The true adventurer must come to realize, long
					before he has come to the end of his wanderings,
					that there is something stupid about the mere
					accumulation of wonderful experiences.

										Henry Miller

					What labour it would be to go through the whole
					story! All my years of misadventures.

										Odysseus
										(Fitzgerald translation
										of The Odyssey)

Location (grandparent | parent | this page): RodMer Arts Home Page | Rod's Music | March of the Returning Wanderers Program Notes

If you've already read the program notes immediately below, or want to skip them for now, you can click --> to be taken immediately to the MP3 and MIDI files.

Table of Contents (TOC) of these Program Notes

• The Basics
  • Origins
  • The Dorian Mode
  • Structure Summary
  • Instrumentation Summary
  • Instrumentation Details
  • Duration
  • Composition date
  • Computer performers (when human ones are absent)
  
  
• Detailed structural notes
  
  
• The Words
  
  
• MP3 and MIDI files
  
• Score package
  

The Basics

Origins

This piece began life as a brass quintet ("Dorian Memories") written in 1998 for the Pine Ridge Brass, but in fact (though they rehearsed it) it was never performed. In mid 2004 I decided to orchestrate it, at the same time adding choral elements (including some new material) -- with some final small adjustments in early 2005. Adding words to pre-existing music can be tricky because the music is very restrictive but I finally ended up with the concept of a homecoming of wanderers (with Henry Millerís warning echoing in my mind). The Dorian Mode fortuitously helped to hint at The Odyssey, although I did not mean the return of warriors, but rather of all of us misguided wanderers. Of course, not everyone favours homecomings. Tennyson famously complained about the "aged wife" and had his Ulysses set off again on other wanderings ("to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield"). Others argue if you keep running youíll pass by more than you ever catch up with. I guess the fact is that we have both the wanderer gene and the home gene in our DNA and the issue is how we each reconcile the two.

The Dorian Mode

The Middle Ages changed the nomenclature, so what is now called the Dorian Mode was actually the Phrygian to the ancient Greeks. Be that as it may, I have always been attracted by this mode (flatted third and seventh but major sixth). The piece starts and ends on Dorian C but migrates through Dorian D, F, and G along the way -- staying, however, (with one or two very minor liberties) in the Dorian Mode.

Keeping to the Dorian presents a slightly mannered sound to modern ears (at times perhaps even slightly calming). While the tonic is clearly minor, we miss the major triad of the dominant (now strangely minor too) removing any possibility of the ëperfectí cadences telling our diatonic ears when an ending is reached. At the same time the strangely major subdominant counter-balances (particularly in the opening chord of the first choral section) the usual minor feeling of a minor mode.

Structure Summary

The structural elements consist of (a) an Intro and Coda revealing, in places, the brass quintet origins of the piece; (b) two marches (toward the end), which somewhat limited the verbal possibilities and which influenced the title of the piece; (c) four "skips" that recur throughout the piece (with varying textures); (d) "Song 2", which is a choral version of material in the original quintet; (e) "Song 1" newly added (together with its various extensions); and finally (f) a "Song Combo" where both Songs are handled simultaneously (and antiphonally) by the choir.

More detailed structural notes (and the words) can be found below.

Instrumentation Summary

Orchestra
SATB Choir

Instrumentation Details

The SATB Choir should be arranged in 2 divisions antiphonally. The antiphonal singing occurs only in the "Song Combo" (see Detailed Structural Notes). The rest of the time the two divisions sing the same material.

Duration

Composition date

"Dorian Memories": Feb 1997 to May 1998; Adaptation and extension to Orchestra and Choir: Jul 2003 to May 2005

Computer performers (when human ones are absent)

I have not as yet prepared a "General MIDI" file. It looks to be a daunting task for a full orchestra and I'm not sure that the final result will be able to balanced well enough to be listenable. So for now I am sticking with mp3 files developed from the machine-specific MIDI file used with my own synthseizers.

On my own synthesizers I used the following patches (on the 0-127 numbering system):

Part	Sound Module	Patch		Bank
		name	#	#
Flutes	Roland XV5080	ConcertFlute	103	9
Oboes	Roland XV5080	Oboe 7	3	10
Clarinets	Roland XV5080	Clarinet 3	4	10
Bassoons	Roland XV5080	Bassoon 4	8	10
French Horns	Roland XV5080	Solo FrHrn1	81	9
Trumpets	Roland XV5080	XV Trumpet	105	5
Trumpet Mutes	Roland XV5080	C:Harmon Mute	0	3
Trombones	Roland XV5080	XV Trombone	104	5
Tuba	Roland XV5080	Tuba	58	8
Timpani	Roland JV880	Timpani A	117	0
Bass Drum	Roland XV5080	Orch BasssDrm	117	0
Percussion	Roland XV5080 Channel 10	cymbals triangle snare drum snare drum roll	note A3 note A4 note D2 note C#2
More Percussion	Roland JV880 Channel 10	cymbals tambourine	note C#3 note F#3
Sopranos	Roland JV880	VBoysChr	31	RS*
Altos	Roland JV880	Choir 1	227	OEB**
Tenors	Roland JV880	Choir 2	228	OEB**
Basses	Roland JV880	FullChoir	71	RS*
* RS = Rich Sound Collection 3 from Roland Sound Library Card for JV880
** OEB = Orchestral Expansion Board for JV880
Violins 1	Roland XV5080	Chorus Vln 2	46	9
Violins 2	Roland XV5080	Chorus Vln 2	46	9
Violas	Roland XV5080	Vln&Vla Atk	33	9
Cellos	Roland XV5080	St.Cellos	31	9
Double Basses	Roland XV5080	Vln&Vcl	29	9

These are what you hear on the mp3 files.

Detailed structural notes

Intro -- is handled first by the brass (reminiscent of the brass quintet origins of this piece) and then by the woodwinds, with full orchestral tutti at the end of each half.

Song 1 -- alternates between chorus and strings ending up with both together. As well, there are a couple of flute accents above.

Skip 1 -- begins with the French Horn and continues with the clarinet, both over string pizzicato and with an orchestral tutti at the end.

Song 2 -- choir with minimal accompaniment, each half beginning with the sopranos & altos and then being joined by the full SATB.

Skip 2 -- the skip theme again but this time with a flute descant in the first half and a solo soprano descant in the second -- ending again with an orchestral tutti (with the now familiar Dorian Modal close of G-G-Bb-C).

Song 1 Extension -- a long section beginning with the alternating chorus and strings as before but then adding woodwinds and extended material and modulating through Dorian F before finally ending with a full repetition of Song 1 back in its original Dorian G.

Skip 3 -- the skip theme again with the first half flute descant but a second half with both solo soprano and alto descant.

Song Combo -- all four sections of the choir are divided in two, one division singing Song 1 fragments and the other singing Song 2 (somewhat less fragmented)

March 1 -- each half begins with the brass but ends with the full orchestra.

Song 2 -- a reprise of Song 2 alternating between brass and choir.

March 2 -- extended from the previous march and with woodwinds appearing in places (again with full tutti endings).

Skip 4 -- this time handled by the choir and more polyphonically than previously (tenors and basses carrying the theme and sopranos and altos supplying descants).

Coda -- begins with 'Intro' material, includes a brief recollection of Song 2, and ends, of course, with full orchestra and choir.

(Yet more detailed structure notes -- by subsection and measure numbers -- are included at the back of the printed score package).

The Words

MP3 and MIDI files
(Click on icons below to play MIDI and/or download MP3 files)

Year	Title ... Instrumentation ...... Excerpts	Min: Sec	Complete MP3 files (better sound)** file size	MP3 file excerpts (better sound)** file size	Complete MIDI files (not as good sound but quick)**
	The complete piece (computer-played):
2002	March of the Returning Wanderers ... for orchestra and SATB choir	8:29	4.9 MB		not available***
	***I have not as yet prepared a "General MIDI" file. It looks to be a daunting task for a full orchestra and I'm not sure that the final result will be able to balanced well enough to be listenable. So for now I am sticking with mp3 files developed from the machine-specific MIDI file used with my own synthesizers.
	Short excerpts (computer-played):
	...... Intro 1	0:22		0.2 MB
	This is the first half of the Intro. It is handled first by the brass (reminiscent of the brass quintet origins of this piece) with full orchestral tutti at the end.
	...... Song 1	0:24		0.2 MB
	Song 1 alternates between chorus and strings, ending up with both together. As well, there are a couple of flute accents above.
	...... Skip 1	0:37		0.4 MB
	Skip 1 begins with the French Horn and continues with the clarinet, both over string pizzicato -- and with an orchestral tutti at the end.
	...... Skip 2	0:37		0.4 MB
	The skip theme again but this time with a flute descant in the first half and a solo soprano descant in the second -- ending again with an orchestral tutti (with the now familiar Dorian Modal close of G-G-Bb-C).
	...... March 1	0:30		0.3 MB
	Each half of this march begins with the brass but ends with the full orchestra.
	...... Skip 4	0:37		0.4 MB
	Again the skip theme -- but this time handled by the choir and more polyphonically than previously (tenors and basses carrying the theme and sopranos and altos supplying descants).
	...... Coda	0:44		0.4 MB
	The Coda begins with the 'Intro' material, then includes a brief recollection of Song 2, and ends, of course, with full orchestra and choir.

** If you have a high-speed connection, you wouldn't want the MIDI file anyway -- just use the MP3 files (better). If you have a dial-up connection, I'm afraid at the moment you'll just have to take the time to download the 4.9 MB complete mp3 file (or else listen to the shorter mp3 excerpts).

Score Package
(Click on icons below to download pdf and/or rtf files)

Year	Title ... Instrumentation	Description	No. of score pages	Score (pdf file) file size	No. of text pages	Text (rtf file) file size
2002	March of the Returning Wanderers ... for orchestra and SATB choir	Complete score *	36**	0.6 MB	6**	0.9 MB
	** Note that these score and text pages are all long (8-1/2 x 14)
	* email me if you would like any part extractions

(you will need the free Stuffit Expander for decompressing the rtf.sitx files)