Music Department Scores

Wrought Iron

Title

Wrought Iron

Streaming Media

Files

Instrumentation

Flute, Percussion (Vibraphone, Bongos, Tambourine, China Cymbal, Splash Cymbal, Triangle)

Program Notes

Wrought Iron (2012) for Flute and Percussion was commissioned by the Albany (NY) Symphony Orchestra as part of the Capital Region Heritage Commissions project. This piece is a musical celebration of the beautiful metal work that crowns the iconic Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. The shapes found within the iron work—circles, triangles, and rectangles—dictated the shape of the percussion instruments used—cymbals, tambourine, bongos, triangle, and vibraphone. The music reflects the light, airy, and beautifully ornate quality of the metal castings.

While composing this piece, I was also drawn to another fascinating aspect of this building: architect George B. Post used metal to look like stone. In his attempt to make a European-looking building (on an American budget), he fashioned a metallic exoskeleton that houses a truly unique acoustic space. In this vein, I have worked elements from pieces by two of the composers whose names grace the ceiling of the hall: Ludwig van Beethoven and Frederick Chopin; in this way, I am honoring the work of artists who came before me, but with a twenty-first century American twist. Like the cast aluminum used in the 1990s renovation to replace the original iron, and the woodwind made of metal, things are not always what they seem.

Many thanks to Melanie Sorenson and Brian Amer for their artistic support.

Publication Date

2012

Document Type

Score

Keywords

chamber music, scores, instrumental ensemble

Disciplines

Composition | Music

Rights

Copyright © 2012 Andrea L. Reinkemeyer (BMI).
All rights reserved.

Wrought Iron

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