Program Note:

A fata morgana is a type of distorted maritime mirage seen just above the horizon. Named after the Arthurian sorceress Morgan le Fay, these mirages are associated to the distant fairy castles and sirens that would lure sailors to their death. The idea of these mirages elicits a series of evocative musical effects: the hazy scrim of shimmering vibraphones, menacing trumpet calls conjuring up a sinister version of the first movement of Debussy’s La Mer, the labyrinthine structure capturing the sensation of being dangerously off course.

Avoiding the customary grouping by like instruments, Fata Morgana (version for symphonic brass) calls for an untraditional seating arrangement, which facilities strange echo effects and illusory resonances. With its spare juxtapositions, the music has the flavor of surrealism. Contrast comes in the guise of a fleeting chorale, distant cousin to Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, which contains the most celebrated fata morgana in music.

The poetics of the piece create an imaginative world based on man against the elements: the warmth of human presence (the chorale) versus the cold desolation of nature (fanfares). Here, nature gets the upper hand, with one of the piece’s final features summoning the sound of drowning.

(Adapted from notes by Matthew Mendez)