In partial fulfillment of the Master of Music degree in Composition I have written a single-movement work entitled Last Castle, whose program depicts a battle between an archetypal hero and his adversary. It is scored for orchestra with double woodwinds, two horns, two trumpets, three trombones, harp, timpani, two percussionists, and strings. The work lasts approximately nine minutes.
Many of Last Castle's musical elements are derived from a programmatic narrative structure. A hero stands outside his adversary's castle on a foggy, moonlit night. He draws closer to the entrance, and the castle's massive doors open. As the hero steps inside, the doors suddenly slam behind him, and the hero slowly ascends a staircase leading to his adversary's chamber. When he arrives, a long, intense battle ensues, the outcome of which is inconclusive. Although the work ends with a dissonant, climactic gesture, it is not certain who deals the final blow in this battle.
Last Castle's formal structure, which parallels the above program, contains two primary sections: the events leading up to the battle, and the battle itself. The tension built throughout the first section culminates in the arrival of the battle sequence, which in turn escalates toward the work's final climax. Between the two sections there is an overall shift from slow to fast tempi, from sparse to dense orchestration, and from soft to loud dynamics. Juxtaposed against this shift is a harmonic language that fluctuates frequently between consonance and dissonance. These components further highlight the intensity of the battle and the conflict
between the hero and his adversary.