Disenchanted Worlds for solo piano

This piece opens small window on what we all experience at some point in our lives: illusion, disenchantment, ensuing inner turmoil, and as a result, enlightenment.

Disenchanted Worlds

This composition is a tone poem, based off a poem of the same title by Conrad Aiken. It starts off with first violins in descending thirds, which represents the moonlight theme in the poem, and gradually makes its way down the ensemble. As the lower voices exchange the thirds, the violins pizzicato on top, mimicking the footsteps mentioned in the poem. Then the strings build with rising sevenths, reaching a full climax halfway through the piece, then slowly ebb away. The violins then come back in with the descending thirds, this time an octave higher, reminding the audience of the moonlight theme. The melody is then carried down, until it reaches the lower voices, and again, the thirds are brought back, this time in a much darker, more brooding manner. The violins then exchange the pizzicato footsteps, with the space in between each "footstep" getting progressively bigger-signifying the footsteps falling farther and farther away, finally into nothing. 

Nocturne of Remembered Spring

I.

Moonlight silvers the tops of trees, 
Moonlight whitens the lilac shadowed wall 
And through the evening fall, 
Clearly, as if through enchanted seas, 
Footsteps passing, an infinite distance away, 
In another world and another day. 
Moonlight turns the purple lilacs blue, 
Moonlight leaves the fountain hoar and old, 
And the boughs of elms grow green and cold, 
Our footsteps echo on gleaming stones, 
The leaves are stirred to a jargon of muted tones. 
This is the night we have kept, you say: 
This is the moonlit night that will never die. 
Through the grey streets our memories retain 
Let us go back again. 

-Conrad Aiken

I would like to give the performers of EYSO and their director, and my teacher, Dr. Prior, my infinite thanks for the time and devotion put into this piece. I would rather no other orchestra or director in the world premiere this, and I am so grateful that this opportunity was given to me. Thank you to all my friends, family, and teachers for supporting me and coming out that night!

Nocturne of Remembered Spring (premiere recording)

glasswork is a minimalist piece composed more specifically in the vein of Philip Glass. The A section borrows from Debussian and Glass' harmonic language and transitions into a more rhythmic, driving B section, reminiscent of the non-lyrical works of Glass and Reich. As the B section draws to close, polyrhythms take over, increasing in frenzy, until the music melts into an A' section- an exact repition of the A section but in retrograde. The music then fades out with the same Debussian color.

emilyshyr