related works
Cloud Ossuary : Symphony Nº 4 for soprano and orchestra / Douglas Knehans; words by Katarina Knehans
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Voice and orchestra
Scoring:
sop eh tpt 2perc hp str
Ouverture alla francese : per orchestra, 1969 / Jos van Amelsvoort
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
2332 4331 timp perc cel hp str
Couleurs printanières : pour orchestre, op. 3, 1983 / Immanuel Klein
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
3233 4231 timp 2perc hp pf str(12.10.8.8.6.)
Pavane en rondino : voor orkest, (1952) / Jan van Dijk
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
2232 2200 perc pf str
composition
Unfinished Earth : Symphony Nº 3 for large orchestra / Douglas Knehans
Other authors:
Knehans, Douglas
(Composer)
Description:
Unfinished Earth is my third symphony. The three movements all refer to large geological motions of earth and sea, yet, like most of my recent work, also use such natural phenomena to analogously point to the the large internal landscapes of the human heart and experience.
The first movement, Tempering, refers to the formation of earth’s structure and surface but likewise is also about the structural interplay between individual and group. This plays out in a number of ways: the offstage trumpet solos throughout the movement act as a kind of call of the distant heart to which we all seek to listen and follow; the convention of pitched and even tonally centric music that collides and twists to microtonal music of expressive inflection; and finally the overall timbral expression of this music that is thick and powerful.
The second movement Eternal Ocean is referential to the many currents of human emotions as reflected, perhaps, in the many different speeds and tidal currents of colorful, tumultuous and vast, open ocean. The final movement Tearing Drift refers externally to continental drift and how parts of continents shift or break off—this shifting and breaking off is a type of sectionalized structural approach I have adopted in this movement. But further, and again, this music is about the internal life of human experience and how life experience acts on us like a type of continental drift that repositions our attitudes over time and in relation to our life experience.
This work was written for my son Joshua who is learning the French horn and the reason why this instrument features rather prominently throughout this work—I wanted to show him the power and beauty of this fantastic instrument within an orchestral context. The piece is dedicated to Maestro Mark Gibson and the CCM Philharmonia.
Douglas Knehans, 2015