Pluto's Moons
David R. Scott
Ensemble: Wind Ensemble
Duration: 12:00
Year of Composition: 2008
Commissioned by: Manitoba Arts Council
Premiered by: Vincent Massey Collegiate Wind Ensemble (Jacqueline Dawson, conductor)
Date of Premiere: April 20, 2008
Publisher: self-published
Available: Yes
How to Acquire: Composer
Links:
4 Flutes
2 Oboes
2 Bassoons
8 B♭ Clarinets
2 B♭ Bass Clarinets
B♭ Contrabass Clarinet
2 E♭ Alto Saxes
2 B♭ Tenor Saxes
E♭ Baritone Sax
5 B♭ Trumpets
4 F Horns
3 Trombones
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
4 Percussion
In three movements:
I. Nix
II. Charon
III. Hydra
Program Notes:
Pluto’s Moons is a three-movement work for wind ensemble written with the help of students from the Vincent Massey Collegiate Wind Ensemble in Winnipeg. Students were asked to explore the mythological, astronomical and astrological properties of the three moons of the dwarf planet Pluto. These moons are called Nix, Charon and Hydra. Working through a FaceBook Group site, the students were asked to gather ideas, discuss the various properties of the moons and shape the most compelling characteristics into musical ideas. These ideas were sketched out by the composer and shaped in rehearsal meetings with the students. The project took place between November 2007 and March 2008.
Nix was the Greek goddess of darkness and night, and the mother of Charon. A shadowy figure, Nix stood at or near the beginning of creation, and was the mother of personified gods such as Sleep and Death. She was a figure of exceptional power who appears in Hesiod’s Theogony, Homer’s Illiad as well as the poems of Orpheus. The movement "Nix" is musically very sparse and filled with extended techniques, humming voices and other unusual sonorities. The overall sense is that the music is never fully realized and remains ephemeral, mysterious and indistinct throughout. Resolution only comes at the close where "Nix" melts seamlessly into the next movement, Charon.
Charon is the largest moon of Pluto (or one member of a double dwarf planet—with Pluto the other member). In Greek mythology Charon is the ferryman of the dead, a figure with close ties to the God Hades. Charon’s job was to take the newly dead from one side of the river Acheron to the other (if they had the means to pay for the ride). If they couldn’t pay the toll, they were forced to wander the banks of the Acheron for 100 years. Dante describes Charon in the Divine Comedy (3rd Canto of Inferno) and there is a menacing depiction of him by Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment on the alter wall of the Sistine Chapel. The music for "Charon" outlines a retrospective river journey. It could be interpreted as depicting the various stages of a person’s life—from a chorale-like opening, to a section depicting past memories, to a bizarre waltz or barcarole. Its mood changes over its brief duration suggesting the extremes people experience over the course of their lives.
Hydra is the outer-most natural satellite of Pluto. It was discovered in June 2005 by the Hubble space telescope. Hydra is also the name of the famous monster that guarded the waters of Hades’ underworld in Greco-Roman mythology. The Hydra is described as an ancient serpent-like water beast with numerous heads (usually nine) and poisonous breath. This monster is very difficult to kill because some of its heads grow back after being severed. "Hydra" is the most dramatic and exciting of the movements. The trick with the heads is depicted musically by a nine-note figure that gets systematically truncated. Some of these figures, however, are given the opportunity to develop musically and a sense of epic struggle ensues. Percussion is featured prominently in this movement.
(David R. Scott)
