Ocean

Hear an excerpt of this piece.

Composer: David Heuser
Instrumentation: flute/piccolo/alto flute, clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion
Year Composed: 1993
Duration: 17 minutes (movements: 6:00, 5:30, 5:30)
Pages (score): 87
Cost:

• Rental: $100.00
  
• Purchase: $150.00
  

Representative Performances:

• ComTemChaMu, John Beall, cond., West Virginia Univeristy, Morgantown, WV (November 1994)
• Pat Brumbaugh, cond., Imagine '94 New Music Festival, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN (March 1994)
• David Heuser, cond., Indiana University, Bloomington, IN (October 1993)

Percussion Required: marimba, vibraphone, four tomtoms, snare drum, bass drum, two tam-tams (one large, one small), triangle, bell tree and bamboo wind chimes. A bow is also required.

Ocean is the great serpent, biting its tail. In some primitive mythologies it surrounds the world; it is also the cosmic serpent which supports the Earth in the form of the waters of the abyss. Although this piece is not programmatic, it is the cosmic serpent (and not the Sea) which was the focus of my thinking while writing it. There is a progression, a journey, through the three movements - from the shore to the edge of the world - which is the outward counterpart for a complementary inward journey.

The first movement begins on terra firma, Earth. This movement is really a scherzo and should be played at a breakneck speed. Ideas are initially presented in pairs which are then repeated (A-B-A-B-C-D-C-D). After almost two minutes, longer development begins to take place. The rest of the piece can be divided into three parts. The first part is marked by a high ostinato in the marimba and piano. This section ends with the only prolonged ritard in the whole movement. The second part begins simply but explodes into chaotic, soloistic music (this is a foreshadowing of the third movement). This part ends with a unison E and moves onto the coda, which is a reiteration of material from the beginning presented in a new light.

The second movement is called Root. In Norse mythology, the greatest of all trees is Yggdrasil, the world ash. Its limbs spread over the world and above heaven; its roots penetrate the abyss, and there the cosmic serpent gnaws on them. This movement is about heaviness and darkness and secret things. The flutist plays alto flute, the clarinetist, bass clarinet and the violin's lowest string is tuned down a step. Formally this movement is framed by an introduction and a coda which feature the alto flute. After the introduction, the main body of the piece can be divided into two parts. The longer first part is an A-B-A' form which contains little development and much pedal F. The second part is a bit faster and much more active. Here again, as in the first movement, there is an emphasis on soloistic playing. The movement's coda fades into nothingness.

In the third movement, we reach the Serpent. This is really all about chaos and fear. When writing this, I imagined falling over the edge of the world into the maw of this beast. Pitch material for the entire movement is taken from an interval pattern found in the chaotic section of the first movement. The movement begins with a crashing piano solo. After this the body of the work is an A-B-A'-B'-A" form. The A music is soloistic, frantic, chaotic and loud. The B music is calm (or calmer), unfolding slowly. The piece ends with a final shout.