# M E L T

Thesis pt. 2 performed @
"On Fire" - Faculty Concert
My message to the audience was: fire lives. Fire conjures imagery of destruction and celebration. Bringing fire to life for a moment before being extinguished, #melt illuminates fire's harmony and dissonance. I wanted the audience to leave with a sense of transformation, aware of fire’s complexity, and anticipating their next opportunity to watch a fire,    dance. 

M U S I C
#melt
​“Beautiful Transformation” employed an adagio tempo, making the song seem a tad behind itself at times. Mr. Carmack, an electronic music producer from Hawaii, created the piece. His song caught my ear because of the consistent tempo and discreet additions of new instruments every four bars. The four and a half minute track used dramatic breaks that built back into more complex rounds of the original phrase. A hip-hop song with a timeless essence, “Beautiful Transformation” struck me as the right song for #melt. After further research, I uncovered the song Mr. Carmack sampled, Gabriel Faure’s “Pavane Op.50”. “Pavane ebbs and flows from a series of harmonic and melodic climaxes, conjuring a haunting elegance.”[1]
[1] Howat, Roy (2009). The Art of French Piano Music. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
#heat
I paired recurring movement and across multiple songs to demonstrate the phases of a  “fire”.  I characterized the two main phases of a fire, the flamboyant igniting portion and the intense heat portion, as “happy” and “frustrated” emotional equivalents. I noticed the balance on energy within a fire and tried to capture that energy by using music that inspired warmth and happiness, alongside a piece that embodied searing pain. The songs “Treat Me Like Fire” and “Hustler” both talk about developing relationships with a partner, but from two perspectives. In “Treat Me” the vocalist sings “I’m a bit too dangerous, if you want me you should just, treat me like fire”, telling anyone interested that they need to approach with caution and act with agency. She sings, “And soon you’ll see the truth, after the smoke”, warning the audience there are alternate ways to view the relationship. “This is not what you wanted”, croons the “Hustler” singer describing the ways he did not hold up his end of a relationship. “I’ve got the heart of a hustler, with a hustler’s pain... I’ve got the heart of a hustler, I’m playing a dangerous game”, he spells out his wrenching struggle – loving to love too many.  “Hustler” enters the arc of #heat at a point similar to when a fire begins to burn hot and develop coals – a beautiful demise. 

#H E A T

Thesis pt. 1 performed @ 
"In The Works" - Student Concert
“#heat explores the 
physical and
spiritual 
nature of fire 
– a dynamic, 
powerful, and captivating piece."


"the contrast #heat draws between 


stillness and rapid motion 


captures the power and
u n p r e d i c t a b i l i t y 


of 
fire 
and its 
connection to life"
​