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  • Writer's pictureBret Newton

Omnia exeunt in mysterium

Between 2008 and 2015, I had not been able to complete a single composition. Sure, I had begun many, but the actual completion of a piece eluded me. That period of time I was farther away from music than I had ever been, and the inspiration wasn't there. Deep down, I knew I needed to get back. I had been writing about music for some time but never got any notes down.

Sometime in October of 2015, I was listening to an interview with Teller (of Penn & Teller fame). He's the silent one, so hearing him speak was rather unusual. He was discussing a philosophy in magic - all things fade into mystery. As Teller is a Latin scholar, he expressed this in the original Latin "omnia exeunt in mysterium." And it struck me, this is one of the most musical phrases I'd ever heard. You start with a complex idea and slowly strip it away so that the piece of music fades into the mysterious ether whence all music comes from. From this four word phrase, I began a flurry of composing. I worked by hand rather than away from the computer. The notes came fast and furious and within a few weeks I had a completed symphonic poem for wind ensemble. It's the first time I had been able to express my newfound ideas about band orchestration in a work and I was excited to see how that played out.

As a follow up, I was able to present a score of the work to Teller in December of 2017, and the delight in his eyes seeing his words made into music was a pleasure to behold.

Instrumentation

4 C Flutes

2 Oboes

Alto Oboe

4 B-flat Clarinets

F Alto Clarinet*

2 Bass Clarinets

Contrabass Clarinet

2 Alto Saxophones

Tenor Saxophone

Baritone Saxophone

2 Bassoons

Contrabassoon

4 F Horns

2 C Trumpets

2 Tenor Trombones

Bass Trombone

2 Flügelhorns

Tenor Tuba

Contrabass Tuba

Timpani

Glockenspiel/Xylophone

2 Percussion

*alternate part for E-flat Tenor Clarinet also included

11x17 Score - $25.00

Set of parts - $250.00

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