To listen while following along with the score, click here: ANCIENT ANOMALIES, No. 1: Eye of the Sahara, Op. 184 │ Brass Quintet │ Dr. Daniel Thrower - YouTube

This composition is one in a series of “Ancient Anomalies.” The series idea has a dual meaning, as each work not only celebrates an ancient mystery, but each originated from sketches early in my composing career, and completed, in some cases, decades later. This work, from sketch to completion, spans nearly 15 years.

The Sahara Desert does not seem terribly interesting to most people in the world. It is simply a barren wasteland in northern Africa on satellite images. However, to Jimmy Corsetti, this unique site may be the location of the fabled lost city of Atlantis. The similarities to Plato’s description of the legendary metropolis include concentric circles alternating between land and water; red, black and white stones, which correspond to Plato’s mention of the Atlantean buildings of the same colors; evidence of massive flooding that swept across the landscape, replete with striations in the sand with salt deposits; an opening to the south which purportedly led to the sea; Atlas Mountains to the north; Plato’s dating corresponding to the end of the Younger Dryas; and more. Corsetti’s arguments provide wonderful fodder for the imagination. Were his theories to be proven true, the history of this planet would be greatly rewritten.

It is fun to play the “what-if” game. This piece of music is part of that game, loosely playing with structure, complexity, antiquity, and even heavy, mournful calamity.