keys, in Major keys and in ancient Church Modes.  The piece remains entirely warm and tonal throughout.

Synthesized MP3 File:

 

The beginning of the B Section, Pg. 10:

The beginning of the C Section, Pg 21:

Composer: WT Stephenson
Created: Jul 2021
Duration: 8:30