Vytautas Smetona – Fantasy

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I completed “Fantasy” for piano solo in August 2015 and recorded the version you hear and see in March 2017. It differs from the two other works I have written that you may be familiar with, both of which are jocund in character and brief. “Capriccio” is in neo-baroque style and is just over a minute in length. “A Country Song” is written in the style I have adopted, that is, the harmonic language and degree of chromaticism does not stray beyond what one finds in the work of Brahms, and runs about four minutes.

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“Fantasy”, on the other hand, is a longer, more ambitious work. It is just over ten minutes long and its emotional character runs from pensive and somber to ecstatic. It is based on material set forth in the opening seven bars and concludes with an extensive fugue followed by the final statement of the opening material and a brief coda. While it appears to be improvisatory in structure, it follows somewhat freely the architecture of the baroque fugue with alternations of statements of the subject, frequently modified, with episodes developing the material. The work contains elements of a passacaglia which can be heard in the bass of the opening seven bars; note the dotted half quarter note rhythmic pattern that appears throughout the work.

I hope “Fantasy” will take take you, ever so briefly, to an idealized world where you may experience beauty and repose!

Vytautas Smetona
June 2017

Visit online to listen to new album: http://vytautassmetona.com/