Work
Sakura Trees
for orchestra
Films, Audio & Samples
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About
Sakura Trees was written for a 2nd year composition assignment at Otago University, where the task was to write an orchestral piece on the subject of 'Images'. Part of the inspiration for the piece came from watching Hayao Miyazaki films. The piece consists of one main, slightly oriental-sounding theme in G natural minor, with alternating 4/4 and 3/4 bars. The theme opens the piece, played by pizzicato strings and enhanced by marimba and woodwind, then reappears later with a somewhat darker and more subdued tone, played by the celesta and accompanied by the lower string and woodwind instruments and marimba. In between is a section based on a sequence of major chords spaced whole tones apart, which suggests a sense of mysticism while still sounding quite assertive due to the dominating brass. The piece closes with rising harmonized pentatonic scales (first in the woodwind and then the strings), which build to a crescendo, ending on a strong F chord. This is followed by a brief coda, based on the opening bars of the piece.
-ACH