Search - Stephen D. Forman :: Rhapsody for Orchestra in C Major: "Desert Fancifal"

Inspired by the "The Rubaiyat" of Omar Khayyam with its quatrains both meditative and exotic, the composer sought to create a lush orchestral landscape of his own. The artist's statement describes "Blaring sun, shifting sands, yet also exquisite serene beauty...as thirst and exhaustion overtake him, he dreams sweetly of an oasis surrounded by palm trees." The piece begins square and deliberate, as divided cellos establish an ominous progression which takes our footsteps trudging heavily into the desert sands. Before long, tension is broken by graceful woodwinds ascending from the depths to establish what will become one of the recurring thematic elements. The piece gains fire as a secondary motive a foreshadowing of the climax is boldly exclaimed by the bassoons and trombones. With the major themes exposed, what follows are traded variations between soaring strings, cresting trumpets, and a whirling dervish of a flute, before the piece picks up speed inexorably toward a dancelike B-section. Led by a dolce clarinet, the rhythmic dance becomes increasingly frenetic and hastened, reflecting our protagonist s delirium. The orchestration grows dense and punctuated, the pace exhaustive and thirst-quenched. As past thematic elements are recalled, the piece swells toward visions of relief. Without warning, an oasis of dreamlike calm washes over us, conveyed first by trancelike violins, then joined by a cool and dark orchestra. A clarinet and oboe trade whispers of the morning s theme as night falls.