As Torke himself puts it in the original program note for Ecstasic Orange: Certain musical ideas make me think of colors.
In the end, different shades of paint splash around the orchestral forces, but it is always some hue of orange.Even though Torke wrote many more pieces with color titles, the suite consists only of five compositions, written between 1984 and 1988.
Therefore, the Color Music label is merely a name to refer to the compositions included in it, and has been used in recordings, but not in its original publishing house, Boosey and Hawkes.
Along the piece, color headings appear in the score, entitled "Absinthe", "Apricot, "Terra Cotta", "Unripe Pumpkin", "Copper", etc.
[7] As opposed to Bright Blue Music, Purple and Ash, this composition has an annotation halfway through the score, which indicates a "fresh green", another association of Torke.
[9] Specifically composed to be included in the ballet Ecstatic Orange, which included the Green and Ecstasic Orange colors as well, Purple was premiered by the New York City Ballet Orchestra under the baton of Lukas Foss at the New York State Theatre in the Lincoln Center on June 11, 1987.
Scored for three flutes, two oboes, an English horn, two clarinets in A, one bass clarinet in B-flat, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, a tuba, timpani, a harp, a piano, a string section and a percussion section taking three percussionists, Purple is monothematic and highlights the brass, which give importance to the syncopating character of the piece.
In this case, given its overt neoclassical nature, it modulates to A-flat major in some instances, only to return to F minor shortly after.
Torke clarifies that the synthesizer's timbre is flexible, although a bass sound with a percussive edge, buzz and reinforced pitch is recommended.