PRIMAL

Instrumentation

Piccolo
Flutes (1 & 2)
Oboes (1 & 2)
Bassoons (1 & 2)
Contrabassoon
Eb Clarinet
Bb Clarinets (1, 2 & 3)
Bass Clarinet
Contrabass Clarinet
Alto Saxophones (1 & 2)
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone
Bb Trumpets (1, 2 & 3)
Horns in F (1, 2, 3 & 4)
Tenor Trombones (1 & 2)
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Piano
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion 1, 2, 3 & 4 (instruments required: 
Tam-tam, Woodblock, Toms, Mark Tree, 2 x Side/Snare Drums, Glockenspiel, Bongos, Mounted Tambourine, Ride Cymbal, Crash Cymbal, Suspended Cymbal, Triangle, Finger Cymbals, Tubular Bells, Marimba, Bass Drum, Temple Bowl, Cabasa, Vibraphone, Clash Cymbals)

Details

PRIMAL is Jared McCunnie's first major work originally composed for wind ensemble. PRIMAL draws compositional inspiration from prime numbers, and the concept of division both mathematically and socially. Keep your ears peeled for distorted remnants of The Star Spangled Banner, a gentle nod to the United States' tumultuous and divided year of 2020.

PRIMAL opens with 'Establishing Battle Lines', introducing the listener to a haunting four note motif that symbolises the number one throughout the work, and will be repeatedly divided into the coming musical episodes. Next emerges a minimalistic exploration of melody, in that the melody consists of two pitches, separated by a major second. A tenor declamation propels the section into a fierce compound time (with each beat subdividing into a pulse of three quavers) as the hostile battle lines are defined.

'Pleading Cases' exposes the soft underbelly of otherwise hard-faced foes. The openness of parallel fifth harmony may seem consonant, but the music leads to darker waters. Once again, the work launches into a more agitated state, this time exploring the seventh major mode, the locrian mode. A relentless rhythmic ostinato accelerates the music through rapid metric changes, before fading into the ether.

A brief chorale introduces the slow section 'The Perfidious', which explores prime numbers eleven and thirteen through metre. An expressive flugelhorn solo leads a passionate ode to the deceitful. Falling down from its apex, the work succumbs to a seething downward chromatic gesture, grappling with the unspoken treachery. An eruption of cacophony brings the section to an unresolved climax.

As the dust settles, earlier musings emerge in concluding section 'The Final Division'. The music offers a false glimmer of hope before straying once more into uncertain territories. Musical gestures accumulate into a fiery dance-like conclusion, as the final division is made.
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PRIMAL was premiered by the Castle Hill RSL North West Wind Ensemble (Musical Director - Mr James Brice OAM) on 3 July 2022 at their inaugural Australian Sounds concert at the Knox Grammar School, Wahroonga NSW.

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