Falling Up

Falling Up, from Autumn Triptych, Eric Nathan (2008) 15'
for wind ensemble

“Autumn Triptych” was commissioned by the twelve member schools of the Atlantic Coast Conference Band Directors Association. It is inspired by three paintings, each related to autumn: Jackson Pollock’s “Autumn Rhythm” (1950), John Atkinson Grimshaw’s “Evening Glow” (c.1884), and Georgia O’Keeffe’s “The Red Maple at Lake George” (1926). My piece does not seek to represent the paintings, but instead uses the paintings as a springboard for inspiration and musical form. It is my sincere hope that viewing the paintings will lend deeper insight into the meaning of the music and the music in some way may allow the viewer to see the art from a new perspective.

I. “Falling Up” is inspired by Jackson Pollock’s painting “Autumn Rhythm” (1950) (found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) and shares its title with Shel Silverstein’s book of poetry of the same name.

Pollock’s painting, in his distinctive style, consists of a tangled sea of swirls of paint. After studying the painting, I began to notice how the tangle of swirls merge into a few larger circular rings embedded in the painting. In my musical work, I take these embedded rings of paint as an organizing principle. The overall form of “Falling Up” consists of a series of rotations of the original thematic material, where the order, orchestration and character of the material vary in each rotation.

My work is also inspired by the experience of watching a gust of wind blow the leaves off a tree, sending them twirling up into the air, and carrying them off into the distance.  The upwards gesture of the leaves “falling up” off the tree combines with Pollock’s tangled sea of swirls to create a flurry of intertwining upwards motion, ultimately propelling the autumn leaves off into the sky, where they sail away until they are out of sight. 

Instrumentation: Piccolo 1-2, flute 1-2, oboe 1-2, bassoon 1-2, clarinet 1-3, bass clarinet, alto saxophone 1-2, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, trumpet 1-3, horn 1-4, tenor trombone 1-2, bass trombone, euphonium, tuba, timpani, percussion 1-4, piano