Choosing the sketches

When I began looking at the sketches of Birches I started to wonder just how long do all eleven movements last.  So I timed each of the movements.  The total duration of the sketches was just over twenty-five minutes.  This would be way too long.  So I decided to select what I consider to be the strongest sketches.

Right away I knew there were three sketches I wanted to keep: the first, second and eighth movements.  These three sketches provide some of the more interesting material.  I then decided to eliminate the aleatoric sketches.  There were three of these. I figured that it might be best to keep this piece within the boundaries of meter.  Also these sketches tend to be longer as the music takes more time to develop.

I had to take a close look at the remaining five movements to decide which I wanted to include in Trackings No. 2.  In the end I selected three more for a total of six movements.  The ninth movement, Dream of going back to be uses material from some of the previous movements.  I decided to keep this sketch because I felt that it tied some of the different movements together quite nicely.

The six movements I have selected for Trackings No. 2 are listed below.  The movements will likely be renamed to remove to direct references to the Robert Frost poem.

1. Birches bend to left and right
2. Sunny winter morning
5. Crystal shells
8. Trunks arching in the woods
9. Dream of going back to be
11. Not to return