Fight or Flight (2022)

Wind Ensemble | ca. 5' | grade 3.5

Program Note

The Fight or Flight response is defined as a psychological response triggered when one is faced with a danger or threat. It's a natural reaction which releases hormones that prepares the body to either stay and confront, or to flee. In other words, it is our most primal and basic survival instinct.

I pondered how I could capture such a concept with music, so that it was thrilling and exciting as well as perceivable and easy to grasp. While examining this idea's two main aspects — "fight" and "flight" — several musical ideas began to reveal themselves; I was soon left with a chaotic list of motifs. I eventually narrowed it down to two main motifs, each characterizing their own section in the music. The first section represents the "fight" response, which immediately opens with a bold theme played by French Horns, Alto Saxophones, Clarinets, and muted Trumpet. This theme grows more urgent as it evolves, adding piercing woodwind interjections and swelling auxiliary percussion. Suddenly, the music takes a frantic and exhilarating turn, segueing the listener into the second section: the "flight" response. Here, a theme characterized by unstable minor 6th leaps and an accompanying eighth-note motor is passed around the ensemble, first presented by the French Horns and Trumpets. This theme is later developed upon in a diminished pitch environment with more aggressive and chaotic gestures; fragments of Dies Irae from Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem can also be heard, which in this context is meant to suggest the increasing presence of imminent danger. The music then returns to a more tonal setting and restates the "flight" theme once more before finally closing with the opening "fight" section. The theme here is now painted in pride and triumph, and a heroic Trumpet fanfare leads the listener to a powerful finish, where the "fight" and "flight" themes are both referenced one last time in full force.