Karim Al-Zand: Music: City Scenes

City Scenes

three urban dances for orchestra

City Scenes comprises three short, interconnected dances, which reflect on the alluring tumult of city life. A boisterous mood dominates the first dance. The opening measures are all clamor and din: the drums kicking, the brass screaming. The passage is marked “like a big band,” a jazz allusion which echoes throughout the dance. Eventually the commotion abates and the sounds of the roaring streets fade. The second dance (which follows without pause) is reduced in scoring—strings, harp, celeste and light percussion—and possesses a delicate, veiled atmosphere. At first subdued, the music slowly intensifies; the haze gradually evaporates to reveal a glistening skyline. The final dance begins softly but returns to the bustling pace and fervent hum of the city. Several times the music builds in strength as it hurtles toward a final frenetic crash.

Some of the music in City Scenes (specifically the first and third dances) originated in a chamber piece of mine, Tableau and Details, which was written at about the same time.

Artist/photographer Libbie Masterson and filmmaker Ford Gunter created a visual accompaniment to City Scenes, commissioned by the Houston Symphony and premiered in October 2014.