Score
Beetles, dragons, and dreamers : for orchestra / Melody Eötvös.
Library shelf no. 784.2/EOT 1 [Available for loan]
Work Overview
I. Draconian Measures
Draco (600BCE) was the first legislator of Ancient Rome and was
known for instituting particularly harsh, cruel and unforgiving
laws. Where previously there had only been a system of oral law
and blood feuds, Draco replaced these with a written code that
could only be enforced by a court. I wanted to capture both the
notion of lawful, stringent sternness as well as the desperation
to escape it (as the victims of these laws would have sought) in
this movement. As such, the repetition of small motivic units
plays a central role, as well as the fleeting presence of some
more florid, scale-like gestures.
II. Lilith, Begone
The word 'lullaby' originated from the Jewish 'Lilith-Abi', which
translates as 'Lilith, begone.' In particular versions of Jewish
folklore, Lilith was known as Adam's first wife, and she was
molded by God out of the same dust as Adam (whereas Eve is said
to have been made from one of Adams ribs). Because of this, she
saw herself as Adam's equal and did not respond well to his
desire to rule over her. Eventually she left Adam and the Garden
of Eden. However, she was pursued by three angels who demanded
she return to the Garden. She refused and vowed to forever steal
the souls of little children as vengeance for Adam's suppressive
treatment of her. The angels would not agree to this, and so
Lilith made the condition that if the mother of a child hung an
amulet above the baby as it slept in its cradle, Lilith would
pass over that child. Primarily conceived of as a lullaby, this
movement unfolds delicately, with the main theme eventually
culminating in a forceful climax.
III. The Inanimate Spider
The title of this movement was inspired by the Native American
dreamcatcher, an object that originated in the Ojibwe and
Chippewa cultures. The native word used for this object is
actually the inanimate form of the word 'spider', inanimate here
being an additional inflectional category when expressing person
or gender combinations in language (i.e. proximate/obviate,
singular/plural, animate/inanimate). The function of the
dreamcatcher bears a remarkable semblance to the Lilith amulet.
One of its uses is to protect the sleeper, over which it hangs,
from nightmares and demons. Furthermore, it also aids in
tranfering good dreams, which are caught in the many web-like
threads of the object and moved down through the beads and
feathers that hang from the central hoop. The nightmares are said
to pass through the gaps and holes in the web, as though fading
away through a window. As a way of making a connection between
the dreamcatcher and the amulets of Lilith, I designed this
movement as an extended variation of the main theme from
'Lilith'.
IV. The Trojan Horse
This final movement is based on the concept of the Trojan Horse
and how it has evolved over time. In Ancient Greece, it was a
deceptive device constructed by the Greeks to invade Troy. The
Greeks pretended to abandon the Great War they had been waging on
Troy and left a large wooden horse as a gift. However, inside the
horse was an elite force of Greek soldiers who, once the horse
had been dragged into the city of Troy like a trophy, emerged and
slaughtered the Trojans in the night. Today, a Trojan Horse is
the term used for a computer virus that is secretly embedded in
another file which you might, unknowingly, download on to your
computer or electronic device. Once you have the file on your
computer, the virus can attack from within, potentially
destroying everything. This final movement is designed to be a
kind of semi-transparent Trojan Horse. The music as a whole
carries within it an almost hidden impression of a melodic,
linear idea. This idea is strong and independent on its own, but
the obscurity of the context it is in blurs the edges
dramatically. The goal, therefore, is to get from the beginning
of the movement to the end without the idea being heard as an
entire cohesive entity; for it to be 'smuggled' as such to the
end
Work Details
Year: 2013
Instrumentation: 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), oboe, cor anglais, 2 B flat clarinets (2nd doubling B flat bass clarinet), 2 bassoons (2nd doubling contrabassoon), 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in C, 2 trombones, tuba, percussion (3 players), harp, piano, strings (min. 8.8.6.4.2).
Duration: 12 min.
Difficulty: Advanced
Contents note: I. Draconian Measures -- II. Lilith, begone -- III. The Inanimate Spider -- IV. Trojan Horse.
First performance: 13 Apr 14. Musical Arts Center, Indiana University Bloomington IN, USA
Performances of this work
13 Apr 14: Musical Arts Center, Indiana University Bloomington IN, USA
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