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The Dolphins in the ForestA composition for orchestra -- with optional addition of hundreds or thousands of children playing homemade percussion -- commissioned by the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra.
by Dan Plonsey
Performed by the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra: Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, May 8, 2001 |
The Dolphins come today Into the forest Down to the hole In the gallery-o. Doo doot de doo--- de Doo doo, doo doo, doo. Doo, doo, de doot doo. Going to the hospital! Doo doo doo doo doo doo Doo, doo! The End!-- Cleveland Louis Plonsey
Historically speaking, we know that life began in the ocean, and that some animals emerged from the water, but that sometime later, the ancestors of the dolphin returned to the ocean to live. This composition postulates the re-emergence of dolphins. (Both Jennifer Rycenga and Cleveland Plonsey deserve independent credit for bringing this fantasy to my attention.)
This composition is in the form of a musical fantasy. That is, it is a series of extraordinary images which are linked only loosely and alogically. Development does not play much of a role at all, nor is there traditional accompaniment to the melodies. Instead, I have employed block harmonizations (according to my recent style, in which a given melodic note is always accompanied by a particular chord), which serve only to make the melodies bigger and gaudier, perhaps top-heavy, even grotesque. In a word: dream-like. Again, this is a fantasy, but not the sort of fantasy that has a moral. At least I will say that it does have a happy, excited, sunny disposition.
Optionally, students will bring waves to the orchestra.
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Dan Plonsey dan@plonsey.com |
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