Seattle Cascade 'ready for take off'
Embarking on the greatest musical journey in their history, the 2005 Seattle Cascades will present a full 135 member corps performing an Airborne Symphony. The catalyst material, Marc Blitzstein's World War II era Airborne Symphony, will transport both the performers and their 'passengers' (audiences) through an adventurous chronicle of flight.
The eclectic musical selections come from a variety of eras and ingeniously fold into an American epic. Curiosity and anticipation are in the air throughout the opening, as the listener will be aurally transported to the year 1903, the dawn of human flight. David Gillingham's Aerodynamics will depict the construction of the airplane and its' subsequent turn-of-the-century celebration by means of material from Scott Joplin's Weeping Willow Rag. The ensuing flowing lyric lines will sweep the listener through the exhilarating first test flight and the ultimate freedom of treading on air.
Celebration turns to a certain dread, as Redline Tango by John Mackey will depict the horrific advent of air combat. Using the strength of attacking percussion, engaging, tormenting and eventually destroying, many will be lost to the battle. Following the carnage, an otherworldly incantation: "Stairway To Heaven," by Led Zepplin, in an arrangement including asymmetrical meters and an underlying desperate questioning of the airplane's glory.
Finally, the prevailing winds return via swirling ascending and descending chromatic passages leading the 'passengers' through final take-off in the brilliantly exultant section of Aerodynamics, a glorious final celebration of the human triumph of flight.
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