Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Work Overview

The title Metamorphosis refers to the transformation process of the musical material which is presented in its basic form in the first 20 bars of the composition.

In bar 9 start to rise out of a polyphonic texture of strings three types of melodic shapes, played by various solo instruments of woodwind and brass section. They are:

1) sustained sound followed by a short melodic fragment that comes to a rest on another sustained sound;

2) sustained sound followed by a group of accelerated repeated notes precipitating toward a short, rapid melodic fragment;

3) slow expressive melody, designated in the score as cantabile and/or espressivo

These three types of melodic shapes represent the nucleus of all thematic material in the work.

Melodic shapes are themselves composites of various basic musical elements. Type two, for example, is a composite of three such elements: sustained sound, repeated notes, and a short melodic fragment.

These compositional elements form the basis for various types of textures which are gradually transformed during the process of composition. At the same time the three melodic shapes, mentioned above, develop and grow in size and volume. They too are gradually transformed until they result in another shape.

Work Details

Year: 1978

Instrumentation: 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), 3 oboes, 3 clarinets in B flat, 3 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, percussion (3 players), celesta, 2 harps, strings (12.10.6.6.4).

Duration: 13 min.