Duration: 8 minutes
FIRST PERFORMANCE: Columbus State University Wind Ensemble/ Robert Rumbelow in Columbus, Georgia/ April 2006
When Robert Rumbelow approached me to write a piece for wind ensemble for this wonderful consortium commission, I was really delighted, as I had been thinking of a piece for these forces for some time and was eager to try some of the acoustic things that I do in my pieces for symphony orchestra in a different context. I have long been interested in the idea of trying to “build in” an acoustic into my orchestrations; that is, to create the effect, for instance, of a melody which has a sense of sustain as if it were being played in a cathedral even though it is not- to build that reverberation into the orchestration. I was very pleased to see that not only could I achieve similar effects but also different and even more exciting things with various combinations of winds, brass, and percussion.
The title for this work is a reference to the compositional process. Writing a piece of music is like creating a dream that you want to have. The feeling that pervades the work is one of a sense of mystery, and this sentiment is primarily conveyed through the harmonies and orchestration.
The work is based on two ideas: the first is a short, two-note motive, and the second is a descending melody of five notes, ending in the repetition of the final note several times. This second material could be called the main melody, and it always appears shrouded in a kind of haze, until toward the very end of the work.
The piece is about 8 minutes in length.
—Christopher Theofanidis
Biography