Performed by the Vanbrugh Quartet in the National Concert Hall on the 7th of February 2014.

Eoghan Ryan Quartet 1

Resurrection: 
The opening passage of this movement is used to establish that a rescue or salvage operation is underway. This is achieved through the use of an alarm ringing out during the opening passage. The alarm’s function is to suggest that there is still a state of emergency; however, where alarms or sirens are present, help is often within close proximity, as in the case of a fire alarm or ambulance. A heartbeat is used here to create a sense of tension, but it is also used metaphorically, to suggest that life is being sustained, or as the title of the movement implies, resurrected. To further inform the listener that the situation is being ameliorated, dialog is used with language suggesting recuperation. The narration reads, ‘good men, do not go gentle’, ‘not their end’, ‘no dying of the light’. The dialog continues, ‘wise men, no end’, ‘good men, no end’, ‘no dying of the light’. 

A triumphant melody sounds in the string section as The Villanelle roars past the listener and back to life. This section is intended to make obvious visual reference to the salvaging, or resurrection, of The Villanelle. However, the listener is not allowed to remain in this sense of security for long, as the tonality of the movement modulates to the relative minor of F# minor, in an effort to convey anxious circumstances to the listener. This is representational of the fact that The Villanelle may be fully operational, but is still not out of danger. The following section makes visual reference to The Villanelle soaring through the sky and then performing evasive manoeuvres in an effort to evade danger.

The music escalates, modulating back to the tonic key of A major, and climaxes into the main theme of the movement that was heard earlier as the ship’s engines ignited. This theme, now even more prevalent than before, is once again accompanied by bells and hard synthesiser drones, signalling The Villanelle’s triumphant resurrection, and escape from danger. This section then subsides to a passage where the music is used to create a notion of calm. The narration once again reads ‘wise men, ‘good men’, ‘wild men’, followed by the phrase ‘how bright’, suggesting that the involved parties are now safe and well. The following bars see the string section used as a resolve, featuring a descending melody in cannon to close the movement. This acts as a metaphorical ‘powering down’ of the ship that was once stranded in space. A sound effect, emanating from all eight speakers (when listening in eight channels), now performs a literal powering down of The Villanelle, the movement, and the composition.


The Villanelle MVT III: Resurrection

The Villanelle: Introduction
This work, originally composed for string quartet and eight-channel fixed media (used to provide surround sound), is based on a concept of science fiction, and aims to instil cinematic imagery in the mind of the listener. It is the composer’s intention that the listener will use their imagination to create visual imagery that relates to the audio information they are receiving. This is achieved by providing the listener with only the audio aspects of a cinematic experience. A fixed media component includes sound effects, dialog, atmospheric sounds and electronic music. The composition contains three movements entitled, Lift Off, Rage Against and Resurrection. The overall concept of the composition is designed to be a documentation of events that take place around the crew of a star-ship called The Villanelle. Each movement is themed with a particular set of events that contribute to the concept and overall narrative of the composition. A poem written by Dylan Thomas, entitled, Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, is featured throughout the work. The words of the poem have been rearranged so that they may function as a narration that also displays a rhythmic relationship to the music. The title of this work (The Villanelle) is derived from the form in which the poem is written.    

Lift Off:
The first movement, Lift Off, sees the crew of The Villanelle embark on their mission into outer space. As the countdown begins, radio chatter ensues, representing communication between mission control and The Villanelle. Voices that can be identified during this section are an indication that the ship is being monitored by not only a human presence, but also by an artificial intelligence presence. Drawn out descending numbers edge closer to their inevitable conclusion, creating a tense atmosphere in which the listener is intended to perceive a rocket primed for launch. The clock reaches zero and the ship and its crew are launched out of Earth’s atmosphere to destinations unknown. 

At this point, a narrator, the ship’s on board computer, uses a poem (Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night) logged in its database to communicate with the listeners of the composition. Dialog reads, ‘wise men, good men, wild men, how bright’, as the narrator attempts to communicate to listeners that the crew of The Villanelle is comprised of intelligent, honourable and brave individuals. 

After a brief period into the mission, The Villanelle enters into difficulty. The computer narrates this as ‘lighting’. Quartet and tape parts display dissonance in an effort to portray that the situation is unravelling. Narration begins to describe the crew with dialog reading, ‘grave men, frail deeds, too late, near death’, suggesting that they are about to die. An object, symbolised as a radar ‘beep’, now draws closer to the ship, and subsequently increases in speed and intensity. The narrator repeats the phrase, ‘too late’, stating that any efforts made by the crew to reverse their present course are futile. The radar proximity increases dramatically before an explosion occurs, leaving The Villanelle a wreck floating in outer space.






The Villanelle MVT I: Lift Off

Rage Against:
This movement is intended to portray The Villanelle and its crew in their darkest hour, marooned in an unknown part of space and on the verge of their demise. Returning to the subject of imagery, the composer wished to project an image of a wrecked ship floating in space at the beginning of the movement. This is achieved through the use of a muffled drone, similar to the sonic properties one would experience while submerged under water. Another ‘beeping’ effect is used at this point. On this occasion however, it is intended to symbolise a homing beacon, as opposed to its earlier usage, which caused a violent explosion. To consolidate the notion that this is a situation in which individuals are stranded, the composer has used Morse code, which sounds a clear ‘SOS’ (… --- …) shortly after beginning its transmission. The homing beacon and Morse code can be heard from 360 degrees (when listening in eight channels), representing the fact that The Villanelle is transmitting a call for help in all directions.

The ship’s computer now exists not only as a narrator, but also as a character within the composition that is trying to communicate with the crew, motivating them into repairing the damaged ship and completing the mission. As such, this movement uses Do Not Go Gentle Into That good Night in context, as a reader would recite it. The message that exists within the poem, in its original state, is one of defiance in the face death, and so the composer felt that its use in this work would be highly appropriate. One could also interpret this use of dialog as a third party celestial being who exists in this region of space, attempting to aid the human craft prior to intercepting its distress call. Once again, this being’s only method of communication is through the use of a poem logged in the computer’s database.

As the aim of the composition is to conjure cinematic imagery in the listener’s mind, it would be during this movement that they are intended to perceive a situation where great lengths are being taken in a desperate struggle for survival.

The movement begins to diminish and a glitch appears in the dialog as if to inform the listener that a brief disruption has occurred in communication between the crew and its redeemer. Muffled atmosphere that was heard in the beginning re-enters as the listener is reminded that The Villanelle is still adrift, floating in outer space.

The Villanelle MVT II: Rage Against

Written for a friend on his 50th birthday.

Oggan