The Portal- M. A. Cruz (2006)
Advanced
This is a challenging and lengthy two movement piece. The first
movement of this diptych was featured in volume XXXII Nos. 3-4
of the 2007 Soundboard Magazine issue and is available here in
its entirety.
THE PORTAL
Often we encounter metaphorical doors which, once passed through,
can drastically change our lives. Such encounters require a great
deal of thought and “questioning” before the threshold into the
unknown is crossed.
Once the unknown is revealed we experience growth as a result
of decisiveness. With this, we are “enlightened”, and it is wonderful
to know that opportunity for growth is always beyond the next
“portal”.
PROGRAM NOTES
The first movement, Questioning, is a modest fantasy/ternary
piece loosely based on a short six note motive extracted from
Roland Dyens’ Saudade No. 3. To invoke an air of uncertainty,
the composer uses angular movements, change of feel, space and
a constant shifting of tonal center.
The second movement, Enlightened, begins with an eighteen
bar introduction which rather than establishing the key to present
the theme in tonic, modulates to the dominant, placing the presentation
of the theme in the dominant key right away. Following the theme
in the dominant, incidental material modulates the piece again
to present the B section in the mediant key. The return of the
main theme is placed in the tonic key.Episodic material gives
way to a version of the theme in the minor-subdominant key while
more episodic material returns the piece back to its original
key of E major for a hearing of a condensed introduction. This
return puts the theme back in the dominant followed by a coda
placing the theme in tonic with a new melodic and harmonic foundation
for the closing material. An overview of the key structure reveals
the outline of a basic major triad followed by the simplest of
progressions: V -III -I -iv -V -I .
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