Fire walk

Description

Violin 1, Violin 2, Violin 3, Viola, Cello, Contrabass, Piano — Firewalk is a piece for young string orchestra designed to teach pizzicato playing to the developing string player. All too often, pizzicato is treated simply as an effect or percussive accent to a passage. With this piece, pizzicato becomes the melody, harmony and rhythm. It calls for the player to use dynamics and phrasing while playing pizzicato.This work is adapted from incidental music I composed for a production ofxa0The Birth of Merlin, a play by William Shakespeare. The piece is dedicated to Helen Borgers, who directed this production by the Bard in the Yard Shakespeare Company in Long Beach, CA. The material forxa0Firewalk comes from a section in the play where the characters are dancing a devilish tango with ethereal spirits. The music features jaunty rhythms, dynamic contrasts, and a dramatic climax.xa0Firewalk is a diverse addition to any concert program.