Dreamchasers

Description

Violin 1, Violin 2, Violin 3, Viola, Cello, Contrabass, Piano — Dreamchasersxa0is a dramatic work for string orchestra that was adapted from some music I wrote for an animation story entitledxa0Samson and Simon by Joseph Alexander. The story revolves around a little boy who dreams of a night where he can finally have some fun without his parents around. Little does Simon know, but his dog Samson also joins him for the festivities. Samson ends up chasing him around all night and ruins Simon's fun.Despite the programmatic nature of the piece, the music does function on its own as a complete entity. However, I will describe the visuals along the way to give you an idea what I was trying to score. The opening music underscores the little boy Simon falling asleep. The rise and fall of the dynamics represent the breathing of the boy while he drifts off to sleep. This section provides some quality passages for reinforcing expressive playing. The music opens up a little at m.11 as Simon starts to fall asleep. The chase begins at m.19. the pizzicato playing provides a gradual build up of momentum that culminates at m.29. The melody in the violins should be aggressive, yet controlled. Open up a little bit at m.38 as the melody jumps up one octave. The celli and bass get a turn at the melody in augmentation at m.49. The upper strings should make sure to stay underneath the low strings in volume throughout this section. The opening dream material returns in the first violin at m.62 and lies over the top of the ever-present chase melody. The crescendo and accelerando starting at m.74 should keep gaining momentum until it all lets loose at m. 77. The energy should stay high all the way through the end, including the pizzicato, tag ending.