Symphony No. 1 My Garden with Alice Evan J Lawson
Symphony No. 1 My Garden with Alice Evan J Lawson
For Orchestra 2012 Duration 30’00"
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Composer: EVAN J LAWSON
Year: 2012
ISMN: 73 9790720279732 979-0-720279-73-2
Size: A4 Score
Instrumentation:
| 2 Flutes (II = piccolo) 2 Oboes (II = cor anglais) 2 Clarinets in B Flat (II = bass clarinet in B flat) 2 Bassoons (II = contrabassoon) 4 Horns in F 2 Trum Part I - Bass Drum, Whip, 3 Woodblocks (high, medium, low), Triangle, Tam-Tam, Snare Drum, Suspended Cymbal, Sizzle Cymbal, Bongos, Part II - Vibraphone, Xylophone, Tubular Bells, Tam-Tam, Marimba, Crotales, Glockenspiel pets in B flat 2 Trombones Bass Trombone Tuba Timpani Percussion (2 players) Part I - Bass Drum, Whip, 3 Woodblocks (high, medium, low), Triangle, Tam-Tam, Snare Drum, Suspended Cymbal, Sizzle Cymbal, Bongos, Part II - Vibraphone, Xylophone, Tubular Bells, Tam-Tam, Marimba, Crotales, Glockenspiel Harp Baritone Voice Piano/Celesta Strings |
Duration: 30''00"
Premiered by the VCA Symphony Orchestra at Iwaki Auditorium conducted by Thaddeus Huang, in 2009.
A live recording of the piece is available on evanjlawson.com
Movements 1 & 2 - My Garden, with Alice
Movement 3 - Interlude
Movements 4 & 5 - Take Me Away and Sebastian's Garden
Programme Note
Upon first encountering this piece, it may appear disjointed. It swiftly traverses between textures, ideas, and emotional focal points in the blink of an eye. This technique aims to evoke a blurred stroll through a garden. A nostalgic, melancholic garden of my childhood.
The concept of a wild garden has lingered in my thoughts since childhood, making it the perfect inspiration for my inaugural composition venture into a substantial orchestral work for the concert hall.
During my upbringing, the garden was a realm of wonder, adventure, and mystery. I was fortunate to grow up in a garden with a diverse array of plants, with towering trees to climb and distinct areas to the garden that seemed to transport me to different worlds. Yet, after a long day of play, gazing from my bedroom window into the garden in the evening evoked a profound sense of melancholy—a yearning for a space where I could inhabit any role and embark on countless adventures.
This symphonic composition serves as a narrative journey through these evocative images, from the hyper-reality of Alice as she accompanies me on a childhood garden escapade, to the vivid depiction of the lush, untamed garden reminiscent of Sebastian's from Tennessee Williams' play Suddenly Last Summer. I was exposed to the film adaptation at a tender age, and the lingering shot of the garden's intensity has remained with me ever since.
Additionally, nestled within this piece is a brief excerpt from my song cycle Ballad of the Crying Satyr—a youthful hymn for adventure, travel, and liberation from the constraints of adolescence. Moreover, a fleeting central movement Interlude, mimics the calls of various orchestral sections, akin to the chirping of birds in dialogue.