“Alex Weiser structured his piece, Marks, around the interval of a third. Building suspense with repeated, chime-like thirds, Weiser used the interval as a launching point to explore fresh melodic material, reverse the direction of the third, and introduce soaring vocals before scaling back the texture to foreshadow a more forceful and rhythmic concluding segment—albeit without a punctuated finish. The piece employed word painting, implanting a full, bright chord over the lyric “brightness of moonlight,” and effective interruption, with overlapping hands on the piano and sudden chords or disjointed, jarring high notes cutting into the lulling thirds.”
Marks (text by Laura Marris)
Purchase Scoreinstrumentation
Voice and Piano
“Alex Weiser structured his piece, Marks, around the interval of a third. Building suspense with repeated, chime-like thirds, Weiser used the interval as a launching point to explore fresh melodic material, reverse the direction of the third, and introduce soaring vocals before scaling back the texture to foreshadow a more forceful and rhythmic concluding segment—albeit without a punctuated finish. The piece employed word painting, implanting a full, bright chord over the lyric “brightness of moonlight,” and effective interruption, with overlapping hands on the piano and sudden chords or disjointed, jarring high notes cutting into the lulling thirds.”
