The Unquestioned Answer (A Homage to Charles Ives)

The Unquestioned Answer (A Homage to Charles Ives), Op. 49 (2010) - Composer: Geert Van Hoorick - Digital performance using Sibelius 4.1 and Kontakt Player Gold - Feel free to rate and comment here or to review on
http://www.sibeliusmusic.com/index.php?sm=home.score&scoreID=163277

This is, after my two earlier symphonic fantasies (Allison's Room and Epic Music), something whole different: it is my answer to The Unanswered Question of Charles Ives, and my piece is scored for the same instrumentation and meant to be performed as stand-alone or even better after Ives' masterpiece. Over a slow-moving 11-bars diatonic string episode, that is repeated 7 times (each time a semi-tone higher), the woodwinds quote 7 times the question (gradually fading away), each time followed by the trumpet's answer (gradually expanding his statement). The roles of woodwinds and trumpet are reversed in comparison with The Unanswered Question, and the trumpet's imperturbable statement confuses the woodwinds, who in the end mock among themselves and only give a weak reminiscence of the once so prominent question.

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[cbreemer]

This is insanely beautiful ! A bit more subdued than, and not as quirky and gritty as, Ives' "original", but none the worse for it. I hope you'll get your performance together with Ives' masterpiece, I think your version is worth it.

Hoever it seems to me that it is Ives' version where the woodwinds eventually get 'confused' and cackle away like a bunch of mad old hens :) He must have been a humorous guy.