"The Lake"
Under the title "The Lake in Central Park", as part of the
Delian
Suite as suggested by Joseph Dillon Ford the moderator and founder of
the Delian Society, it was originally a minute-long piano piece. The
original file with my original description may be seen and heard on
that page:
"The
Lake
in Central Park" from "Delian Suite"- 1 minute piano piece
free pdf
of the above.(New, 5-25-05)
Central Park
Suite: The Lake, Extended piano version of the above. (2.6 MB) (New,
6-16-05)
An
orchestration of the above using Myriad's Gold Base 2. (2.6 MB) (New,
7-13-05)
The Obelisk: "Cleopatra's Needle" (3.1 MB). (piano version):
Cleopatra VII (69-30BC), from the Ptolomaic Dynasty, had
nothing to do with this structure which dates from the famous 18th
Dynasty, around 461 B.C. (Ramses II may have added to it but Tutmose
III was the original Pharoah of the Obelisk.) The inscriptions on it
are to their memories.) Though I originally mentioned our New York
weather as the cause for the deterioration of the inscriptions,
apparently much of this deterioration existed before being sent here.
Tutmose III was the step-son of the female Pharoah,
Hatshepsut. My original sentence here was: "After her death, he did
everything possible to obliterate Hatshepsut's memory by destroying or
removing her name from her monuments." But since her mummy has,
apparently, just been found, this appears to be an oversimplification.
Please go here
for current information.
I am not familiar with Egyptian music and ancient Egyptian
music has
not come down to us. Yet there are representations of musicians in
Egyptian art and we might come to some conclusions from them without
knowing what the music actually sounded like.
In writing the music, I tried to give an impression of the
immensity of the Obelisk as well as the choreographic character of
Egyptian hieroglyphics and the enormous influence of the Nile. There is
no intention of being authentic which is impossible, especially in the
case of a piano piece.
download
mp3 of "The Obelisk." (3.1 MB)
To hear the new orchestral version of the Obelisk, go to the
Central
Park
Suite pages.
The Ramble:
The Ramble is an extensive section of New York City's
Central Park and is known especially for the large number of bird
species found here since the Park is under a migratory path.
For a number of years, the nearby lake also had a pair of
mute swans who died in 2002 (a new pair had been brought to the park in
2006 but is no longer there!) but there are still many geese and other
very exotic species as well including the occasional ring-necked
pheasant or red-tailed hawk.
This piece represents a lazy, languid and humid summer day
in July or August. Actual birdcalls are heard as well as orchestral
instruments imitating them later in the piece.
download mp3 of "The
Ramble" | .myr
plug-in page of "The Ramble"..
Egret in Flight:
The actual last-composed section of the Suite is "Egret in
Flight" which was written as my 2008 Nu Mu [Sic!] entry of the Delian
Society which explains its partly atonal character.
The Great Egret is a heron which is native to the Southern
United States and South America but migrates north every summer at
which time it is a familiar inhabitant of Central Park.
The music actually describes two aspects of the egret: it's
flight as it rises above and startles the sunbathers on the rocks
below, and it's slow stalking of a fish which is then seen going down
its long throat.
Though the piece is brief, it is formally very compact with
a brief opening statement of the two contrasting elements. A short
development of the "flight" section leads back to somewhat lengthier
restatements of the material and a brief coda closes this, the
"scherzo" of the Suite.
To hear or download the mp3, go to its Nu Mu [Sic!] page.
Angel of the Waters:
"Angel of the Waters" is the official name of the Bethesda
Fountain.
Bethesda Terrace is a sort of tourist meeting center of the
Park where many gather, including musical performers. It has been used
in many films and has been most recently and famously associated with
Tony Kushner's drama, "Angels in America". It featured in the movie
version as well as in many other films.
The sculptor was Emma Stebbins,
the first American female sculptor of renown. The Biblical reference is
to an angel who "troubled the waters" to create a healing pool and the
fountain itself refers to the clean waters of the Croton
Reservoir.
I should add that the opening tune is based on two phrases
of the chant "Asperges Me" and the first movement, "The Lake", is also
quoted both to give the Suite a satisfactory close and to show the
proximity of the actual lake to the fountain which it is just back of.
download mp3 of "Angel of
the Waters" |myr (mu3) page
of the same music.
Central Park Photo Gallery
