A single movement tone poem for orchestra (see also arrangement for band).
Commissioned in 2000 by the Stewart Kershaw and the Auburn Symphony (Washington State).
Duration: 12min.
NOTES
Trains of Thought is a fantasy for orchestra inspired by the sounds
of trains. After an introduction evokes the whistles, rhythms and rumbles of a train passing
through a crossing, three 'trains of thought' spin themselves out- an afternoon train thundering
nearby, a chorus of night trains heard from afar, and a morning train whose powerful engines
hurtle us through the dawn.
All material is derived from the initial "train" sounds: the descending parallel 1st inversion
triad of the whistle, the whistle rhythm (long-long-short-long) used by trains at a crossing,
and the percussive sounds and rhythms of the wheels and tracks.
Instrumentation
flute 1, 2 (2 doubles piccolo)
oboe 1, 2
clarinets 1, 2 in A
bassoons 1, 2
horns 1, 2, 3, 4 in F
trumpets 1, 2, 3 in C
trombones 1, 2, 3
tuba
timpani
percussion 1:
4 toms, cowbell, suspended cymbal, snare, tamtam
percussion 2:
orchestra bells, 2 suspended cymbals, 2 cowbells, triangle, tamtam
strings
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