Description

From the ever-expanding outer edge of the Universe, the light travels to Earth at a speed lower than at which the Universe is expanding; this means that even though we are able to observe the light that originated from the Big Bang, we will never be able to even observe the Universe in its entirety even as it is now. And the gap between us and what is out there keeps ever expanding.

While it is not possible to understand such cosmic magnitude with reason or logic, I have found it deeply spiritual to meditate on the grandiosity of the Cosmos. When I was playing the first eight notes of the Circle of Fifths from C to C sharp in the Spring of 2018, it suddenly occured to me that they sound exactly like they entail all of Cosmos, from before the Big Bang to Earth and ultimately, to the eventual heat death of everything. From this experience came a sudden urge to describe this all in sound, with its basic consonant ingredient; the 5th.

Nearly four years later in 2021, a tone poem that described this life cycle of the Universe in sound was finally ready; Consonance and the Cosmos.

- Robert Ruohola, January 2022

Instrumentation

2222 2200 10 0, str [pic, bcl, cbsn]

Category

Works for Orchestra or Large Ensemble

Premiere

Helsinki Chamber Orchestra, James Kahane, cond. 14 December 2021, Helsinki

Movements

0. Before / Ennen; 1. Birth of Time and Order / Ajan ja järjestyksen synty; 2. Entropy increases I / Entropian kasvu I, 3. Roll of Dice / Nopanheitto; 4. Particles' motion / Kappaleiden liike; 5. Through Nebula / Halki nebulan; 6. The Milky Way / Linnunrata; 7. Promise of Earth / Lupaus maasta; 8. Embryos and the Ocean / Alkiot ja valtameri; 9. On the Hand of God / Jumalan kämmenellä; 10. Entropy increases II / Entropian kasvu II; 11. Exceeding the Escape Velocity / Pakonopeuden ylitys; 12. The Ultimate Heat Death / Kaikkeuden lämpökuolema

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Archive number

MF35091

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