Thursday 9 February 2017

The Gunslinger (A Suite)

So I've finished "The Gunslinger" suite and I'm pretty damn happy with it!

Thematically, the pieces are similar as well as melodically, without being repetitive. Which is a big plus for me. It's the first time I've employed a brass section and am quite happy with it. I always envisioned a big brass "Old West" sound for this story, with a few little oddities - given it's otherworldly status.

Part I - Lots of fun!
 Big, golden era trumpet driven intro followed by a big driving rhythm courtesy of some celli, synth drums and 6 (!) French horns. I sprinkled on a little sequencer bass to add a modern edge towards the end.



Part II - Rather unexpected.
I originally wanted write a piece inspired by the Man in Black but straight in, I knew this was to be Jake's theme. Between the flautando violins, legato violas and the boys choir, it would only ever be Jake's. The choir was a big challenge as I wanted one to play off against the other without them actually fighting each other. Thankfully, it sounds well. The French horn immediately presents the piece as a direct descendant to Part I, along with the melody.


Part III - Difficult. 
I knew the Man in Black needed to be represented, as he is the first character mentioned in the book, though he doesn't make a hugely significant contribution until the later books. Is he an immortal wizard, is he a God, is he the Devil?? What is his game? And why is Roland determined to catch him? The piece, like him is hard to label. Hard driven sequencer with percussive bass, guitar, quanun, duduk and some brass, again to link it with the original piece. I wanted it to be mysterious, more than pursuit driven and hopefully I succeeded.