The descending line of bass and melody and other notes is a powerful thing. In my new instrumental ukulele piece, I explore different ways to descend. I am reminded of Euridice who went to hell twice. Hence, “Euridice’s Descent.”
Descending motion
The descending melodic motion can be heard in Dido’s Lament, which I arranged for low G ukulele some years ago. You can also hear it in “Fly Me to the Moon,” which I arranged for easy piano at the request of a piano student.
The descent can be exemplified in melody and harmony.
In “Euridice’s Descent” I am reminded of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. The triplet arpeggios provide the staple foundation of the piece but it also descends.
The descent is an example of word painting. It’s programmatic (rather than absolute) as we illustrating the descent of Euridice into Hade’s kingdom musically.
Moveable chord shapes
What I find fascinating about the ukulele is the appearance of familiar chord shapes further up the neck where I begin. As I move back down (i.e. pitch goes down), I choose other familiar chord shapes and make a descending melodic line.
There is so much going on in this piece that I decided to reuse portions of it in yet another piece. How can we talk about Euridice without Orpheus (Orfeo) ?
