Floriature was composed in 2013, Like the very closely related Florida Home for orchestra, it is meant as a celebration of my adoptive home state of Florida. Four years on it still awaits its premiere!
Musically speaking, all the material in this overture is derived from the graceful, song-like melody that closes it. At first only fragments of this melody or its inversions appear, apparently randomly, over a long sustained pedal note.
Knowing that the name Floriature is a contraction of the words ‘Florida Overture’ could lead the listener to view these fragments as Florida snapshots, evoking diverse images and sounds of this state as they arise in his or her imagination. Or, with equal validity they may be perceived in purely musical terms.
As these fragments interact and collide they build up an irresistible tension, only released when the music breaks free of the pedal note. Then we hear, first, a joyful 12 tone theme, partially derived from the song, then a sombre inversion of the song, and finally the song itself. In other words this piece is a ‘slow burner’ with a particular reward for the listener toward the end.
Here is a score of Floriature. Please contact me to hear a MIDI simulation this score.