-ward

-ward (pronounced “word”) is named after the suffix that is appended at the end of a preposition, such as inward, outward, upward and downward.

in explores a changing melodic motif whose intervals and duration slowly decrease in size (thus the motif folds inwards). The movement is in four sections, each section ramping up in layers, intensity and dissonance. The first section starts with layering the motif in 7ths gently instrument by instrument, before proceeding to layering the motif (now in 6ths and 5ths) in harmony in the second section. The third section moves into the dissonant territory of the motif where it focuses on the tritone, then layering the entire orchestra in sections to form a huge orchestral “canon”. The final section exposes the motif in clear octaves in the horns and oboes, contrasting the entire orchestra with blasts of a dissonant block chord.

out continues on from in, which now explores a widening “focus” interval in a clock-like environment. This movement is in two sections, with the focus interval expanding from a minor 2nd to a minor 3rd and then a perfect 4th. The clock-like environment, introduced by the lone horns and oboes oscillating on a minor 2nd, sets the stage for the rest of the orchestra as they play two short melodies (one  staccato, one legato) split apart across the entire orchestra, like a form of klangfarbenmelodie. These klangfarbenmelodies are transposed up and down the focus interval, and this behaviour is also carried forward to the next section, where percussion instruments are used to highlight the rhythmically even klangfarbenmelodies, adding more layers to the clock-like environment. 

up-and-down is structured similarly to a fugue, with the pitch material derived  rom the C whole-tone scale and a C Ionian scale with a flat-2 and flat-3. This movement is in three sections, with the first section being the most akin to a typical fast-paced fugue played by the strings, with the countersubject being the subject played in retrograde and in the other scale. The second section augments the main theme and switches the scales around, with music played in whole-tone harmonised in 4ths and the music played in the b2, b3 scale harmonised in 3rds. The theme is then augmented once again, serving as a chordal accompaniment against the contrapuntal lines and a constant up-and-down scale incorporating both scales, carried over into the third section.