Duration: 9:36
Keys: Ab Major, C minor
Subcollection: piano pieces
Story sound clip: rocket landing; whispered lines from the text
Main theme(s): descending third in the piano throughout; scale motives many times in the high piano (e.g., 1:22)
Story
This is one of the pieces in which I tried to follow a broader point that I took from the story, rather than simply following along all the action. I tried to capture in sound the various impacts that religious belief and faith can have on individuals.
The piece begins from what I conceived to be the perspective of the city and the townspeople who have been visited by the man. Thus I tried to write something simple and optimistic. The simplicity was achieved by using the piano and essentially having only one note sounding at a time, and for the optimism I used a B-flat major chord (a II chord) which lifts from the A-flat major.
One only needs look around (and back through history) to realize, however, that religion and faith does not only lead to peace and optimism, but to division, frustration, anger, and despair. This I took to be represented in the story through the character of the captain, and my music gradually moves to take on his perspective by the end. In the later sections I have lots going on simultaneously to contrast with the simplicity of the opening, I have moved to C minor, and the song concludes in 5/4 which is a much less comfortable time signature than the original 6/8. I also incorporated some "off-color" chords that I don't usually use (e.g., 7:33) but that matched the mood I was aiming for near the end. The rising and falling in the final section are intended to represent the captain's searches for the man, which come close but are never successful.
I incorporated the whispering - which I think of as a kind of "voices in my head" -- to highlight the contrast between the optimistic perspective of the city and townspeople and the frantic perspective of the captain. Why would I have the same musical device in both sections if my purpose is to contrast? The answer lies in the effect that I believe the whispering has on the listener. With the back-drop of the pleasant piano during the first half, the whispering comes across as warm and reassuring. But with the back-drop at the conclusion of the piece, the whispering comes across as menacing and almost eerie. Similarly, religion can be a great source of comfort for certain people and a great source of fear and despair for others (or for the same person at different points in time).
Music
Structurally, this piece is largely presented in a verse-chorus format, though this is lost by the last few minutes. One can also notice that, after turning to C minor, the piano part maintains the same overall shape that it did before, all the way through to the 1-3-5 off-beat C's at 5:46, which correspond to the repeating C's during the earlier choruses.
I intentionally wanted myself and listeners to lose track of the time signature during 3:58 because it makes it that much more fulfilling when the 6/8 returns at 4:06. Apropos, the chords there (D-flat Major and E-flat Major) were purposefully designed to be reminiscent of the chords from the main theme.
The improving, decorative pianos on the left, right, and center channels during the final section are similar in design to the pianos in "The Fire Balloons" -- the other story that explores religion.
Tidbits
This is one of three pieces in which my voice can be heard.
The whispering is a combination of passages from "The Man" story, The Humanist Manifesto, an abstract algebra textbook, and my ad libbing.
The piano line at 6:08 is a tribute to "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt (live)" by The Mars Volta.
The breathing around 6:40 is a tribute to "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson.
Composer Trademarks
(flirting secondary part) the high piano from 1:00 and onward.
My Favorite Moments
The lift of the high C (5:42) followed by the landing on the low A-flat at 5:46. This is the largest interval between notes on the entire album, going from the highest note on a standard piano keyboard immediately to the A-flat in the lowest octave.