A Cinematic Soundscape of the Seasons

Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of attending, as an auditing backbencher, the Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute, during which I had an opportunity to read through the scores of the seven composers, attend the rehearsals and the concert on Saturday night. That concert was recorded by Minnesota Public Radio and can be heard this week only on their website.

Angel Lam’s In Search of Seasons opened the concert. The piece is in four sections (one for each season) with a short narrative prologue. Deep chords by the piano and harp with low string pedal tones introduce winter, a timeless and contemplative season. Tuned gongs sound a chilled four-note motive. A single cello sings a mournful melody ornamented with glissandi and grace notes. A single violin answers sympathetically with a long, lyric line that, after one last echo of the tuned gong motive, is smoothly transformed into spring by a leaping solo cello.

A pizzicato violin gets time ticking. Bird-like twitters in the celesta, harp, and winds flutter over the solo cello and viola just before dawn. The sun bursts over the horizon on a sweeping violin line. All manner of swoopings up and down in the winds and strings bring spring to blossom then a quick close with a string glissandi and straight into summer.

A gentle gust of wind in the harp, oboe, and clarinet precedes summer’s motive: four notes outlining a minor third which is tossed among the percussion, harp, piano, and strings throughout the summer. The driving ticking of time reappears in the lower strings. Glittering figures in the marimba and vibraphone and short glissandi propel the season forward. Time accelerates with the bass and snare drum, and the high hat. Over this is a lyric yet energetic violin line, full of life, joy, and surprise, interspersed with the four-note summer motive. A small storm swirls up and dissipates. The heavy tread of time in the lower strings underlies an urban collision of rhythms as the long summer spins off into the distance.

Autumn arrives with sparkling, calming figures in the piano and harp and a solo violin melody reminiscent of the one in winter. This is quickly followed by the rustling and falling leaves propelled by gusts from the winds and harp, vibraphone and marimba. Over all is an almost wild lament by the violins, which calms to a single note in the flute and clarinet. The violin sings a tender farewell as the glitter of piano, harp, and vibraphone fades.