Program Notes

Colours

Roger Cichy, composer

Colours is an impressionistic work with each of the six movements representing a particular color. Composed in early 1997, Colours was commissioned by the Kansas State University Bands and premiered on May 10, 1997 with the composer (Roger Cichy) conducting. The music of each movement is not based on the outward appearance of its color, but rather the pigments that are combined to produce the particular color. Taken one step further, the color of each pigment is translated into its symbolic meaning, which is then represented through the music (e.g., green: warm, organic, middling qualities, immortality, neutrality). The musical "pigments" are blended into the composition of each movement to create the impression of the color. The work represents the association of color symbolism as interpreted through music as opposed to "orchestral colors," or timbres.

—source: Published score

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