The Wonder of Larks
The Wonder of Larks is a form of music used during marches and military engagements originally devised by the elf Ditari Typhoonbudded. The rules of the form are applied by composers to produce individual pieces of music which can be performed. The music is played on a aritha and a amafi. The musical voices join in melody, counterpoint and harmony. The entire performance is extremely fast. The melody has short phrases, while the counterpoint has phrases of varied length throughout the form. It is performed without preference for a scale and in free rhythm.
- The aritha always should sparkle. The voice uses its entire range from the strained low register to the wavering high register.
- The amafi always should perform expressively.
- The Wonder of Larks has a well-defined multi-passage structure: a lengthy theme and one to two series of variations on the theme possibly all repeated and a finale.
- The theme is voiced by the melody of the aritha. The passage is to become louder and louder. The aritha covers its entire range from the strained low register to the wavering high register. Only one pitch is ever played at a time in this passage. The passage should be composed and performed using trills.
- Each of the series of variations is voiced by the melody of the aritha and the counterpoint of the amafi. Each passage is to be very soft. The aritha covers its entire range from the strained low register to the wavering high register and the amafi stays in the quavering high register. Only one pitch is ever played at a time in this passage. Each passage should be composed and performed using trills.
- The finale is voiced by the melody of the amafi and the harmony of the aritha. The passage is to become softer and softer. The amafi covers its entire range from the nasal low register to the quavering high register and the aritha covers its entire range from the strained low register to the wavering high register. This passage features only melodic tones and intervals. The passage should be composed and performed using trills.
Events