Desiderata for Cello, Timpani, Harp and String Orchestra.

Abstract

Desiderata is a composition written for chamber orchestra with an instrumentation of solo cello, timpani, harp and strings. The piece is twenty minutes in duration and was premiered April 6, 2014 at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, performed by cellist Daniel Poceta and conducted by Elim Chan.

The music of Desiderata expresses the soul-searching journey for purpose and tranquility that is often the subject of religious homily. The title is taken from the poem Desiderata (1927) by American poet Max Ehrmann and refers to things desired for happiness. The inspiration behind the work comes from the poem’s didactic and devotional principles that confront personal and interpersonal struggle. Desiderata is a musical representation of the poem, using directional harmonic relationships to express challenges in life and a recurring developing motif to symbolize positive affirmations that can lead towards harmony.

There is one primary musical motif, a four-note arc consisting of an ascending and descending contour that signify musical sighs and desires. The figure begins the piece, which is consistently repeated in the solo and orchestral music representing the poem’s constant reminder to remain positive. After an extensive rumination in the opening cadenza, the solo cello weaves the figure as a head motif to different strands of melodic material that progress from the lyrical, assertive, anxious to serene qualities. A brief cadenza (m.163) in rapturous energy leads into an extended orchestral interlude reprising transformed materials heard earlier.

The harmonic progression is directional to reflect a transcendent journey filled with challenges. The orchestral music is rooted in B-Aeolian (m.2) as a modal key area and journeys through pitch centers of D (m.37), G (m.64) to C (m.164). The initial B area and Bb of the opening cadenza gradually hint towards upward resolution to C (m.164, 215, 236) to signify an optimistic trajectory with the high point of the orchestral interlude centered on the dominant G (m.193). The piece concludes ambiguously on the dominant sonority in C (m.257), with a swaying motion between Cb and Bb in the violas symbolizing the freedom to choose a pursuit of happiness.