While somewhat eclectic in my styles that I listen to, I tend to be influence by romantic composers as well as modern choral composers such as Eric Whitacre.
This piece was written for the "It's Cold Out There" informal competition. This piece tells the story of Pluto on two levels: – The first being the physical state of the planet: furthest from the sun for most of its 249 year orbit, it is cold - so cold that the atmosphere freezes solid. One could image the sounds of thawing as the planet begins its summer period when the atmosphere revaporizes and the rocks creak and groan under the expansion of the distant sun. Things calm down at the height of summer, then sink back into the eerie quiet of the long, cold winter. – The second is the mythology of Pluto, god of the under world, working in his mines, hears tale of a beautiful damsel, Persephone. He steals her away and tries to woo her and win her heart. She rejects his advances and eventually returns to the surface for most of the year, leaving him loveless and pining in his cold darkness.
I was listening to some A. Berg and some A. Schoenberg and as a result some of their melodies floated into the center section of this piece. Listen for Berg's theme from op.6 Praeludium: Langsam; and for Schoenberg's op.5, Symphonic Poem "Pelleas & Melisande."
