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North Coast Sojourn (for orchestra)

Hammond, Orville Everet
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin148103208007071

Abstract Details

2016, DMA, University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music: Composition.
North Coast Sojourn reflects my vision of a drive by car along the Northern Coast of Jamaica, traveling from East to West towards Negril, and starting out from Kingston. It is imagined, in this work, that performances of the island's music are encountered during this journey. The score reflects a reinterpretation of music - Mento - from an earlier period in the island's history, and other genres, as well. Mento has elements of Cuban music, notably the use of hand drums, shakers, and clave rhythms, all of which are in use in this work wherein the conga is featured in solo passages. Performances of this work will benefit from a steady pulse, particularly in the more animated sections. Lyrical passages will be aided by Rubato, as personal tastes dictate. Interestingly, the source music reveals an idiom largely comprised of instrumental (usually flute or fife) and vocal melodies accompanied by a variety of hand drums, shakers and bass drum, but without bass harmonies. Rehearsal #17 is a nod to church and church music (with Chorale-like brass) — a predominant aspect of life for many islanders. There are only two traditional folk melodies used in this work: Mango Time: a song whose words speak to rural folk who feast on mangoes and very little else during mango season. Rehearsal #19 is a sentimental interpretation of the love for mangoes, followed by a variation at reh. #20. The music at reh. #21 further expands the song. The second melody, John Crow Say, is a work song. The briefly used melody is clothed in rhythmic strings, snare drum, the slapstick and cross-rhythms. It is a brief reference to a harshness of existence during an era following the discovery of the Caribbean island — encapsulated by the use of brass, odd-meter, military drum rhythms, and punctuated percussion, albeit infused with elements of humor characteristically adopted during periods of high tension. Rehearsal #24 is a retrograde (of sorts) of the previous measures which begin at reh. #23. There are many African-derived rhythms on the island, Mento — for one - and others. Another is the Gerreh, typically played with melodies sung in double-time to fit in with the florid rhythm. Here, it is used to accompany the reworking of a secondary theme beginning in measure 5 of reh. #25. Its use is atypical since the melodies it accompanies are not in double-time. This rhythm is also used in the closing measures as the orchestra brings the music to a close.
Mara Helmuth, D.M.A. (Committee Chair)
Michael Fiday, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Ellen Harrison, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
52 p.
Music
Orchestral; Folk; Jamaica

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hammond, O. E. (2016). North Coast Sojourn (for orchestra) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin148103208007071

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hammond, Orville Everet. North Coast Sojourn (for orchestra). 2016. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin148103208007071.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hammond, Orville Everet. "North Coast Sojourn (for orchestra)." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin148103208007071

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin148103208007071
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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.