Elegy For The People Of Tomorrow For String Orchestra by Stella G. Gitelman Willoughby published on 2022-07-09T20:16:20Z Elegy for the People of Tomorrow For String Orchestra Copyright © 2021 Stella G. Gitelman Willoughby Recording: Virtual Realization Program Notes: Elegy for the People of Tomorrow expresses the fear, suffering, and pain of the Byzantine people as their church and city fall to the Western knights on their Fourth Crusade. The composition begins with tension: Harmonies are sustained beyond their expected point of resolution, creating an extended sonority. This harmonic tension represents the impending conflict between the crusaders and the people of Constantinople, while the bleeding over of sounds is emblematic of the blood that is about to be shed. In the first violins, descending portamenti across the interval of a fourth, represent the looming downfall and destruction of Constantinople at the hands of the Fourth Crusaders. The second section depicts the arrival of the crusaders in Constantinople. Their steady and ominous approach – portrayed through the heavy rhythmic pattern in the lower strings – is coupled by the chaos and shrieks of those whom they attack – represented by the rapid thirty-second note passages and the dissonant intervals in the upper strings. Throughout the composition is a recurring melody: Dies Irae. This Gregorian chant melody, originally composed in the 13th century although likely even earlier, has been used by composers throughout the western tradition to convey feelings of loss, death and eternal hopelessness. After a pause in the music, this melody returns in the third and final section of the composition. This time, it reflects the feelings of future generations and their reminder of the past events. The Byzantines and Eastern Church will never forget the pain and death inflicted upon them by the Western Crusaders. The themes of pain and suffering and division among people and nations continue to resonate today. Nearly a millennium later, we have yet to resolve the religious intolerance, racism, and societal conflicts that plagued 13th century Europe. If we cannot reconcile with one another in spite of our differences, this too will be our elegy. Genre Classical