THE RAYER O DANIEL: OR LUTE (WITH ALTO LUTE), CLARINET (WITH BASS CLARINET), VIOLIN, CELLO, DOUMBEK, ERCUSSION, IANO, BASS BARITONE VOICE, AND MEN S CHORUS Jason Gutierrez, BM Thesis reared or the Degree o MASTER O MUSIC UNIVERSITY O NORTH TEXAS August 200 AROVED: Joseh Butch Rovan, Maor roessor Cindy McTee, Maor roessor aris Rutherord, Minor roessor James C Scott, Dean o the College o Music C Neal Tate, Dean o the Robert B Toulouse School o Graduate Studies
Gutierrez, Jason, The rayer o Daniel: or lute (ith alto lute), clarinet (ith bass clarinet), violin, cello, doumbek, ercussion, iano, bass-baritone voice, and men s chorus, Master o Music (Comosition), August 200, 45, 0 illustrations, 0 reerences The rayer o Daniel is a chamber iece in the style o an oratorio or vocal bass-baritone soloist, lute doubling on alto lute, B lat clarinet doubling on bass clarinet, violin, cello, iano, ercussion on vibrahone and marimba, doumbek (a middle eastern drum), and men s chorus (TTBB) The aroximate duration is thirty minutes The text comes rom the Old Testament book o Daniel, Chater 9 verses 4 through 19 In these assages the rohet Daniel rends rom his heart a rayer o reentance, mercy and orgiveness on the behal o a allen nation The harmonic language o the comosition combines both classical contemorary and azz sonorities The rhythmic language is dran rom the meter o the text, and is used to underscore the emotion o the rayer These elements combine to orm a rich music exerience that conveys the enitent heart o the rohet Daniel
TABLE O CONTENTS age List o Illustrations iii Chater 1 Introduction The rayer o Daniel 1 Motivation 2 Materials Text 6 Ensemble 9 Bass-baritone 9 iano 12 Doumbec 16 lute 20 Clarinet 21 Violin 22 Cello 2 ercussion 25 Men's Chorus 27 Musical Identities itch Material 0 Rhythmic Identities 4 4 Conclusion 40 Aendix 1 41 Aendix 2 4 Bibliograhy 44 ii
LIST O ILLUSTRATIONS igure age 1 Bass-baritone, mm 419-426 11 2 Bass-baritone, mm 66-70 11 Bass-baritone, mm 452-456 12 4 Grieg iano Concerto in A minor, second theme, mm 2-26 1 5 iano and Bass-baritone, mm 42-46 1 6 Seeing ensemble assage, mm 98-100 14 7 iano and Bass-baritone, mm 102-106 14 8 iano, mm 25-28 15 9 iano bravura, mm 68-69 15 10 Doumbec, lute, and iano Oening igure, mm 1-17 11 Doumbec, Bass-baritone, and iano, mm 91-94 18 12 Doumbec ith ensemble Tutti assage, mm 14-16 19 1 Alto-lute Oening line, mm 1-20 14 Clarinet, mm 2-25 21 15 Bass-clarinet, mm 5-40 22 16 Violin duet ith cello, mm 1-18 2 17 Cello and Bass-baritone, mm 4-46 2 18 Cello and Bass-baritone, mm 52-58 24 19 Solo Cello, mm 8 24 20 Solo Vibrahone, mm 71-78 25 iii
21 Vibrahone and Bass-baritone, mm 27-278 25 22 Marimba and Doumbec, mm 26-28 26 2 Marimba and iano, mm 61-62 27 24 Bass-baritone and Men s Chorus, mm 29-1 28 25 Bass-baritone and iano, mm 18-24 0 26 The octatonic mode used as the basis or melodic material 1 27 Interval set derived rom the exloitation o a second 2 28 Solo lute igure, mm 2-5 2 29 Bass-baritone and iano, mm 28-2 0 Alto-lute Oening line, mm 1-5 iv
1 INTRODUCTION The rayer o Daniel The rayer o Daniel is a chamber iece in the style o an oratorio or vocal baritone soloist, C lute ith alto lute doubling, B-lat clarinet ith bass clarinet doubling, violin, cello, iano, ercussion on both vibrahone and marimba, doumbec, and men s chorus The aroximate erormance time is 0 minutes The text or The rayer o Daniel is ound in the Old Testament book o Daniel, Chater 9:4-19 The rayer as ritten during the exilic eriod in Israel s history at the time o the Babylonian cativity, aroximately 58 BC It is estimated 1 that Daniel rote this rayer hen he as aroximately 90 years old, ater being in cativity nearly all his lie Daniel recalls the ords o the rohet Jeremiah 2 in chater 9:2, hoeul that Israel ould be nearing the end o a 70-year exile The baritone soloist aears as Daniel, a rohet to cative Israel, ho rends rom his heart a rayer o reentance, orgiveness and mercy on the behal o a allen nation This rayer comes as a reaction to the vision he as given in chater 8 o a little horn that ould cause the desolation o many The vision Daniel recorded in chater 8 as so oerul that Daniel rote; I, Daniel, as exhausted and lay ill or several days I as aalled by the vision; it as beyond understanding 4 Shortly ater having this vision, Daniel itnessed the overthroing o Babylon by the Medes Although the ability o God to return Israel back to their land as not in question, Daniel may have had questions as 1 McGee, Vernon J Daniel Through the Bible Commentary Series 26 vols Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 1975 145 2 Jeremiah 25:11 NIV, This hole country ill become a desolate asteland, and these nations ill serve the king o Babylon seventy years Daniel 8, verses 2-25 4 Ibid verse 27 1
to the intent o the ne regime toard his eole Aside rom this question, Daniel s rayer is insired by God s aithulness to his ord In the same ay that God had delivered Israel rom the Egytians, Daniel had aith God ould certainly deliver them home 5 The rayer recorded in the book o Daniel is a rayer that recognizes the holiness o God, the sinulness o a nation, the accetance o unishment, the need or reentance and the reconciliation o the eole ho are called by his name 6 My goal in comosing The rayer o Daniel as to create a iece o music that conveyed the siritual asect o Daniel, and to imly that the idea o reentance and turning to God is the beginning o healing Uon the comletion o the temle in Jerusalem, the Lord aeared to Solomon and said: i my eole, ho are called by my name, ill humble themselves and ray and seek my ace and turn rom their icked ays, then ill I hear rom heaven and ill orgive their sin and ill heal their land (2 Chronicles, 7:14 NIV) This aer ill ocus on the rocess I used to create the comosition I do not discuss the measure-by-measure details o the comosition, though I ill reer to certain assages to illustrate key oints I begin the irst chater o this document by discussing my motivation or riting this iece Next, I exlore the materials that I used in the comosition itsel In addition to a discussion o the text, I discuss the makeu o the ensemble, and key elements that make this iece unique inally, in the third chater by discussing the rhythmic elements o this roect, I demonstrate ho these elements are brought together to achieve my goal 5 Jeremiah 0: 6 Daniel 9:19 2
Motivation During the all o 1999, as e aroached the turn o the millennium, I as involved in a study o the Old Testament book o Daniel amiliar to me ere the stories o Daniel in the Lion s den and o the handriting on the all, but I kne little o the eschatological content ithin the last ive chaters o this book It as these chaters that insired me to comose a iece hich I elt related to asects o our current geo-olitical climate During the last months o 1999, rumors o disaster circulated concerning the Y2K 7 bug as anic-gried eole stocked their shelves ith tuna and ater In October o 1999, the Ne York Times Magazine osted a story on its ebsite titled Israel s Y2K roblem 8 The irst aragrah o this story clearly outlined the siritual signiicance o the Temle Mount or Jes, Christians, and Muslims as riter Jerey Goldberg osits: Will the eace rocess be stalled by the aocalyse The myriad o nes stories and various seculative reorts aeared to indicate ithin the global community (as e aroached this event in history) that concerns surrounding eace ere at a evered itch As e looked orard to this millennial milestone ith hoe that a ne century ould usher in an era o eace on earth, so did Daniel in his day look orard to the end o exile and a reneing o God s eole to the land o their oreathers The very same night that Daniel revealed the meaning o the handriting on the all to Belshazzar, 7 Year 2000 8 Goldberg, Jerey Israel's Y2K roblem Oct 1999 The Ne York Times Magazine 20 Ar 200 <htt://librarycornelledu/colldev/mideast/isry2khtm
King o Babylon, Darius the Mede sle Belshazzar, beginning a ne regime in Babylon 9 It as then that Daniel made his assionate lea or mercy and deliverance Although Israel returned to their land rom exile, Daniel did not Shortly ater Daniel s death, a decree ent out in the irst year o the reign o Cyrus It read: This is hat Cyrus king o ersia says: The LORD, the God o heaven, has given me all the kingdoms o the earth and he has aointed me to build a temle or him at Jerusalem in Judah Anyone o his eole among you-may the LORD his God be ith him, and let him go u (2 Chronicles 6:2) The millennium, or event, that Daniel looked orard to had come to a ne generation o eole ho had never orshied in the land o his oreathers As this as Daniel s hoe, it as also Daniel s distress to kno that one day the little horn 10 knon to history as Antiochus Eihanes o Syria ould desecrate the temle and seek to exterminate the Jes 11 During the biblical eriod knon as the tribulation 12, a erson identiied as the Anti-Christ ill attemt to do the same as he sets himsel u as a god in the temle As I read Daniel s rayer, I am amazed ho relevant this 2700-year-old rohecy is, and ho I share some o the eelings that Daniel may have had Daniel as sensitive to the holiness o God that roduced in him genuine eelings o remorse as he relected on the sins o his nation Daniel also had the romise o God that the time ould come hen they ould return to the land God had delivered Israel in the ast, and there as every conidence that he ould kee his ord to bring an end to this exile In this rayer, 9 Daniel 5:0 NIV 10 Daniel 7:11 11 McGee, Vernon J Daniel 12 Revelation 1:6-8 4
Daniel s heart as not ocused on his on desires; instead, he desired that God ould be gloriied in the restoration and reconciliation o the eole and city that bear his name I believe that Daniel s rayer is a model or nationalistic rayer Daniel airms his relationshi to God by acknoledging God s sovereignty, by conessing the sins o his nation, acceting God s ust unishment, and asking or orgiveness and reconciliation Daniel rayed or mercy not or the sake o Israel, but or the sake o the name o God or, i it aeared that God mercilessly unished his on eole, ho ould he regard the nations o the orld 5
2 MATERIALS The Text The text as the irst element I took into consideration as I ormed my concet o this iece Earlier, I shoed the historical context in hich Daniel rayed In this section, I ill illustrate the emotional drive o Daniel s rayer by examining the rior verse and its relation to the rayer itsel My intention is to sho ho Daniel s emotional drive contributed to the overall insiration o this comosition The book o Daniel 9:, gives us an indication o the assion Daniel had or rayer Describing the manner in hich he rayed, Daniel rote: So I turned to the Lord God and leaded ith him in rayer and etition, in asting, and in sackcloth and ashes 1 leading and turning to God demonstrates Daniel s recognition o God s omniotence, his sovereignty over Israel, as ell as his on lie Daniel s aith gave him the assurance that God s rovidence extended beyond that o his Medo-ersian cators Daniel s aith as demonstrated during the same historical eriod as his rayer, hen he as thron into the lion s den 14 This event as one o many events in Daniel s lie here God had roved his aithulness by delivering him rom certain disaster Daniel rote: When he (Darius) came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant o the living God, has your God, hom you serve continually, been able to rescue you rom the lions" Daniel ansered, "O king, live orever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths o the lions They have not hurt 1 Daniel 9: 14 We learn rom Daniel 9:1 that this rayer historically took lace in the irst year o the reign o Darius, ho as deceived into utting Daniel into the lion s den, as read in the book o Daniel 6 6
me, because I as ound innocent in his sight Nor have I ever done any rong beore you, O king" 15 The ruit o Daniel s devotion and aithulness to God ere demonstrated in his deliverance rom certain death In this same ay, Daniel s rayer also demonstrates his assurance, based not only on a lietime o events, but also on historical events such as the exodus rom Egyt Daniel recalls this event in his rayer, verse 15: No, O Lord our God, ho brought your eole out o Egyt ith a mighty hand and ho made or yoursel a name that endures to this day Daniel lived in the assurance that God s sovereignty and rovidence extended over Israel, beyond their cators Daniel kne that God ould end the cativity o Israel and allo them to return to their land The ervency o Daniel s rayer is dislayed in the ords in asting, sackcloth, and ashes 16 asting in sackcloth and ashes as not unheard o during times o intense rayer and etition Throughout the Old Testament, there are numerous accounts o this tye o concentrated rayer Sackcloth and ashes are used in the Bible as a means to outardly symbolize an inard state o reentance and mourning The traditional use o ashes signiies the sinulness o mankind in contrast ith the holiness o God Easton's Bible Dictionary describes the meaning o covering ones head ith ashes as a token o sel-abhorrence and humiliation 17 In addition to ashes, sackcloth as orn as a means to intensiy mourning The Smith's Bible Dictionary deines sackcloth and its use as: 15 Daniel 6:20-22 16 Daniel 9: 17 Easton, Matthe George Entry or 'Ashes' Easton's Bible Dictionary 28 Ar 200 <htt://studylightorg/dic/ebd/viecginumber=t8 7
Cloth used in making sacks or bags, a coarse abric, o a dark color, made o goat s hair, (Isaiah 50:; Revelation 6:12) and resembling the eilicium o the Romans It as used also or making the rough garments used by mourners, hich ere in extreme cases orn next to the skin (1 Kings 21:27; 2 Kings 6:0; Job 16:15; Isaiah 2:11) 18 By earing this coarse uncomortable material, Daniel demonstrated that the circumstances o Israel and the glory o God concerned him more than his hysical needs Daniel makes his lea or mercy because he is concerned about the name o God, as seen in the last line o the rayer: or your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your eole bear your Name 19 Daniel suggests that the continuing cativity o God s covenant eole, ast its rohetic end, ould be seen by other nations as the unaithulness o their deity Daniel kne that God acts not merciully because men claim righteousness, rather that God is holly righteous and merciul In other ords, God s mercy is not deendent uon the good deeds o eole, but o his nature Likeise regarding the exodus, Moses rote: God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant ith Abraham, ith Isaac and ith Jacob So God looked on the Israelites and as concerned about them 20 The third verse o chater 9 adds deth to the emotional content o this rayer, revealing several key elements I ortray in the setting o this text; Daniel s remorse over sin, the holiness o God, accetance o guilt and unishment, and the assurance o God s romises to reconcile ith his eole The aection embedded in the third verse adds 18 Smith, Dr William Entry or Sackcloth Smiths Bible Dictionary 28 Ar 200 <htt://studylightorg/dic/sbd/viecginumber=t700 19 Dan 9:19 20 Exodus 2:24-25 8
deth to the character and iety o Daniel, seen not only in this rayer, but also in the entirety o his lie It as only ater analyzing the verse receding this rayer that I could areciate the emotionally charged atmoshere o the rayer itsel It as my areciation o Daniel s enitence that became the cornerstone or my overall concetion o this iece Ensemble In this section I ill briely discuss each member o the ensemble and their musical roles I ill resent these members in three hierarchical grous, each member in order o musical and overall concetual involvement I have groued these into core grou members (Bass-baritone, iano, and Doumbec), essential ensemble (lute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and ercussion), and the added element o men s chorus I made it a oint to eature each instrumentalist, in some ay, during the course o this comosition Core Grou: Baritone-bass Given the nature and author o this text, I elt that the vocal role o Daniel ould best be cast as a Bass-baritone As I researched the text in the early hases o comosing melodic material, I imagined a vocal line ith a solid loer range, a arm round tone, ith the ability to roect in the uer range at ull volume My concetion o the baritone art required the lyric ability and sensitivity to exress sorroul rayer in the uer range, mezza-voce My interretation o the text and analysis o Daniel s riting, aided me in visualizing the vocal color that I needed to ortray isdom in rayer 9
In the nineteenth-century comosition by George redrick Bristo, The Oratorio o Daniel 21, the art o Daniel as also cast as a baritone A brie analysis o the tessitura assigned to the baritone reveals a melody that loats in the uer vocal range in many o the solo arts throughout this ork Hoever, in the ninth section titled Aria, Bristo exlores a ider vocal range, as Daniel sings a song o raise to the Lord The aria begins ith a simle chant-like melody, on the text Blessed be the name o God orever The melody begins on middle c 22 and exands don a ith to The secondary melody uses a ider range rom B to d, in contrast to the oening theme s to c range, singing o God s isdom and might This secondary theme culminates in a heroic crescendo returning to the uer baritone range on c Bristo aints the next ortion o text, o dee and secret things by droing the range rom don to G Once again there is a gravitational return to the original melody on c inally at the end o this aria, the baritone leas an octave to a high, double orte, making its ay donard by ay o an maor areggio Although Bristo does visit the baritone s loer range, his interretation o Daniel ocuses the baritone in the uer range This is in contrast to The rayer o Daniel, here I center the tessitura on the sta in the baritone s strong middle range, beteen A and a, or much o the setting I attribute the dierences in the center o melodic gravity to Bristo s Daniel being much younger than my Daniel Bristo s 21 Bristo, George redrick The Oratorio o Daniel Ed David Griggs-Janoer Madison, WI: A-R Editions, Inc, 1999 22 I ill be using the Helmholtz nomenclature system to indicate itch and octave LLoyd, LLeelyn S, and Richard Rastall itch Nomenclature The Ne Grove Dictionary o Music Online ed L Macy 1 May 200 <grovemusiccom See Aendix 2, g 4 10
Daniel as set in the beginning o the Babylonian exile, hereas my Daniel is ortrayed near the end o his lie and exile The vocal tessitura in The rayer o Daniel is in the loer baritone range [A a], here the voice starts quietly and somberly loing rom section to section in arching lines These lines continue to ebb and lo, building to the climactic end in the uer vocal range This diers rom Bristo s Daniel as the distribution o itches is eighted loer in comarison ig 1 Bass-baritone, mm 419-426 This examle shos that hile the range rises above the sta, it then descends into the resonant and comortable baritone range Although the maority o the baritone s itches are in the mid to lo range, the uer range is called uon to ortray areas o sensitivity and strength ig 2 Bass-baritone, mm 66-70 In the above assage, Daniel leads or God to turn aay his anger and rath The melodic line comliments this sentiment ith gentle melodic hrasing in the uer range o the baritone This combination o range and dynamic exemliied in igure 2 11
demonstrates the exressive use o the uer baritone range used in The rayer o Daniel Another alication o the uer range is seen in the climactic ending, here the baritone melody eaks on an double orte as Daniel articulates the height o his emotional lea: or your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your eole bear your Name 2 ig Bass-baritone, mm 452-456 This examle, beginning on, builds toards the climactic ending in a series o arching hrases, inishing ith a large heroic lea into the uer range that ends an octave above on This use o the uer range is less revalent, but as e see both this examle (ig ) and the revious examle (ig 2), aroriately relect the emhatic nature o the text they ortray iano My irst instrumental consideration in scoring this iece naturally led me to the iano Without stating the obvious virtues o the iano to accomany the voice, the iano has a tremendous caacity or exression and suort in virtually all areas o a chamber ensemble My on exerience as a ianist contributed to the overall style in hich I comosed its ensemble, solo, and accomanying roles 2 Daniel 9:19 12
The accomanying role o the iano ocused on suorting the baritone art, rom ashes o sound in the edal, to loing areggiated voicings o the melodic line Rarely does the iano deart rom suorting the baritone hile he is singing The erormance style in hich I rote the iano art combines elements o nineteenth-century romantic igurations ith elements o tentieth-century contemorary tonal structures I ill discuss the harmonic identities used in this comosition later in section three I ound insiration or a large art o the romantic accomaniment riting in the romantic Concerto or iano in A Minor by Edvard Grieg ig 4 Grieg iano Concerto in A minor, second theme, mm 2-26 ig 5 iano and Bass-baritone, mm 42-46 Looking at these to excerts, e see the similarity in the singing cantabile laying style, the undamental movement in the bottom voice, and the loing areggiated chord movement in the inner voices The result is an accomaniment that is rich in sonority, making it easier or the vocalist to sing against the contemorary harmonic structures 1
The secondary role o the iano is that o an ensemble layer Invariably the iano oscillates beteen these to roles, accomanying the baritone and interacting ith the rest o the ensemble In this examle, the iano acts in concert ith the ensemble, comleting a seeing igure initiated by the inds and strings ig 6 Seeing ensemble assage, mm 98-100 Immediately uon inishing this gesture, the iano returns to its suortive role ig 7 iano and Bass-baritone, mm 102-106 14
An examle o the ianist s unction in the ensemble comes in the second section o the iece, beginning on measure 12 This section begins ith a rhythmic cue rom the doumbec and the vocal line Here, the iano abandons the baritone to lay ith the ensemble This dearture lasts or 20 measures beore the iano returns to accomany the baritone in measure 152 Eight measures later, in measure 160, there is a donard shit in temo by means o metric modulation as the iano accomaniment dros out altogether, avoring melodic suort rom the lute In addition to the ensemble duties o the iano, there are moments o brilliance here the iano erorms seeing virtuosic assages or examle, in measure 25 28, a dark ash o sound begins in the iano s loer register that turns into a high seeing iguration ending in the iano s uer range (ig 8) ig 8 iano, mm 25-28 ig 9 iano bravura, mm 68-69 15
Beginning in measure 68, e see another examle o iano bravura This gesture builds uon the climax o baritone and chorus by means o a raid areggiation, ending in a chromatic run that exlodes in a release o sound rom three successive cluster chords My concetion o the iano is shon in these examles to serve several unctions in this comosition The ianist serves in the rimary role o accomanist, and also interacts in concert ith the ensemble We have seen that the iano ill erorm ith the ensemble aart rom the vocalist, but that this dearture is short-lived as the iano quickly returns to its rimary role Lastly, the iano riting is marked ith dee ashes o sound, brilliant seeing bravura, and virtuosic assages Doumbec The unique timbre o the doumbec as critically imortant to my concetion o this comosition Named ater the three rimary sounds it roduces, doum ka tek 24, this middle-eastern hand drum s character adds a dimension o location to this iece that hels transort the listener to ancient Babylon The doumbec also rovides a musical structure that assists the comosition by heightening susense in ensemble assages, by roviding rhythmic ocus, and by roviding rhythmic reinorcement to the ensemble In general, the doumbec stands as a symbol o the assionate heart o Daniel, as unique in this ensemble as Daniel as unique amongst his eole 24 About the doumbek drum ull Circle Drums ull Circle Drums May 200 <htt://ullcircledrumscom/abouthtm 16
ig 10 Doumbec, lute, and iano Oening igure, mm 1- The doumbec is the irst and last instrument to be heard in The rayer o Daniel The sudden attack o the doumbec, olloed by the ensive lute line, serves to initiate a ercetual shit to the Middle East here this drama occurs In this examle (ig 10) e see the sudden attack o the doumbec olloed by a tremolo The iano adds a thrust o sound to this oening gesture as the alto lute lays an arching line comrised o seeing igurations and driving rhythm As this gesture is layed a second and third time, the doumbec orms a backdro to the introsective mood created by the ensemble The doumbec also ulills a suortive role by roviding rhythmic stability under sarse ensemble riting This tye o suort irst occurs beginning in measure 79, and continues to measure 120 We see an examle o this in measure 91 here the baritone enters accomanied by iano and doumbec 17
ig 11 Doumbec, Bass-baritone, and iano, mm 91-94 In this examle, the doumbec rovides a steady rhythmic attern as the voice executes its on rhythmically simle line As ith the voice, the iano oers little rhythmic stability to this assage The role o the doumbec here is to rovide contrast, rhythmic interest and metric stability, as the other arts loat in the oreground ith the melody 18
ig 12 Doumbec ith ensemble Tutti assage, mm 14-16 The doumbec is also used to reinorce the ensemble by accenting tutti assages This tye o reinorcement can be seen beginning in measure 14 In this examle e see the doumbec laying in rhythmic unison ith the ensemble, resulting in added unch to the accented structures This also has the eect o increased contrast beteen ensemble assages and the solo igures occurring in measures 15, 19, 142, and 148 The three orms o riting I have described susenseul and contemlative, rhythmic stabilizing, and suortive o ensemble assages serve as constructs that suort the dramatic goals o the ensemble 19
Essential Ensemble The essential ensemble is comrised o the remaining instruments, namely the lute, clarinet, violin, cello, and ercussion In this section I ill briely discuss the nature o each art lute The lutist in this iece doubles on alto lute The rimary role o the lute is identiied by the harmonic suort it rovides to the ensemble Naturally, I have also engaged the lutist s ability to lay comlex assages on both C and alto lutes As such, the arm round tone roduced by the alto lute insired me to rite the oening gesture ig 1 Alto-lute Oening line, mm 1- This excert oens ith a sudden burst o energy in the orm o a donard thirty-second quintulet, ending in a lea uard o a minor ninth The line continues building intensity by accelerating and decelerating on a reeated a 25 This continues until the next measure here the intensity sills over into another thirty-second quintulet burst, olloed by a donard decelerating line that inishes on a lo d, dee in the resonant art o the instrument 25 Written itch 20
The oening igure o a comosition is the most imortant statement o the entire iece, because the moment in hich the initial imression o the iece as created cannot be recatured Jazz comoser Maria Schneider commented on introductions, stating: Be cautious ith introductions, there is no such thing to an audience They are snuggled in ith your music right rom the beginning 26 While introductions may not be remembered several minutes into the iece, the eect they have on the rest o the comosition is enormous The oening gesture o the alto lute, in The rayer o Daniel, is a musical relection o the enitent state o mind Daniel may have had moments beore he began raying Clarinet The role o the clarinet is very similar to that o the lute: to add harmonic suort to the ensemble as ell as the erormance o solo assages Similar to the lutist s ability mentioned reviously, the clarinetist s ability to lay comlex solo assages is ell documented In addition to the clarinetist s suortive ensemble role, I have also made use o its solo and melodic otential to lay long seeing areggiated gestures ig 14 Clarinet, mm 2-25 This examle is similar to the oening line seen in the alto lute Whereas the alto lute began ith a burst o thirty-second notes, the clarinet begins more cautiously on a 26 Schneider, Maria "The Business o Music" Kenton Hall, University o North Texas Denton, TX, 27 eb 200 21
single itch, building volume as it reaches it eak more than to octaves higher Ater reaching the aex o this line, there is a sixteenth note quintulet burst donard as it ends a minor-ninth above here it began The clarinet here serves to rhasodically reinorce the thematic idea initiated in the oening by the alto lute In addition to the B lat clarinet, I also call or the bass clarinet to erorm in a similar role As I comosed this iece, I elt attracted to the bass clarinet s dee, rich, chalumeau register There are to ays that I call or this instrument as a solo instrument, and to suort root movement ig 15 Bass-clarinet, mm 5-40 In this assage the bass-clarinet evolves rom the bottom o its register, barely audible, and as it moves into the oreground it sees uard through the throat o its midrange beore making its ay gently donard to its loer range The haunting lo register contributes to the contemlative demeanor required to set the subect matter Violin The violinist is used rimarily as an ensemble member, rather than as a soloist Nevertheless, the violin is a eatured soloist in several key sots Long singing lines soar above the accomaniment The most ronounced use o the violin aears in its duet ith the cello Here in measure 12, the violin airs ith the cello in rhasodic counteroint 22
ig 16 Violin duet ith cello, mm 1-18 Cello The cello is erhas the most imortant instrument in the essential ensemble This instrument ulills several roles, most imortant o hich is the suort o the bassbaritone The cello ulills this role to ays, irst by suorting the vocal line (mm 44-51), and second by countering the vocal line (mm 52-58) ig 17 Cello and Bass-baritone, mm 4-46 This assage clearly shos the nearly identical relationshi beteen the voice and cello arts As this hrase nears comletion, the cello moves rom directly suorting the voice in the oreground to suorting the root movement o the iano in the background As the assage continues, the cello assumes a suortive role by intensiying the vocal melody ith a counter melody Ultimately, at the end o this assage, the cello returns to more direct melodic suort 2
ig 18 Cello and Bass-baritone, mm 52-58 Earlier I exlained the suortive relationshi the iano has to the voice, and I ould like to make clear that the cello by no means relaces that relationshi; rather, as this assage demonstrates, it reinorces and augments that relationshi as the instrumental counterart to Daniel In addition to the aorementioned role, the cellist is also called uon to erorm as a soloist, most notably in its duet ith the violinist as ell as in the assage concluding the ork Other ensemble assages include areas here the cellist has shorter exressive moments, such as in the oening measures here the cellist continues the melodic thought o the oening section ig 19 Solo Cello, mm 8 This assage demonstrates my aroach to the exressive solo character o the cello as it introduces thematic material (exlained later) in the strong vibrant range o the instrument This assage, along ith the revious assages I mentioned, rovides a glimse into the nature o the musical role that the cello lays in this iece 24
ercussion The ercussionist erorms on both the vibrahone and the marimba As ith the other instruments, the ercussionist contributes to the ensemble by erorming as a soloist At the beginning o the iece, the ercussionist oins in the oening gesture by echoing the alto lute s assage on the vibrahone Later, the ercussionist is called uon to suort the ianist by reinorcing the harmonic structure ith intersersed melodic gestures The oening section o the iece concludes ith a vibrahone solo ig 20 Solo Vibrahone, mm 71-78 This section makes use o intervallic structures and thematic material seen in the oening measure o the vibrahone This solo is indicative o my aroach in riting or ercussion, as The rayer o Daniel is relete ith rhasodic assages or both vibrahone and marimba This assage (ig 21) shos the vibrahone in a rhasodic seudo-melody ith the voice Notice that the vibrahone travels along the same ath as the voice, oset by melodic embellishments ig 21 Vibrahone and Bass-baritone, mm 27-278 25
The dee resonant and oody tone o the marimba called or a dierent treatment I made use o the marimba s dee resonant range to suort the harmonic breadth o certain sections ig 22 Marimba and Doumbec, mm 26-28 In this assage, the marimba contributes to the drama by roviding long sustained tremolos on dissonant chord structures Although my vision or the role o the marimba in this ensemble is rimarily suortive, there is a small exressive line in the irst section o the iece (ig 2) A closer look at this line shos that although it is embellished, the marimba closely ollos the melody set orth in the iano and voice arts Here e see the b''-lat to g'' movement in the iano in measure 61 The ercussionist embellishes the iano's melodic outline ith tulet igurations using the octatonic mode The result o this assage exresses and suorts the Bass-baritone as he sings " ith those ho love him" 26
ig 2 Marimba and iano, mm 61-62 I rely on the lexibility o the ercussionist, in The rayer o Daniel, to ulill several unctions as a soloist, as reinorcement to the background elements, and to embellish various areas o melodic material The contribution o this instrumental resence rounds out the harmonic suort ithin the ensemble and vocals arts, making it a vital element in this grou Added Element: Men s Chorus The inal element o the ensemble I ill discuss is the men s chorus The addition o men s chorus gives this ensemble the size and scoe I elt it needed to meaningully ortray the nature o the text My concetion o its musical unction ithin the context o Daniel s rayer, is that o the nation o Israel echoing the sentiments o Daniel Musically it unctions to give orchestral size to the overall outcome o the iece through reinorcement and elaboration o the text As ith my treatment o the instrumentalists, the chorus is eatured in to rominent sections, both crucial to advancing the drama o the text 27
ig 24 Bass-baritone and Men s Chorus, mm 29-1 An examle o ho the men s chorus reinorces the text occurs in measures 29 1 In this excert e see the basses used in tandem ith the solo bass-baritone voice This relationshi is broken in measure 0 as the basses move to the octave Subsequently, the basses move to suort root movement in an ascending line that terminates in measure 2 The entrance o the tenors in measure 1, on the text God is righteous, extends the musical hrase o the soloist as it starts the musical sequence on the same itch This musical sequence is carried through to comletion by the soloist in measure 2 The overall technique o this section eaves the chorus into the abric o the ensemble in an unobtrusive and suortive manner Regarding the instrumentalists, eatured solos have been ritten to enhance the resence o the instrument in the ensemble In my aroach to the chorus in the setting o this text, I elt it necessary to eature the chorus, elevating its status rom background ensemble to oreground articiant This makes the additional element o the men s chorus an absolute necessity in the overall exression o The rayer o Daniel The irst eatured chorus event occurs a caella, beginning in measure 168 and continuing to 176 The style o this section is uncomlicated and enitent, as the text 28
relects uon the mercies o God and the nation s admission o guilt The rich sonorous virtues o the chorus, brought out by the slo movement o long eaving hrases, makes the transition rom the exressiveness o the revious section, ending in measures 160-167, to a relective mood beginning in measure 177 The chorus lays another role o central imortance as it carries the text through the ensemble assages beginning in measure 81 and lasting to measure 406 Here Daniel reaears to make his imassioned lea to God or mercy on Israel During this last section the basses lay a undamental drone as the tenors interact melodically ith the ensemble members This inal section laces the chorus in both the background and oreground, advancing the text and its meaning toard the inale 29
MUSICAL IDENTITIES In this section I ill discuss the melodic language used in this iece I ill oint out areas here intervallic structures are develoed in both melodic and harmonic contexts I ill also exlain the harmonic language used to suort the linear eatures ound ithin this oratorio inally, I ill bring these to areas into ocus as I discuss the rhythmic identities that ere engaged to bind the music together itch Material The irst ste I took in musically interreting the text material as to imagine mysel as Daniel as I imrovised a sung melody on the text o his rayer During this creative hase, I also began to ormulate the basis o a itch language as I exlored suortive harmonic structures that ould reinorce the intent o the text As I contemlated Daniel raying in sackcloth and ashes, a solemn and relective melodic orm began to take shae At this time I also began to contemlate harmonic identities in hich to rame this emerging melodic exression The irst musical relationshi to solidiy is seen in the oening baritone line ig 25 Bass-baritone and iano, mm 18-24 0
Here in measure 18 (ig 25), e see the relationshi o a minor ninth beteen the E-lat bass in the iano and the e-natural in the voice The eect o the minor ninth relationshi in the oening baritone line serves to exress, through hollo dissonance, the anguish Daniel may have elt as he contemlated the nation s searation rom God resulting rom their sin The uxtaosition o intervals o a second, beteen the melodic line and undamental, is a melodic identity seen throughout the iece Ater identiying the oening interval relationshi, I began to exeriment ith lines that eaved in and out o dissonance ith the edal E-lat As my ideas began to orm, I identiied the octatonic mode I elt had the greatest otential or harmonic and melodic discovery ig 26 The octatonic mode used as the basis or melodic material I broke ith the traditional octatonic ormula by exchanging the last to intervals in order to create a hal ste relationshi beteen the d-shar and e (ig 26) Using this mode, and the interval o a second, I as able to create melodic material I elt could hel ortray Daniel s ethnicity and geograhical location In addition to the itch environment resent in this mode, the octatonic mode also rovided me ith the basis to orm a set o vertical structures Given that the octatonic scale is based on alternating maor and minor seconds, I chose to exloit this interval relationshi the second in an eort to create added harmonic and melodic interest As I exlored this interval and its inversions including qualities (maor and minor) and 1
ig 27 Interval set derived rom the exloitation o a second augmentations (ninths and augmented seconds) I as able to derive a set o interval relationshis that exress a subset o the initial mode This examle (ig 27) shos the interval classes I derived rom the interval o a second The rimary set shos the original grou o seconds in their minor, maor, and augmented orms Added to the rimary set are inversions to the original grou (The inversion to the augmented second aears later in the tertiary category because o its unction as a consonant interval) The secondary set is an exression o the original rimary set, extended beyond the octave Because these intervals ossess a milder degree o dissonance than the rimary class, I ocused on their otential to create ide seeing lines o bravura in solo assages, and to maintain tension in extended hollo voicings ig 28 Solo lute igure, mm 2-5 An examination o this line (ig 28) reveals that the seeing igure begins ith to overlaing ninths olloed by to overlaing sevenths The lute continues to see through the uer range, ending on a inal lea rom u a minor ninth to -shar by 2
ay o aoggiatura The ninths in the secondary interval set and the sevenths in the rimary inverted set rovided me ith the means to cover a ide harmonic range using dramatic and exressive gestures The tertiary set is created rom the relationshi beteen the second and seventh intervals (above the root) in the rimary set This ermutation introduces consonant structures into the into the interval matrix, roviding relie to the redominantly dissonant sonorities The second interval o this set aears earlier as the minor seventh in the rimary inversion, listed here to sho the relationshi that exists in the voices above the undamental e' The last set labeled tertiary inversion, shos the last to remaining tertiary relationshis that have not been exressed in their original or inverted orm ig 29 Bass-baritone and iano, mm 28-2 An examle o this aroach to melodic orm and harmonic suort can be seen in the baritone assage beginning in measure 28 In this examle (ig 29), the baritone's melodic line loats over an E-lat bass 27, eaving in and out o a ninth relationshi to the undamental Here, this melody is restricted to the octatonic mode, aart rom the end here the melody cadences on A-natural I elt that this deviation rom the A-lat (resent in the octatonic mode) as necessary to comlete the melodic hrase Though 27 The undamental E-lat is imlied by the iano in measure 25, not shon in this igure
this hrase resolves on a non-modal tone, the tension is maintained by the donard minor second resolution into a seeing iano igure The iano begins a ith belo on a D, and by ay o the minor ninth, drives its ay uard to an e'-lat based chord on beat three This aroach to exerimentation and exloration o the basic intervallic structure o the octatonic scale led me to create a oundation or the harmonic and melodic relationshis in this iece Overall, the melodic material in The rayer o Daniel has the aearance o a through-comosed melody, although recurring melodic identities can be heard throughout The reason or this is that the melodic gestures rely more on intervallic relationshis rather than traditional melodic develoment The melodic develoment ithin The rayer o Daniel ocuses on the develoment o tension and release beteen the melodic line and its suorting harmony, as exressed by rimary, secondary and tertiary identities It as through this aroach that this ensemble illuminates the sensitive character o Daniel s rayer Rhythmic Identities Thus ar I have discussed my aroach to creating melodic material and ho I dre itch structures rom the interval o a second Earlier I gave general examles on ho I used the instruments to create gestures based on these linear and suortive structures In this last section I ill discuss my aroach to creating some o the rhythmic identities that ere used to bring these to asects o the music together 4
The rayer o Daniel is divided into ive sections, each o hich carries an overriding theme in the text Starting ith the irst section, Daniel acknoledges the holiness o God and the sinulness o the nation The unction o the oening measures is to establish a mindset o concentration and ocus as Daniel begins to address God ig 0 Alto-lute Oening line, mm 1- The oening igure (ig 0) begins ith shar attack and a cris burst o notes, as i Daniel ere droing to his knees in sorroul contemlation hile he began to ray One o the most identiiable rhythmic eatures (seen here in the oening) is that o the reeated eathered beamed notes This rhythmic identity is revalent throughout much o the hole comosition as a igure to hel establish a sense o contemlation In addition to the oening, e see the igure o the reeating eathered beamed notes in the recitative section beginning in measure 290 28 The context here calls or a timeless sense o relection as Daniel contemlates the extent o the chastisement that Israel has been suering Musically, this is relected by a dee sonorous oen chord in the iano olloed by a reinorcement o Daniel s statement by ay o a light oenvoiced igure to a eathered beamed and reeated e The eathered beam and reeated note igure continues in the violin as the recitative transitions to the next section, a temo 28 Reer to the score or the remainder o this section 5
The baritone also uses this reeated igure in each o the recitative areas An examle o this may be seen in measure 298-0 at the conclusion o the second recitative This use o the reeated note moti adds a chant-like ambiance to the contemlative nature o the text We see an adatation o this rhythmic moti in the iano art beginning in measure 07, here the inner voice o the iano reeats a note until measure 12 In various orms, the reeated note iguration that is resent in the oening measures o this iece is resent throughout Looking at the second section o this iece, rom measure 12 to 159, e see another ay in hich the use o rhythm hels to augment the meaning o the text In this section, as Daniel make his conession o guilt, he also recognizes that the consequences o Israel s transgression is seen in the scattering o the nation Relecting the scattering o Israel, the iano abandons the baritone to oin the ensemble Staccato tutti chords add eight to the musical reresentation o the gravity o Israel s situation, as seen in the text In addition, the meter is unsettled and changing, until at the end it shits by ay o metric modulation to a sloer temo Ultimately this eak o emotion inds don to a hushed choral section, restating the merciul attributes o God and the recognition o the nation s sin Throughout this section, staccato rhythms and shiting meter are used to emhasize the dislacement o Israel A shit rom agitation, seen in the text as the scattering o Judah, to the contemlative, seen in the text as Daniel s conession o guilt, lays out musically in the change rom unsettled rhythmic atterns to homohonic movement by all voices The drama continues to unold as Daniel dros out altogether leaving only the choir, in measure 168, to relect on God s merciul nature The shit to homohony begins in 6
measure 151, as the iano reoins to directly suort the baritone The relie o tension sets in at measure 160, ater a brie metric modulation don a degree in temo as the meter begins to even out In measures 166 and 167, a ull sto is achieved as the ensemble holds to inal chords hile the men s chorus sets u the next section ith a yramid-style cadence, the text o hich ends the baritone s thought and simultaneously begins the text o the next thought 29 inally, the second section comletes in an a caella setting that uses simle meter and rhythm in long loing lines to create eelings o contemlation and sincerity over the sorro o Israel s sin that carries all the ay to the conclusion o this section in measure 192 In the second section o The rayer o Daniel, e see a shit rom unsettled to settled meter in both the music and the text This is accomlished rhythmically by means o shiting meter couled ith accented assages on o beats and accentuated by leeting solo assages The action begins to slo as the ensemble reoins in suort o the baritone, accentuated by a donshit in temo to a simler meter by means o metric modulation Ultimately, the transormation to a contemlative mood is comleted as the men s chorus executes long slo legato hrases, a caella, in a simliied meter that is carried through until this sections end Overall, it is shon that the rhythm lays a rimary role in the exression o melody and harmony, adding and subtracting eight rom the music to it the textual overtone o the rayer On the hole, metric changes serve to direct the lo o the music as musical oints are made The third section o The rayer o Daniel, measures 19 through 6, exhibits the same attributes that e have seen in the irst to sections: shiting meter, leeting 29 Daniel 9: 9-10 7
assages, and eathered beams on reeated notes A maor oint o interest occurs at measure 245 ith a lute solo Aearing at the end o a rhythmically active section, this solo contrasts the revious section by acting to remove the sense o time that it created The lute solo is erormed in a ree non-conducted exressive style that emhasizes the lute s tonal qualities and agility The secondary urose o this solo is to act as a transition beteen the revious agitated section into the cantabile section beginning on measure 254 Many o the rhythmic eatures already mentioned above in regards to the irst to sections comrise the remainder o the third section The rhythmic textures that end the second section, measures 185 192, are seen again in section three at measure 81 While the third section s use o rhythm ollos similar lines, it also recaitulates some o the rhythmic motis and arching solo igures rom the oening measures o the iece As this section increases in intensity, the doumbec assumes the eathered beam tulet moti, and mingles it in its on steady rhythm Throughout this last section, beginning in measure 81, the doumbec serves to rovide a steady ulse as other layers o the texture come together In my analysis o the text, I elt that the develoment o the music called or rhythms that could exress eelings o remorse, anticiation, and momentary bursts o emotion Rather than aroaching rhythmic identities as a basis or identiication o melodic themes, I aroached the use o meter and rhythm as a ay to rame the contextual mood o the iece and to control the lo o music Within the list o rhythmic identities I have mentioned, I emloyed hat I elt as the aroriate rhythmic comliment to the harmonic language, ith the goal o suorting the emotive rameork o Daniel s rayer 8
CONCLUSION The rayer o Daniel is an emotionally dynamic ork based on the enitent heart o Daniel as he sought the mercies o God in the midst o distress As Daniel s rayer is a model or reentant rayer, so my challenge as to exress this model in musical terms that accentuated Daniel s assion Each layer in the ensemble lays a vital role in exressing Daniel s assion by ulilling both ensemble and solo roles The Bass-baritone carries the emotional eight o the iece through the dramatic use o the baritone range The drama created in the melodic line is suorted by the iano through a combination o romantic iguration and contemorary tonal structures The ensemble suorts the eorts o the vocalist by reinorcing and echoing the melodic sentiment o Daniel, by ay o rhasodic assages and suortive rhythmic structures Harmonically the ensemble augments the intervallic interlay as control over tension is maintained through rimary, secondary, and tertiary structures These structures, couled ith rhythmic interlay, serve as tools that I used to resond to the intensity o Daniel s etition And ust as the doumbec as used to translate location and character, in the end it stands as the inal exression o Daniel s beating heart The challenge o setting this text as a unique comositional exerience or me Uon comleting The rayer o Daniel, I could see that a transormation toard maturity had occurred in my riting This iece exhibits a greater deth o sensitivity and character than ieces I have comosed beore and during this rocess ersonally, my study o this biblical igure has enhanced my siritual lie, as it heled me to more clearly understand the immutable attributes o God 9