The dreamer's personality is embodied in the solo bass part. The dreamer lopes through his life—calm and unconcerned, occasionally breaking out in passionate (but always “street-cool”) expression.

The Dreamer

This piece for string orchestra is one of a set of thirteen pieces entitled "States of MInd." Each of these compositions embodies a different emotional character, a "humour." The set as whole attempts a modern interpretation of the baroque "Doctrine of the Affections." According to some of the historical thinking behind this concept, a piece of music should embody one "affect." This is according to German baroque theorist Johannes Mattheson. Music could and should do so by observing musical gestures whose meanings were thought to be fixed.

Hence each piece of the set "States of Mind" adheres to a very small set of gestures that concentrate their expression in a very particular manner. "Edict" emulates the dramatic declamation style of Louis Farrakhan, whose oratorical power is like that of an old testament prophet. Farrakhan is in turn hypnotic, joyful, severe... and above all, theatrical.

March, 2014

"Edict" for string orchestra

This is a demonstration piece that shows the structural and expressive possibilities of very stripped down musical materials—a single pitch-class: A.

The piece is titled Animikii—after the legendary Thunderbird of North American indigenous peoples. This mythical bird was thought to be a creature of wrath, capable of causing winds and storms.

In its opening and closing statements this piece evokes characteristics of rising and falling anger. I imagined that sections of the piece did indeed suggest the beating of the Thunderird's wings and the sudden energy of a lightning storm. Hence the title—Animikii.

Animikii

This is an example piano piece, demonstrating a traditional approach to writing ornamental variations. This approach is elaborated slightly through a freer use of non-chord tones than was allowed in the heyday(s) of this approach.

Theme and Two Variations on Folias de  Espana

This is a demonstration piece that illustrates the use of some ubiquitous techniques of musical development within a narrow harmonic frame offered by pentatonic major and minor pitch structures.

Summer Sketch In C (Pentatonic)

This recording is an electronic realization of a piece commissioned this year (2014)by Dr. Bernard Andrews of the University of Ottawa. I wrote it specifically for Erik Kristjanson and his students at Rideau High School. Several versions of this piece exist to suit the makeup of differently sized bands. The orchestration of this one reflects the instrumentation of Erik's ensemble. 

"Rideau Rhythms" was carefully written to be playable by an ensemble of inexperienced players. Ranges are carefully restricted and rhythms are reduced to a few types in order that players will hear their own rhythmic parts frequently, but played by  other instruments. 

Rideau Rhythms

"Indecision" was written as part of a set of 13 string orchestra pieces entitled "States of Mind.". Each of the pieces embodies an emotional "state of mind" and is thus concentrated upon a very small set of ideas. My whole concept was influenced by the ancient "Doctrine of the Affections," which proposed that musical figures, harmonies and expressive devices have somewhat fixed emotional connotations.

"Indecision" pits a conflicted soloist against a fixed entity—the larger string orchestra. They have a discussion, during which they constantly talk past each other. Each entity has a point of view that fails to convince the other—that influences the other only to be more insistent in stating its own views. Will they ever agree upon a musical point? An important point? 

No agreement is reached! 
Indecision prevails.

ALAN TOROK

"Indecision" for solo violin and string orchestra

"Praying for Rain" was written by music student Peace Lin, in the spring of 2013 for a chamber orchestra of about 15 players. It was recorded by a mix of professionals and music students of the Claude Watson Arts Program. This was one of about 9 pieces recorded in a single session, conducted by composer Scott Good.

The piece was inspired by the religious practices of Taiwanese aboriginals in their attempts to alleviate drought and famine. The composer wrote: "The aboriginals prayed for the rain... a group of men would stand in a circle and one man will start singing. The others  gradually join in, one by one, with different notes, calling for the rain to come."

"Praying for Rain" is cast in ABA' form, in which the B-section is in great contrast to A. Section A presents the aboriginals' incantation for rain, followed by a B-section suggesting a joyful arrival of the rains. This section features a complex rhythmic counterpoint of dance-like character.

Praying for Rain:  Peace Lin

"A Summer Breeze" is the 3rd movement of my "Summer Sonata" of 1998. Each movement evokes some kind of image associated with summertime. This third movement speaks of the wayward summer breezes blowing through my memory of childhood summers in Tilsonburg and Delhi Ontario, circa 1956-57. At age 9 and 10, I ran about those tobacco and corn fields of southern Ontario, looking for whatever... while my parents worked the fields with teams of fellow immigrants.

A SummerBreeze - III

"On the Factory Floor" is the 8th movement of a 10 movement work for clarinet and piano entitled: "A Motor-City Memoir." That work remembers 10 years of my youthful life as a young immigrant student in Detroit, Michigan: The Motor-City. Each of its 10 movement memorializes a year, from 1960 to 1969, and my first return visit in 2012, after a 40-year absence.

Each is based on different experiences and memories from that time: the music, the places and the people I met there.

"1968: On The Factory Floor" tells of my 4th year of summer employment in a Detroit auto factory. During my second-last summer there I worked the midnight shift in the heat-treating department of Bower Roller Bearing Inc. 

My main job that year was to work both ends of the house-size heating ovens: feed stock into the ovens and then move the filled metal bins at the exit end. 

The heat was intense; so much so that you couldn’t sit on any of the metal chairs strewn about. They were too hot. 

The manic piano part of this piece—especially—evokes this vision of an unbearable mechanical night-world. The performers are Robert Riseling (clarinet) and Denise Jung (pianoforte)

1968 - On The Factory Floor

This movement is the first of a three movement work whose character is one of ardency, warmth and emotional extravagance. It is inspired by the character of an old friend, a person whose naive and extravagant ardency seems so necessary to overwhelm the real tragic streaks in her life. It is cast in a ternary form resembling a classic/romantic sonata movement.

Alan Torok

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