The Elephants of Dali
This piece is based upon the surreal world depicted in Salvador Dali’s painting “The Elephants.” Here, two massive creatures resembling elephants mounted with floating obelisks loom over a seemingly desolate area, with low hills in the background. The creatures stand on tall, spindly legs, casting long shadows on the ground below, where two human-like figures are seen standing in front of a square object with a circle in the middle. In this picture, it may be dusk or dawn, as all things appear just a bit different from their realistic counterparts. The piece’s introductory fanfare is no different, as the ensemble moves through interesting harmonic and visual cadences, through the use of alternate positions and heavy chromaticism. Further, exclamatory glissandi emulate the trumpeting of the elephants across the sparse plain.
Themes of the piece represent the idea that nothing is completely predictable. While flowing through the surreality, the piece moves to a very dream-like, unstable section, led by a contrabass melody, as if it were played on the pedals of an organ, hinting at the hymn to come. Two performers then move toward the center of the stage, creating a snapshot of the original painting. The central object in Dali’s painting inspired the use of a large gong, which should be placed in the center of the ensemble. After the gong is played, the music changes drastically to a standard low brass chorale hymn, following predictable harmonic and melodic motion, though the fourth phrase ends in a deceptive cadence leading to more interesting harmonic motion from the echoing of the hymn.
Once again the gong is played and brings back melodic content from the opening that combines with the music throughout the work into a huge ending. Until it is no longer a loud ending, but a whisper instead.