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Time Lines: A philosophical, variation rondo for small orchestra, speaker and a cast of extras

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Time Lines: A philosophical, variation rondo for small orchestra, speaker and a cast of extras

Written for an orchestra consisting of pairs of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, french horn, trumpet (1st doubling flugelhorn), trombone, percussion, reduced string section, speaker, and Greek chorus (which consists of all the rest of the orchestra). A large array of percussion instruments are employed including Chinese bell tree, large and small triangles, large and small suspended cymbals, tam-tam, glass wind chimes, log drum, vibra slap, maracas, three tenor drums, pedal hi-hat cymbal, temple blocks, two conga drums, bells, wood block, bass drum, castenets, and tambourine. The Greek chorus, while not playing specific instruments, are called upon, like all good Greek choruses, to comment on and amplify on the 'plot' at large. To that end the Greek chorus provides much extra-musical atmosphere by various activities including producing high-pitched sounds by rubbing their fingers around the rims of wine glasses, producing a foghorn-like sound by blowing into bottles, by whispering and chanting, and other 'sounds' including snapping fingers, tapping stands with pencils, slapping thighs, and clapping.

The piece is sub-titled 'a philosophical, variation rondo for small orchestra, speaker, and a cast of extras'. The cast of extras refers to the Greek chorus. The philosophical part is provided by the speaker, which brings us to what this piece is all about. The title refers to several different things. It refers to the speaker uttering lines on the subject of time. It also refers to how a human being looks at the passage of time from the viewpoint of the various stages of his life. The piece starts by refering to the unending, unchanging, and eternal aspect of the passage of time. Later the piece looks at how uniquely the young view the passage of time followed by how the old view it. Thus, ultimately, the title really refers to how as we pass through this life our viewpoints on the passage of time changes and we all have different time lines that we are pursuing.

The rondo portion of the sub-title refers to the musical form where a particular theme or section is of a recurring nature interspersed with something of a contrasting nature. All the various sections will be heard over again, but never in quite the same manner (thus the variation part of the sub-title). There are two main sections of music which alternate with each other. The slow section is called a 'time cloud' and, while not rhythmless, there is much less music of a rhythmic nature than in the faster sections (hence a cloudyness). The fast section is called a 'time machine' and is meant to portray the unrelenting and unchanging nature of the passage of time. This unrelenting and even nature open and close the piece. In between are several variations on this 'time machine'. The first variation depicts how the young view the passage of time and the orchestra plays seemingly on two different time tracks at the same time. The first is the normal 'time machine' and the second is a much slower and plodding section portraying how the passage of time for the young seems interminably slow. The second variation is the 'time machine' along with a very fast and rhythmic section which portrays how for the old the passage of time seems to be over in the blink of an eye.

Time Lines is a completly tonal work. The major tonalities are E major, E minor, Eb major, and Eb minor. The work flows smoothly and seamlessly through and around these keys so that there is almost a pertual motion aspect to much of the music, especially the 'time machine' sections. It is written to sound as though it could, literally, go on forever. Even the 'time cloud' sections center on these tonalities. At times the major and minor tonalities are sounded together, at other times they are alternated.

Time Lines was commissioned by the Adrian Symphony Orchestra, David Katz conductor, and given the world premier on December 12, 1992 in Dawson Auditorium at Adrian College, Adrian Michigan.

Duration: 15 minutes. The score and parts (printed with Finale) are available for performance. For further information contact the composer below.