Heart of Darkness

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".