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Electromagnetism / Nick Costanza [notated music]

Title

Electromagnetism [notated music]

Composer

Costanza, Nick, 1990-

Place of Publication/Creation

Orlando, FL

Published/Created

2017

Type of Material

notated music

Genre

notated music

Publisher

WALL OF SOUND, LL

Imprints

Wall of Sound, LL

1st.

Edition

1st.

Language

Unknown

Media

unmediated

Physical Description

1 score (189 pages) + 19 parts

Carrier

volume

Contents Note

Full Score (Transposing), Set of Parts.

Summary

The idea of a “Mini-Band” came to me after I attended a rather impressive composition recital and afterward asked myself how I could also create an impressive recital experience. Band music has been a huge part of my life as well as influence in my music, but it would be impossible to fit an entire wind band into a chamber recital. Thus was born my invented ensemble: pare down a wind band to the top player or two from each section and the Mini-Band is what remains. -- Later the same year, as I was trying to decide what to write for this new ensemble, and while looking through my notes on ideas for music I came across the title Electromagnetism. There was only a title and some notes about the overall structure, but I knew that this impressive-sounding piece of music could only be done justice by an equally impressive ensemble, which meant either full wind band or at the very least Mini-Band. This version of Electromagnetism is a three-movement work for Mini-Band that aurally explores the properties of electricity, the electromagnetic force, and how they are utilized in modern technology. -- The first movement, “Polarity,” deals with the properties of positive and negative charge, as well as the changing of that charge by moving electrons along an electrical current. It is broken into three subsections: the first representing direct current, the second representing ground, and the third representing alternating current. In this movement, the key centers of D-flat and G are analogues to North and South Poles, respectively, and this is established musically in the first section. The tonality of the two key areas does not change as in a direct current, the positive and negative ends remain constant with electrons always flowing from negative to positive. The ground section is a sink of sorts for electrons, where they are absorbed by the ground as a natural insulator. In the alternating current section, D-flat and G rapidly change between major and minor to represent the oscillating of charges in an alternating current. -- The second movement, “Coil,” explores the effects of using an electromagnetic coil. Coils are usually strips of copper wire or other conductive material that are wound in the shape of a coil, spiral, or helix, and when an electrical current is run through the wire a circular magnetic field is generated. The magnetic fields generated by the separate turns of wire all pass through the center of the coil and superpose (add onto each other) to produce a strong field there. To represent this idea musically, I used musical palindromes; not only is each section a melodic and rhythmic palindrome, but the entire movement is a palindrome with the mirroring point occurring during the climax halfway through. -- The third movement is titled “Dynamo” and is a combination of musical ideas from the first two movements as well as an introduction and development of new material. In science, a dynamo is a type of electrical generator, and so to represent this musically I split this movement into two sections: the first being a slow building of energy and anticipation while leading into the second which is fast and energetic. Dynamo is the synthesis of everything I learned while composing this piece, as well as the culmination of my effort to create this new kind of performance medium in the Mini-Band.

Notes

Mini-Band - 2 Flutes (1 doubling Piccolo), 2 Bb Clarinets (1 doubling Bass Clarinet), Bassoon, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, 2 Bb Trumpets, 2 F Horns, 2 Trombones, Bass Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, Drum Set.

ISMN with hyphens: 979-0-800119-02-6

Description based on ISMN data provided by the publisher.

Music notation

Staff notation.

Subjects

Suites

Potpourris

International Standard Music Number (ISMN)

9790800119026

Last Updated: 03-26-2022