Karl Jenkin's Palladio

The deep introduction to Karl Jenkin’s “Palladio” provides the ambiance for an explorer’s treacherous treasure hunt. The journey to discover “Palladio” initially began as a search for pieces that featured several crescendos and decrescendos with tempo shifts to mimic the fluctuating emotions of a quest. After listening to several instrumental pieces, the bass introduction of “Palladio” created the image of a voyage. “Palladio” is played by a string orchestra which utilizes polyphony and heterophony textures. These textures vary throughout the piece depending on whether the instruments are in unison with individual embellishments, or if they are battling for attention. The piece’s rondo form highlights the individual instruments during the verses and unites the orchestra in the refrain. The refrain is identified by the bass, which is then typically followed by the introduction of the other string
This scene continues in the background, while medium pitched instruments enter at 6". The tempo quickens from 6” to 26” as the dynamics shift from piano to forte, and the pitch gets higher highlighting the explorer’s exasperation and the captain’s anger as they quarrel. The instruments quickly decrescendo to pianissimo at 27”, while a new instrument slowly crescendo to forte. During this crescendo, the sound of “Land Ho” is heard from the crow’s nest, creating a commotion on the ship as members rejoice, mirroring the polyphony texture. The piece reaches fortissimo at 38” as the instruments play their highest pitches. This creates a sense of chaos and excitement as the crew prepares the rowboats. During 40” to 45” the texture becomes heterophous, while the crew moves in time to the instruments’ stylistic flairs. The orchestra then decrescendos and brings the tempo to a rest at the 47” mark. Here the explorer, his assistant, and the captain board the rowboats in time to the