PBS documentaries about Presidents Lincoln and Grant were in my head this week.  I have never participated in a battle.  However, my family is full of military people who told stories of their experiences. I wonder what they would say about my music this week? This piece is a battlefield's progress as described in these PBS histories.  The inverted mordent in the baseline are the marching of the troops.  There is a long crescendo, as the frenzy of battle increases.  I used the Omnibus chord progression-- which is a common way to modulate from one key to another.  I was reading a Music Theory page on FB where it was being discussed sooooo I decided to use it this week.  It builds tension as each key modulates up using all 12 notes of the scale.  The Omnibus and the gradual increase in dynamics builds the tension and urgency. The pauses on the unresolved high G# in the clarinet are the chilling silence during battle. Maybe a bird sings--(the flute) then--gather yourself and keep going. The piece ends "up." There is no resolution to carnage.

Tags: 12 tones, battlefields, clarinet, determination, flute, horror, marching, modulations, omnibus chord progression, piano, week 24 2026, View by:Daisy