“What can I say? Orion managed a grin through bloody teeth. God loves a trier.” – R.R Washburn
“Orion and the Scorpion” is another song that I love playing a lot on my violin, and viola. The reason I love playing it is that the composer is Soon Hee Newbold. In many of the blog posts, I talked about how mentioning her giving the string orchestra a chance at the melody. I loved how mentioning how many of her songs tell a story. I love talking about Greek Mythology and seeing that through a song is so beautiful. Many other people have heard the song a lot, and I love the part that goes in 3/2 time signature. There are also many time signatures in the piece, and there are 6 pages in the song for each section, except for the second violin part. They only have 5 pages. I love talking about the string orchestra any day and Newbold in general. If anything, I love talking about storytelling through music.
Please listen to Orion and the Scorpion while reading About the Music.
About the Music:
Orion, also known as “The Hunter”, is probably the most recognized constellation and contains some of the brightest stars and impressive nebulae. Ancient texts from around the world mention this constellation with names like, “The Deer”, “The Heavenly Shepherd”, “The Giant”, and “Nephila”. The asterism of three stars in Orion’s belt has been referred to as “The Three Kings”, “Three Sisters”, or “The Three Marys” in other cultures.
There are many versions of Orion’s story in Greek mythology but most depict Orion as a giant and great hunter who once boasted he would kill everything on Earth. Mother Earth, wanting to preserve the life on this planet, sent a scorpion to stop Orion. After an epic battle, Orion was defeated, but he was placed in the stars by Zeus, impressed with The Hunter’s great skill, or in some legends, to serve as a reminder to mankind. Other tales say Orion pursued the Pleiades or seven sisters, and Zeus turned them into doves and then placed them as stars in the sky. In winter, the constellation Orion continues his hunt and chases the Pleiades in the night sky but flees as the constellation Scorpius enters in summer.
“Orion and the Scorpion” portrays a fantastical flight and journey that takes us through the constellations and Orion’s belt to witness the birth of stars and wonders of our universe. Newbold certainly shares the fascination of exploring and discovering space as mankind continues on the epic hunt to unravel mysteries and travel beyond the stars.