Mosaics Timothy Kramer

Mosaics was commissioned in 1999 by the Board of Directors of the Midwest Clinic, with a request for a work which is challenging, but playable, at the high school level. My initial ideas were to design a piece in which simple figures would build larger, more complex musical objects. As a result, this work is based on a small four-note group (C,D,F,G and its transpositions) that forms harmonic, melodic, and motivic patterns throughout the piece. Material made from relatively simple rhythms is then used to create larger gestures and motion. In many cases, patterns are broken between pairs of instruments, registers, or choirs within the ensemble. On a formal level, the work presents itself as a fantasy with five interior sections surrounded by an introduction and coda. Each section takes on a different mood and texture, displaying various perspectives of the mosaic "tiles" from which the work is constructed.