Mythology Suite
INSTRUMENTATION
5 Fl (5th on Picc), 3 Ob (3rd on EH), 2 Bn, CBn or Contrabass Cl, 6 Cl, 1 B. Cl, SATB Sax, 4 Hn, 3 Tpt, 2 Tenor Tbn, Bass Tbn, Euph, Tba, Pno, Harp, Timp, 4 Perc
5 Fl (5th on Picc), 3 Ob (3rd on EH), 2 Bn, CBn or Contrabass Cl, 6 Cl, 1 B. Cl, SATB Sax, 4 Hn, 3 Tpt, 2 Tenor Tbn, Bass Tbn, Euph, Tba, Pno, Harp, Timp, 4 Perc
I. The Lovely Sirens
II. Penelope Waits
III. Pandora Undone
VIDEO
Lawrence University Wind Ensemble; Andrew Mast, conductor
DURATION
19'
YEAR COMPOSED
2016
COMMISSIONERS
Albany Symphony and the Chicago College of the Performing Arts (orchestral version); Carthage College commissioned the wind ensemble versions of The Lovely Sirens and Penelope Waits
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
https://www.presser.com/415-41156-mythology-suite.html
ONLINE PERUSAL SCORE
https://issuu.com/theodorepresser/docs/garrop_mythology_suite_issuu
PROGRAM NOTES
The Mythology Suite consists of three movements of my Mythology Symphony, which I arranged for large wind ensemble. The arrangements of The Lovely Sirens and Penelope Waits were commissioned by James Ripley and Carthage College for the Carthage Wind Orchestra’s 2017 Japan tour. I added Pandora Undone to complete the set; Stephen Squires and the Chicago College of Performing Arts gave the premiere of the entire Suite in February 2017.
Movement 1: The Lovely Sirens
The Sirens were sea nymphs, usually pictured as part woman and part bird, who lived on a secluded island surrounded by rocks. Their enchanting song was irresistible to passing sailors, who were lured to their deaths as their ships were destroyed upon the rocks. The Lovely Sirens presents three ideas: the Sirens’ beautiful song, an unfortunate group of sailors whose course takes them near the island, and the disaster that befalls the sailors. The sailors’ peril is represented by the Morse code S.O.S. signal (three dots, three dashes, and three dots—represented musically by short and long rhythms). The S.O.S. signal grows increasingly more insistent and distressed as it becomes obvious that the sailors, smitten with the voices of the Sirens, are headed for their demise.
Movement 2: Penelope Waits
This quiet movement represents Queen Penelope, the faithful wife of Odysseus, as she patiently waits twenty years for her husband's return from fighting the Trojan Wars. Penelope herself is represented as an oboe. She is accompanied by the ensemble as she keeps at bay the suitors who wish to marry her and inherit her riches.
Movement 3: Pandora Undone
This movement is, in turns, both lighthearted and serious. The music depicts a young, naïve Pandora who, while dancing around her house, spies a mysterious box. She tries to resist opening it, but her curiosity ultimately gets the best of her. When she cracks the lid open and looks inside, all evils escape into the world. Dismayed by what she has done, she looks inside the box once more. She discovers hope still in the box and releases it to temper the escaped evils and assuage mankind's new burden.
-S.G.
-
HELIOS • 4’30” • 2 tpts/flugelhorns, hn, tbn, tba
PROGRAM NOTES
In Greek mythology, Helios was the god of the sun. His head wreathed in light, he daily drove a chariot drawn by four horses (in some tales, the horses are winged; in others, they are made of fire) across the sky. At the end of each day’s journey, he slept in a golden boat that carried him on the Okeanos River (a fresh water stream that encircled the flat earth) back to his rising place. The cyclic journey of Helios is depicted in this short work for brass quintet. The first half is fast-paced and very energetic, while the second half is slow and serene, representing day and night.
-S.G.