Beck - Symphony No. 6

Symphony No. 6 (in B/Bb)

“Hexagon”

Symphony Number 3 cover art For quite awhile, I wasn’t sure about this one...

As with many other composers of symphonies, this one is a pretty dramatic departure from what has gone before. Perhaps this biggest challenge was the fact that it was written almost entirely using hexatonic (whole tone) scales. This took some getting used to, as it disrupts all the traditional tonal sensibilities that most of us expect. Yet, somehow, it is not “atonal” or particularly dissonant. It just finds a different kind of tonality, and that is as it should be, given the concept behind it.

I. Andante
“Rotam Affectionum Humanarum”

II. Allegretto
“Last Snowfall”

III. Andante moderato
“Ode to Emmett Kelly”

IV. Rondo
“Days of Creation”

Approx. total performance time: 17:12

This work was sketched and scored, as is usual for me, in Finale, and later rendered in REAPER, using the EastWest Quantum Leap sound libraries. It was completed © in 2024.

“Praise Him with trumpet sound... harp and lyre... timbrel... stringed instruments and pipes... loud cymbals...”

“Praise the Lord!”

— Psalm 150
The Bible

The music of Charles O. Beck

Symphony No. 6 (in B/Bb)

“Hexagon”