Composing a symphonic piece is a lot of work. Paschal, as has been alluded to in the previous post here and here, is a piece that I am immensely proud of and also something I wish I could restart or at least give my 5 year ago self some advice. But when it came time to finish the work, I had several outcomes and outlines that saw the work finish in a number of different ways. Ultimately, I chose a “slow-fast-slow” model for the entire work, which creates a more thoughtful work as it doesn’t end with a bang. Originally, I wanted to end with a bang, but time was not my friend in writing this work and sometimes that benefits the creative process.
Unlike the first two movements, which have a hodge-podge of material that developed over a long period of time, this third movement was created last and free from any revisions of earlier drafts. That allowed me to finish Paschal as a summary of all the things that came before it and look at the first two movements with fresh eyes; namely, only at the material that is actually in the pieces and nothing of the revisions or musical material from earlier drafts. This lead me to a singular thought, if not an obvious one: the last movement should be a summary of the first two.
And then, if the first two were in some part about Spring while using the chants from Easter, then it would make sense that the final movement would be about those voices. The original conceit for the ending involved the Te Deum chant and I decided to include that one idea as all the chants for the day are represented in this final movement. The other thought I had, generally, was to reverse what has happened in the first two movements. The end of the third movement is similar to the beginning of the first movement, the middle of the work includes a high point similar to the second movement and final movement ends where the second left off – again, the last movement is meant to mirror the first two in some sense. I wish I could say this is my idea but it is something I lifted from Kaija Saariaho and my research into Maan Varjot, which has mirror like reflections in its overall form.
The last insight I will offer for this piece is small: I recorded myself singing some of the chants slowly and then used the program Spear to analyze and show the harmonic spectra of my singing. I then approximated it with the symphony at certain points. I never intended to follow a strict, spectralist sense of realizing a harmonic spectra, but it did offer a guiding hand in how to orchestrate the chants in a different way than the previous two movements.
I said it before and I am going to say it again, I am really proud of this work! If it hasn’t come across in my writing here, that surprises me. I may have spend too many years working on it, too many drafts, and as a part of my doctoral studies, there was an inevitability to its creation which led to the general attitude of being done with it. When I actually heard it performed, all that went away and the hard work showed itself. Paschal could use some more editing, but I need to it go and be a piece in the world. I hope to someday return to the symphony for composition.