Timestamps *Descriptions below*:
0:00- Letter 1: The Foreshadowing
4:54- Letter 2: A Flyover the Pacific
8:25- Letter 3: Little Boy and Fat man
12:35- Letter 4: Resistance
13:43 -Letter 5: Dominance
16:48- Letter 6: Devastation
19:16- Letter 7: Jubilation
19:52 -Letter 8: Retrogradation
I’ve been greatly influenced by Dmitri Shostakovich’s symphonies for some time now. Mainly his 4th, 5th, 10th, and very much his 15th (especially that finale movement). Shostakovich was quite the documenter when it came to illustrating political and social events. Being around during Stalin’s time and what was known as the Silver Age of classical music, he, along with other renowned Russian composers, pioneered a new way of writing music. His music is grotesque, sarcastic, and harsh as he depicted scenes of war and chaos.
His influence has had quite the impact on my writing, and it’s in full display here…
Title explanation: “The Silver State Reporter”. This has a double meaning. One, I’m raised here in Las Vegas, NV where Nevada is known as the “Silver State”. Also, the acronym “SSR” stands for the Social Soviets Republics the reign that ruled over Russia during Shostakovich’s time, as he used his music to report times of woe in his homeland. ‘The Prodigy’ is more of a recognition to what he was at that time. He really pushed music into the Silver Age era, just Mozart did during the classical era, Beethoven for the Romantic, Tchaikovsky during the Post-Romantic, and Mahler during the Golden Age proceeding.
Synopsis: Here describes a WWII event between the US and Japan, one that drastically changed the course of human history. Here’s Document 1 of 4.
Document 1 (Movement 1): “The Development: Nagashima”
-Letter 1: The Foreshadowing – Twilight-esqe in nature, a recalling to a past event.
-Letter 2: A Flyover the Pacific – A calm melody of the ease and mundane. Oblivious to the coming danger…
-Letter 3: Little Boy and Fat man – The drop of the bombs. Chaos ensues.
-Letter 4: Resistance – A surviving nation’s attempt to recover.
-Letter 5: Dominance – Offensive forces display their power.
-Letter 6: Devastation – By the natural rule, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. After the aggression comes a reckoning.
-Letter 7: Jubilation – The “victorious” nation celebrates the traumatic results.
-Letter 8: Retrogradation – With a brash, sarcastic conclusion, the movie continues…
COMPOSER’S NOTE:
Pickups to page 18-23 (mm. 181-mm.194)- separated with dashed dotted lines. Either to be included or excluded based on the conductor’s preference.
Follow and enjoy.
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