Two Moods: Dusk & Carnaval
for large orchestra
- year of composition
- year of revision
- instrumentation
- 2(II=picc).2.2(II=bcl).2‑4.2.1‑timp.perc(2):claves/2tam‑t/congas/xyl/susp.cym/BD/tgl/tom‑t/cyms/snare dr‑strings
- duration
- ca. 7'30"
About the work
Two Moods: Dusk & Carnaval (Ballade y Festivo) is comprised of two movements played without interruption.
In the first movement, Dusk (in Ballade style), searching and lyrical lines wend and weave through the texture, evoking the sense of the rural world quieting and calming in the beauty of the fading light. The nocturnal calm is then interrupted with the festive fanfare of the second movement, Carnaval.
Carnaval transforms the serenity of the principal motives of Dusk into a rhythmically driven frenzy inspired by the feelings of festivity, high energy, and glee present in Dominican/Caribbean carnival celebrations. As the wild energy abates, the opening theme of the first movement returns in variation form as a reminiscence of the earlier soothing mood. However, the second movement’s fanfare theme soon reappears, culminating in a celebratory and frenetic finale.