Heart of
Darkness is a novella by Joseph Conrad which has stimulated
a number of later spin-offs in cinema, drama and literature. The
story centres on a young European who embarks on a search for a
European trader who has "gone native" and become worshipped by
the inhabitants.
In taking the
novella as my inspiration, I have simplified the storyline to
become a consideration of colonialism. As such there are a
number of elements. Firstly, there is the idea of a grand
European power, represented by the opening maestoso
theme, an anthem of sorts.
The targeted
colony is represented by two elements: a river, which is the
lifeblood of the target country, and the indigenous population.
The river has two themes of its own. The first is a simple 5
note motif which recurs throughout the piece in various guises,
but its simplicity and power is always there, in a juxtaposition
of a G minor chord (concert pitch) and its Db major antithesis.
The power of the river, fast-flowing and dangerous, is
represented by an uneven non-scalic semiquaver sequence, which
again takes many guises throughout the course of the piece.
The second
aspect of the would-be colony, its population, is represented by
a simple melodic theme with equally simple harmonic
underpinning. There is however quite a complex rhythmic
accompaniment based on a "bell rhythm".
In my version
of this story the slow central section of the piece represents
the thought processes of someone coming face to face with the
realities of a strange land, and the horrors which have been
inflicted on it in the name of colonialism.
The section is
predominantly slow with dark harmonies and wistful solos around
the band. These are interspersed with triplet fanfares harking
back to the accompaniments of the opening anthem.
The piece then
moves into a development section in which all the thematic material
is presented again in different formats with increasing ferocity and
complexities of rhythmic and melodic material. Ultimately in this
musical version the powerful European colonising force loses out,
but the interplay of the two cultures leads to a final section in
which the river and population themes become more westernised as a
result of the interactions.