"The Rise and Fall of Barbaro"
The work is programmatic, chronicling the life and death of one of America's most famous horses in recent racing history. The music follows his accomplishments and tragedy in two main sections, the first roughly in ABA' form, the second in a rise-and-fall of outpouring sadness at his plight.
Barbaro is first introduced by the solo trumpet with short little motives that begin diatonically and gradually shift chromatically. The ebb and flow of the music in the first half reflects his early racing victories with several different thematic melodies. When it crescendos to a triumph at the end of the B section it reflects his last major victory at the Kentucky Derby on May 7, 2006. The music afterward becomes more agitated starting at A', creating suspense for the next race, the Preakness Stakes, in which Barbaro would presumably win en route to possibly being the first Triple Crown winner in three decades. However, as the music approaches the climax the whip strikes and the melody begins to break, representing the horse's hind leg breaking during the race.
The tam-tam sounds at the beginning of the mournful second half, perhaps foreshadowing that this injury would ultimately lead to his death. The sobbing in the clarinets and oboes represent not only the horse's turmoil, but also those people across the nation who were touched by his plight. The music at the en has the strings rising into the stratosphere, accompanied only by the tam-tam and the tubular bells, suggesting that perhaps Barbaro is finally at peace.
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Late next week, Ole Orch will read through my orchestral composition project from last semester. I will be there, and I will have a CD recording of the "performance." And yes, it's been a busy (and trying) month.