Pictures of Puget Sound
by Alan Lee Silva
String Orchestra - Sheet Music

Orchestra Cello, Contrabass, Piano, Viola, Violin 1, Violin 2, Violin 3 - Grade 2.5

SKU: CF.YAS143

Composed by Alan Lee Silva. Young String Orchestra. Set of Score and Parts. With Standard notation. 4+16+16+10+10+10+4+16 pages. Duration 3 minutes, 35 seconds. Carl Fischer Music #YAS143. Published by Carl Fischer Music (CF.YAS143).

ISBN 9780825899065. UPC: 798408099060. 9x12 inches. Key: D major.

As the title implies, this piece conveys composer Alan Lee Silva's imaginative take on the beauty of the Puget Sound off the coast of Washington state. The piece has many of the compositional techniques you have come to know and love in the pieces of Silva. There are driving rhythms, effortlessly flowing melodies, beautiful harmonic colors and just an overwhelming sense that the piece is exactly as it should be. This is true mark of a master composer, one who can make the music have a sense of inevitablity and sound just right.
Under a storming sky, a bustling waterfront is alive, voyages at sea are just beginning and dramatic journeys are finally returning. Pictures of Puget Sound is an orchestral seafaring story, perhaps underscoring the drama of an epic and heroic journey into unknown waters. Accompanying this story are certain associated conflicting emotions: excitement, nervousness, joy, anxiety, jubilation, the striving to discover something new, and the longing for home, all ofwhich culminate in a triumphant return back to port. Seattle is striking for the dark, mysterious quality of Puget Sound, the vital energy around Pike Place Market, and the beautiful panoramic views of the buzzing seaports.The piece smoothly fades in with the quiet anticipation of an exciting journey ahead. The orchestra builds and the ship sets sail, propelled by a jubilant and hopeful main theme atop an undulating sea (A-sections in mm. 13–28). Thetrek continues on exuberantly in the B-section (mm. 29–36). The music quiets temporarily in mm. 51–66, and the sea suddenly calms. A wistful violin melody softly sings out over lush harmonies, revealing the ocean’s immensity and grandeur. A longing for home and love ones creates a quiet moment of reflectionon a peaceful sea.The weather shifts, and a huge wave crashes against the hull of the boat. Instantly the reverie is broken, and the adventure on an unpredictable ocean continues. The orchestra launches into the main theme once again (mm. 71–94), then eventually swells to an ensemble sustain in m. 94, followed by a brief silence. A new theme begins (mm. 95–116), marking the beginning of the journey home. The orchestra pulses forward, building gradually in intensity andeventually ramping back up into the main theme. The return to the home port fast approaches as we return to the main theme (mm. 117–125) and resplendent, harmonized violins and violas sing and soar above powerful low strings, announcing a joyful homecoming!

About Carl Fischer Young String Orchestra Series

This series of Grade 2/Grade 2.5 pieces is designed for second and third year ensembles. The pieces in this series are characterized by:
--Occasionally extending to third position
--Keys carefully considered for appropriate difficulty
--Addition of separate 2nd violin and viola parts
--Viola T.C. part included
--Increase in independence of parts over beginning levels