【约瑟夫·施万特纳】无尽的余音 (Joseph Schwantner - Aftertones of Infinity) (1978)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Sns6KLvrb_o
Leonard Slatkin (conductor)
the Julliard Orchestra

One of Joseph Schwantner's masterpiece, "Aftertones of Infinity" is his second orchestral composition, written in 1978. Schwantner's style is exotic, but also wonderfully sensitive when it comes to manipulating timbres, allowing him creates a powerfully sonorous and seemingly impressionistic composition through his use of shared monody (single melodic idea reinforced by multiple instruments), manipulation of octatonic scales, and "pillars of harmony." 

It's through all of these techniques that he is able to create a symphonic poem that takes one to the vastness and emptiness of space and what lies beyond. Haunting, reflective, mysterious, violent, dense, hazy, and lyrical are some words that describe this piece as Schwantner masterfully mixes colors together to take the listener on a sweeping journey out of this world.

Schwantner's older scores (before 1990) are known to be notated in "open"/"French" scoring, where staves of instruments in rest do not appear until they are required to play. Although this style of notation is seen as unfamiliar to many, Schwantner used it for the sake of efficiency and to artistically craft a score.

Schwantner takes the standard orchestra instrumentation further with a great emphasis on percussion, using Japanese temple bells, tom-toms, and crystal glasses (the latter played by oboes and English horn). The use of a piano remains a standard among his orchestra and wind ensemble pieces, as well as the unusual seating arrangement he desires to create new sound effects and resonances that would be difficult or even impossible otherwise. Just like with "...And the Mountains Rising Nowhere," Schwantner makes use of the "celestial choir," an aspect of his compositions that would carry on to future works. This piece was later awarded the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Music.