Form

The entire composition runs continuously, with an “Introduction” followed by sections representing each of the sea creatures. Variations of the “Introduction’s” main motif also serve to transition between each section. All of the sections are relatively short (1-2 minutes), rarely long enough to reflect a form beyond AA’ or ABA’. The sections have a rhythmic and thematic feel that loosely reflects the characteristics of each sea animal. (Read about them on that page.) The last section bleeds into a coda which uses much of the motific content of the introduction.

Tonality

As is my habit, the tonal approach throughout is vaguely triadic, with lots of added tones and odd transitions to make things more dissonant and interesting. The “Introduction’s” main motif uses a chordal approach of stacked 5ths (DAEB to start), with key centers rising by minor 3rds until returning to D. Variations of this approach serve many of the other sections. A notable exception is the Sea Snake mini-fugue, with a theme based on a whole-tone scale with two tonal centers a minor third apart.

Instrumentation

The first section, the “Introduction,” starts with solo soprano sax, with the main motif appearing around bar 17 (40 seconds) with solo piano. Since the sections that follow reflect a sequence of sea creatures, instruments for each are selected to reflect them with, as one might predict, the “weightier” ones leveraging the lower instruments (trombone and tuba), and the lighter, more playful ones with winds (flute, sax, clarinet, trumpet). Percussion includes suspended cymbals, snare drum, bass drum, concert toms, and tam-tam. For a closer look at the instrument selection for the sea creatures, see that page.

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