Christopher
Christopher's Composer's Statement
A Tribute to Theophilus
My piece is introduced with a simplistic melody played by the clarinet. I’ve nicknamed this section “Africa?” because there is much we don’t know about Theophilus and his origins. Personally, I like to think that he had a happy childhood before he was brought into slavery. This then breaks into a fanfare-like phrase with the trumpet and violin. This section has a happy but mysterious feel, like the beginning of what we know about Theophilus’ life.
The second section starts its transition at measure 9 and starts on measure 10. The transition starts with a quick, 3-note progression with a clashing note underneath. It ends with a quick minor note to introduce the new feel. While this section is the most succinct, it has the most meaning behind it. The violin, which has the lead, is slow and is supposed to show the feeling of this period of his life. It also has a low and quiet clarinet part with repeated triplets as a bit of a heartbeat. There is also a trumpet part that also gives a heartbeat feel, but actually symbolizes the few small, good things that happened to him during his enslavement: the promise of freedom and land, as well his marriage and the birth of his children.
This last section is my favorite; it starts with a low whole note and is arpeggiated into a higher note that starts a repeated phrase. This phrase is intended to make the listener feel very hopeful. It has a large contrast in comparison to the previous section. This represents the accomplishments of Theophilus (his selling of land to Noah Scranton, owning cattle) as well our work with the Witness Stones Project. This last section represents something rewarding that we’ve done to highlight the life of a forgotten man.