Road for Orchestra

The Road for Orchestra is a tone poem based on the poem, "The Road" by Korean poet, Yun Dongju (1917~1945). Yun Dongju was persecuted during the final days of Japanese Imperialism in Korea. The images in his poem symbolize his oppression and his struggle to find his identity as a Korean man. The beginning of Yun Dongju's poem is as follows: Lost since I do not know where and what I lost my two hands stretch deeply forward fumbling in my pockets [ verses 1~4] The opening of The Road for Orchestra features the unfolding of a very slow melodic gesture performed by a muted trumpet. The ascending motion heard in the first violins' tremolo glissando (mm.3~6), and the first cello's melodic contour (mm.5~11) also supports the image of road. Scales consisting of thematic fragments, of which the primary intervals are major seconds and perfect fifths, present both whole tone collections in hocket-fashion (e.g. mm. 66, Bb cl. & vib.). This scale and tone clusters are important elements that lead the second and fourth variations. The tone clusters are mainly presented in the woodwinds and brass, and serve to break down the smooth melodic development as a "wall casts a shadow on the road" in Yun Donju's poem: The wall, whose iron door is firmly locked, casts a long shadow on the road [ verses 8~9] Various modes (e.g. mm.1~4, Tpt. in C Lydian; mm. 24~28, strings in C Locrian ) and pentatonic scales (e.g. mm.5~11, 1st cello) add even more color to this piece as they are overlapped with one another or mixed with tone clusters. Climactic moments occur when the lyrical melodic lines are completely obstructed with short, harsh, percussive tone clusters performed by the entire orchestra (e.g. mm107~108). Increased dynamic levels and the use of brass and percussion add to the intensity of these exciting moments. The formal design of The Road for Orchestra is theme and variation. The sections are most clearly articulated by rhythmic variations. All rhythmic patterns have a clear connection to the rhythm from the opening of the theme: Theme (mm.1-46) Variation I (mm.47~69) Variation II (mm,70~108) Variation III (mm.109~161) Coda (mm.162~179)