COMPOSITIONS > PIANO SOLO > PRELUDES > No. 13 in C Minor
PRELUDES FOR PEOPLE IN MY LIFE
Prelude No. 13 in C Minor
for Elizabeth Silvia
Composed: July 2012
To View the Score and learn about the work scroll down below....
Recording coming soon... For now here is the computer playing it.... Seriously sounds like a Robot.... Oh well... SOON!
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About the Dedication:
Elizabeth was my high school crush at Clovis East. I don’t think I ever actually admitted it but everybody knew. My dad was the principal of my high school, and I was stuck there until 7-9PM every night. School got out at 2:40, and Elizabeth’s mom couldn’t pick her up until around 3:30. I talked with Elizabeth in front of the band room every day after school for 3 years. Despite my desire to be more than friends, nothing ever happened between us. It took some time for me to accept that, but Elizabeth was always a great friend. She was beautiful, extremely intelligent, and definitely made the after school hours of waiting more enjoyable. If I could go back and do it all again, I certainly would have done things differently.
After I finished composing the work, my first play through of it reminded me of background music in a film that is trying to evoke mellow and sad emotions. Shortly after that I knew the piece should be dedicated to Elizabeth. She always had a calm demeanor and was very soft spoken. She came across as shy to those who didn’t know her, but there was a lot to learn from those that did. The piece is a reflection of our friendship and my feelings towards her.
About the Work:
This prelude was written in July of 2012 after a very long rehearsal of the musical Spring Awakening. At the rehearsal, the cast was practicing being frozen in a staged position. The goal was to create a silhouette of the characters while the audience walked in and found their seats. They had to remain perfectly still while a 30 minute loop of minimalistic music played in the background. Since it looped so many times, it naturally became stuck in my head, and I decided to write my own simple piece based off of its harmonic structure.
The piece is written in a minimalistic style, and is in ternary (ABA) form. The piece was composed in a very simple manner, and uses the Alberti bass pattern to convey a somber mood. It is much easier to play than what I usually write, but the performer should still be challenged with voicing, bringing out all of the subtle changes, as well as conveying my intended mood. It is very easy to make the Alberti bass pattern sound robotic, and that is the opposite of what should happen while playing this piece. When the main theme combines with a new counter melody, it is important that they not fight each other for the spotlight but blend together harmoniously. It is also important for the dynamics changes to not be overly done. They should be very subtle, and give the listener the sense of the piece slowly changing. The piece should grow to the middle of the B section and fade softly towards the end.