Single Movement or Multi Movement?

When composing for a young-student ensemble, as I am for Night Sky, there are many decisions to make that are not normally considered when writing for a college or professional group.  Issues of complexity or transparency come up.  Harmonic language or sound worlds become a huge factor as you want the performers to understand the music and perform it without just merely playing the notes.

My current dilemma, or decision, is do I want this piece to be a single-movement or a multi-movement work?  For the most part when composing this piece I have approached it as a single-movement work with a definite ternary form.  My concept would make this piece approximately six to eight minutes in duration.  The way the piece is currently shaping up it will be more like a ten to twelve minute piece.  I am beginning to realize that my initial concept has become too ambitious.

I have considered scaling the piece back to a binary form.  From there I could begin the piece with either the fast movement or the slow movement.  Beginning with the fast movement would require some reworking of the original A section.  If I choose to deviate from my current formal plan, then no matter what I choose to do the music would need some level of revision.  Some options would require more revisions than others.

I am also toying with the idea of multiple movements.  The piece as it stands would only need some minor revisions of the A section to make it a separate movement.  I would probably want to find a different way to start the B section, to make a stronger opening for a second movement.  The total number of movements would still need to be decided, if I choose to make this revision.  My initial thought would be three movements, keeping the ternary concept intact.

I was chatting with Adam, the director for whom I am composing this piece, makes a good point.  He says that a multi-movement structure gives the students a chance to rest and reset between movements.  I understand this point.  It is always nice, as a performer, to be able to have a break between movements to gather your thoughts.  This is important when things start to go wrong.  Rehearsals could be easier as well because shorter movements are often easier to rehearse than longer single movement works.

I will need to consider this carefully and quickly as it will determine my approach to the rest of the piece.