Divinities At Dawn

Description

Flute, Piano — DIVINITIES AT DAWN is gratefully dedicated to Marya Martin, the extraordinary flutist and my dear friend who has championed my music in performances and recordings.The work is inspired by a memorable trip I made to Siem Reap, Cambodia, where I saw the extraordinary temples of Angkor Wat. The temples are covered with thousands of carvings – many of these being of “celestial dancers,” or Apsaras. Seeing the carvings in the early morning hours, the gleaming images of these divinities inspired my four-movement wind ensemble work, Celestial Dancers, from which I made this adaptation of the 3rd movement for flute and piano.The music portrays the early morning hours as the sun creates a golden glow on the ornate carvings with music that is soft, quiet, and mysterious – but as the sun continues to rise and gleam, the music becomes energetic and full of life with the Divinities’ dance becoming joyous and intricate with swirling musical gestures rising to the heavens. Divinities at Dawn is inspired by the composer’s visit to the extraordinary temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, which are covered with thousands of carvings. Seeing the gleaming images of Divinities in the early morning hours inspired Ewazen’s wind ensemble suite, Celestial Dancers. Divinities at Dawn is his flute and piano adaptation of the suite’s third movement. The music portrays the early morning hours as the sun creates a golden glow on the ornate carvings with music that is soft, quiet, and mysterious – but as the sun continues to rise and gleam, the music becomes energetic and full of life with the Divinities’ dance becoming joyous and intricate with swirling musical gestures rising to the heavens.