Continuing on with Joseph Schwantner, here is information and a recording of his piece for wind ensemble, "In evening's stillness" Enjoy!
Schwantner Biography
In evening’s stillness was commissioned by the Illinois College Band Directors Association in 1996. It was premiered at the Midwest Music Educators National Conference convention in Peoria, Illinois, by an ensemble made up of students from the ten universities that participated in the consortium, Donald Hunsberger conducting. As in his previous two works for wind ensemble, In evening’s stillness was inspired by poetry:
In evening’s stillness
a gentle breeze,
distant thunder
encircles the silence.
-Joseph Schwantner
"The piece is the third of three works I have written for winds, brass, percussion, and piano. It forms the middle movement of a trilogy of pieces that includes and the mountains rising nowhere and From a Dark Millennium. In all three works, the piano is responsible for presenting the primary melodic, gestural, harmonic, and sonoric elements that unfold in the music. While each work is self-contained, I always envisioned the possibility that they could be combined to form a larger and more expansive three movement formal design.”
Program Note by Nikk Pilato
"In evening's stillness" recording (this link is through Facebook)
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Joseph Schwantner: Recoil
Today's post will focus on another Schwantner piece: "Recoil." You can find information and notes on the piece below. Enjoy!
Recoil: Part I
Recoil Part II
Recoil was commissioned through the Raymond and Beverly Sackler New Music Foundation by the University of Connecticut. It was given its premiere on 3 November 2004, at the Isaac Stern Auditorium of Carnegie Hall, in New York, by the University of Connecticut Wind Ensemble, Jeffrey Renshaw, conductor. It is the first of Schwantner's works for winds to include both saxophone and euphonium parts, and was not inspired by poetry. With Recoil, Schwantner utilizes a very limited palate and foregoes certain elements which characterized his first three works for winds (there is no use of micro-notation, “visual time signatures,” or other unconventional musical notations).
Schwantner writes:
“Recoil is my fourth work for wind ensemble in a series of pieces that span twenty-nine years. The other works are: and the mountains rising nowhere (1977), From a Dark Millennium (1980), and In evening's stillness. (1996). While Recoil employs a larger instrumentation than the earlier works, they all share similar characteristics in that each is framed in a single continuous movement and each exploit the rich timbral resources of an expanded percussion section that includes amplified piano”
Program Note by Nikk Pilato
Recoil: Part I
Recoil Part II
Recoil was commissioned through the Raymond and Beverly Sackler New Music Foundation by the University of Connecticut. It was given its premiere on 3 November 2004, at the Isaac Stern Auditorium of Carnegie Hall, in New York, by the University of Connecticut Wind Ensemble, Jeffrey Renshaw, conductor. It is the first of Schwantner's works for winds to include both saxophone and euphonium parts, and was not inspired by poetry. With Recoil, Schwantner utilizes a very limited palate and foregoes certain elements which characterized his first three works for winds (there is no use of micro-notation, “visual time signatures,” or other unconventional musical notations).
Schwantner writes:
“Recoil is my fourth work for wind ensemble in a series of pieces that span twenty-nine years. The other works are: and the mountains rising nowhere (1977), From a Dark Millennium (1980), and In evening's stillness. (1996). While Recoil employs a larger instrumentation than the earlier works, they all share similar characteristics in that each is framed in a single continuous movement and each exploit the rich timbral resources of an expanded percussion section that includes amplified piano”
Program Note by Nikk Pilato
Thursday, July 29, 2010
From a Dark Millennium
Joseph Schwantner, most well-known for "and the mountains rising nowhere", has written many fantastic pieces for winds. Like many of the composers we have discussed, Schwantner is a Pulitzer Prize winning composer. Among these is "From a Dark Millennium." Below you can find information on the piece and a recording. Enjoy!
From a Dark Millennium recording Part I
From a Dark Millennium recording Part II
From a Dark Millennium was commissioned by a consortium of college band directors from the Midwest in 1980 (the Mid-America Band Directors Association), and premiered by the University of Northern Illinois Wind Ensemble in 1981. It is a re-working of a movement from Schwantner’s earlier chamber work, Music of Amber. This work marks the only occasion in which Schwantner has used the same source material for two different works. The title is drawn from a poem written by Schwantner:
SANCTUARY...
Deep forests
a play of Shadows
most ancient murmurings
from a dark millennium
the trembling fragrance
of the music of amber
-Joseph Schwantner
Program Note by Nikk Pilato
From a Dark Millennium recording Part I
From a Dark Millennium recording Part II
From a Dark Millennium was commissioned by a consortium of college band directors from the Midwest in 1980 (the Mid-America Band Directors Association), and premiered by the University of Northern Illinois Wind Ensemble in 1981. It is a re-working of a movement from Schwantner’s earlier chamber work, Music of Amber. This work marks the only occasion in which Schwantner has used the same source material for two different works. The title is drawn from a poem written by Schwantner:
SANCTUARY...
Deep forests
a play of Shadows
most ancient murmurings
from a dark millennium
the trembling fragrance
of the music of amber
-Joseph Schwantner
Program Note by Nikk Pilato
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
More Band Music on Composers Datebook
For those of you who are in the band camp spirit, today's Composers Datebook featured another piece for winds: Hector Berlioz's "Grande Symphonie Funebre et Triomphale." You can read our post on the same piece here and see the Composers Datebook text and audio link below. Enjoy!
Composers Datebook audio link
Berlioz gets hot
Playing in a marching band isn't always as easy as it looks, musically speaking. Imagine the predicament in which Berlioz found himself on today's date in 1840, conducting 210 musicians under a broiling noontime sun as they slowly progressed to the Place de Bastille, all the while performing his latest symphony.
To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the French Revolution of 1830, a memorial column had been erected on the spot where the Bastille once stood, and the remains of the fallen heroes of 1830 were being transferred to a cenotaph at the foot of the column, accompanied by Berlioz's specially-commissioned "Funeral and Triumphal Symphony," composed for massed military bands. Berlioz himself, in full military uniform and conducting with a saber, led the solemn procession, which took several hours that hot July day.
In a letter to his father, Berlioz wrote: "The old know-it-alls of military music were claiming that I'd never manage to have my symphony performed on the march and that my 210 musicians wouldn't stay together for even 20 bars. So I placed the trumpets and drums in front so that I could give them the beat while walking backwards. I planned it so that in the opening bars these instruments play by themselves, so they could be heard by the rest of the band. The symphony's march and finale were played six times, on the march, with an ensemble and effect that were truly extraordinary."
Composers Datebook audio link
Berlioz gets hot
Playing in a marching band isn't always as easy as it looks, musically speaking. Imagine the predicament in which Berlioz found himself on today's date in 1840, conducting 210 musicians under a broiling noontime sun as they slowly progressed to the Place de Bastille, all the while performing his latest symphony.
To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the French Revolution of 1830, a memorial column had been erected on the spot where the Bastille once stood, and the remains of the fallen heroes of 1830 were being transferred to a cenotaph at the foot of the column, accompanied by Berlioz's specially-commissioned "Funeral and Triumphal Symphony," composed for massed military bands. Berlioz himself, in full military uniform and conducting with a saber, led the solemn procession, which took several hours that hot July day.
In a letter to his father, Berlioz wrote: "The old know-it-alls of military music were claiming that I'd never manage to have my symphony performed on the march and that my 210 musicians wouldn't stay together for even 20 bars. So I placed the trumpets and drums in front so that I could give them the beat while walking backwards. I planned it so that in the opening bars these instruments play by themselves, so they could be heard by the rest of the band. The symphony's march and finale were played six times, on the march, with an ensemble and effect that were truly extraordinary."
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Band Concerts Tonight (7/27)
Tonight you can hear two wind band concerts in the area. The Navy Band will be performing at the Navy Memorial at 8:00 PM and the Air Force Band will be performing at the West Front of the US Capitol building. Both concerts are free. Enjoy!
New England Triptych: Part III
Below you can find information on the last movement of Schuman's "New England Triptych" titled "Be Glad Then, America." Enjoy!
The program notes below are from http://www.windband.us.
Be Glad Then, America
This composition is the first movement of Schuman’s New England Tryptych, originally written for orchestra in 1956 and based on hymns by William Billings. The other works of the Tryptych are When Jesus Wept and Chester. The composer wrote the following program note:
William Billings (1746 - 1800) is a major figure in the history of American music. The works of this dynamic composer capture the spirit of sinewy ruggedness, deep religiosity, and patriotic fervor that we associate with the Revolutionary period. Despite the undeniable crudities and technical shortcomings of his music, its appeal even today, is forceful and moving. I am not alone among American composers who feel an identity with Billings, and it is this sense of identity that accounts for my use of his music as a point of departure. These pieces do not constitute a “fantasy” on themes of Billings, nor “variations” on his themes, but rather a fusion of styles and musical language.
Billings’ text for this anthem includes the following lines:
Yea, the Lord will answer Be glad then, America,
And say unto his people — behold! Shout and rejoice.
I will send you corn and wine Fear not O land,
and oil Be glad and rejoice.
And ye shall be satisfied therewith. Hallelujah!
A timpani solo begins the short introduction, which is developed predominantly in the strings. This music is suggestive of the “Hallelujah” heard at the end of the piece. Trombones and trumpets begin the main section, a free and varied setting of the words “Be Glad Then, America, Shout and Rejoice.” The timpani, again solo, leads to a middle fugal section stemming from the words “And Ye Shall Be Satisfied.” The music gains momentum, and combined themes lead to a climax. There follows a free adaptation of the “Hallelujah” music with which Billings concludes his original choral piece and a final reference to the “Shout and Rejoice” music.
The recording below is the orchestral version of the piece, but will certainly give you an idea about what a great piece of music this is.
Be Glad Then, America recording
The program notes below are from http://www.windband.us.
Be Glad Then, America
This composition is the first movement of Schuman’s New England Tryptych, originally written for orchestra in 1956 and based on hymns by William Billings. The other works of the Tryptych are When Jesus Wept and Chester. The composer wrote the following program note:
William Billings (1746 - 1800) is a major figure in the history of American music. The works of this dynamic composer capture the spirit of sinewy ruggedness, deep religiosity, and patriotic fervor that we associate with the Revolutionary period. Despite the undeniable crudities and technical shortcomings of his music, its appeal even today, is forceful and moving. I am not alone among American composers who feel an identity with Billings, and it is this sense of identity that accounts for my use of his music as a point of departure. These pieces do not constitute a “fantasy” on themes of Billings, nor “variations” on his themes, but rather a fusion of styles and musical language.
Billings’ text for this anthem includes the following lines:
Yea, the Lord will answer Be glad then, America,
And say unto his people — behold! Shout and rejoice.
I will send you corn and wine Fear not O land,
and oil Be glad and rejoice.
And ye shall be satisfied therewith. Hallelujah!
A timpani solo begins the short introduction, which is developed predominantly in the strings. This music is suggestive of the “Hallelujah” heard at the end of the piece. Trombones and trumpets begin the main section, a free and varied setting of the words “Be Glad Then, America, Shout and Rejoice.” The timpani, again solo, leads to a middle fugal section stemming from the words “And Ye Shall Be Satisfied.” The music gains momentum, and combined themes lead to a climax. There follows a free adaptation of the “Hallelujah” music with which Billings concludes his original choral piece and a final reference to the “Shout and Rejoice” music.
The recording below is the orchestral version of the piece, but will certainly give you an idea about what a great piece of music this is.
Be Glad Then, America recording
Monday, July 26, 2010
New England Triptych: Part II
Continuing with William Schuman's "New England Triptych", you can find information and a recording on "When Jesus Wept" below. We find again (as in all three movements of the Triptych), Schuman drawing his inspiration from a William Billings' hymn. Enjoy!
WILLIAM SCHUMAN | WHEN JESUS WEPT
William Howard Schuman studied at the Malkin Conservatory in New York, Teachers College of Columbia University, and the Mozarteum Academy in Salzburg. He eventually became president of the Julliard School of Music and in 1962 became the first president of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Schuman won the first Pulitzer Prize in music for his 1943 cantata, A Free Song. Among Schuman’s works are an opera, eight symphonies, concertos, choral works, band works,
and chamber pieces. In 1987, Schuman received the National Medal of Arts and was honored by the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in 1989.
When Jesus Wept is the second movement of New England Triptych, composed for orchestra in 1956 and transcribed by the composer for band two years later. The orchestral version was premiered on October 28, 1956 bythe Miami (FL) University Symphony Orchestra, André Kostelanetz, conductor. The Triptych is based on three pieces by the 18th century American composer William Billings. When Jesus Wept first appeard in the New England Psalm Singer in 1770 as a four-part fuguing tune in F-sharp minor. Billings’ haunting, evocative melody supports the poignant text:
When Jesus wept, the falling tear
In mercy flowed beyond all bound;
When Jesus groaned, a trembling fear
Seized all the guilty world around.
Schuman first presents the tune in its entirety as a duet and then juxtaposes fragments of the tune at varied pitch levels, contributing to a profoundly unsettled mood. The middle section of the work overlaps the various phrases, recreating the sound of the original fuguing tune. After the opening duet returns, the work closes with a coda which is at once both heroic and defeated.
"When Jesus Wept" recording
WILLIAM SCHUMAN | WHEN JESUS WEPT
William Howard Schuman studied at the Malkin Conservatory in New York, Teachers College of Columbia University, and the Mozarteum Academy in Salzburg. He eventually became president of the Julliard School of Music and in 1962 became the first president of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Schuman won the first Pulitzer Prize in music for his 1943 cantata, A Free Song. Among Schuman’s works are an opera, eight symphonies, concertos, choral works, band works,
and chamber pieces. In 1987, Schuman received the National Medal of Arts and was honored by the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in 1989.
When Jesus Wept is the second movement of New England Triptych, composed for orchestra in 1956 and transcribed by the composer for band two years later. The orchestral version was premiered on October 28, 1956 bythe Miami (FL) University Symphony Orchestra, André Kostelanetz, conductor. The Triptych is based on three pieces by the 18th century American composer William Billings. When Jesus Wept first appeard in the New England Psalm Singer in 1770 as a four-part fuguing tune in F-sharp minor. Billings’ haunting, evocative melody supports the poignant text:
When Jesus wept, the falling tear
In mercy flowed beyond all bound;
When Jesus groaned, a trembling fear
Seized all the guilty world around.
Schuman first presents the tune in its entirety as a duet and then juxtaposes fragments of the tune at varied pitch levels, contributing to a profoundly unsettled mood. The middle section of the work overlaps the various phrases, recreating the sound of the original fuguing tune. After the opening duet returns, the work closes with a coda which is at once both heroic and defeated.
"When Jesus Wept" recording
Navy Band Concert Tonight (7/26)
Tonight you can hear the Navy Band on the West Front of the US Capitol Building. Concert begins at 8:00 PM and is free. Enjoy!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Schuman: New England Triptych Part I
Today, we will continue with the music of William Schuman and begin a series of three posts on his "New England Triptych." This piece, as mentioned in yesterday's post, is made up of three pieces that can all stand alone. The three (in order) are "Be Glad Then, America", "When Jesus Wept", and "Chester." Of the three, "Chester" is probably the most well-known and therefore, we will begin with it.
"Chester" is a piece that is familiar to most people who ever participated in a high school band although the piece is certainly more than a piece conceived for high school bands. The piece is a series of variations based on the hymn tune "Chester", the popular hymn tune by William Billings and one of the most patriotic anthems of the American Revolution. The tune first appeared in "The New England Psalm Singer" in 1770. The larger work by Schuman uses several twentieth-century compositional idioms including polytonality and pantonal chords. Combined with impressive variations and transformations of the original tune, "Chester" is certainly a piece to be reckoned with in its craftsmanship and organization.
Below you can find program notes on the piece by William Schuman.
The tune on which this composition is based was born during the very time of the American Revolution, appearing in 1778 in a book of tunes and anthems composed by William Billings called The Singing Master's Assistant. This book became known as "Billings' Best" following as it did his first book called "The New England Psalm Singer," published in 1770. Chester was so popular that it was sung throughout the colonies from Vermont to South Carolina. It became the song of the American Revolution, sung around the campfires of the Continental Army and played by fifers on the march. The music and words, both composed by Billings, expressed perfectly the burning desire for freedom which sustained the colonists through the difficult years of the Revolution.
Let tyrants shake their iron rod, And Slav'ry clank her galling chains, We fear them not, we trust in God, New England's God forever reigns.
The Foe comes on with haughty Stride; Our troops advance with martial noise, Their Vet'rans flee before our Youth, And Gen'rals yield to beardless Boys.
What grateful Off'ring shall we bring? What shall we render to the Lord? Loud Halleluiahs let us Sing, And praise his name on ev'ry Chord.
Program Note by William Schuman
Below is a recording of William Revelli and the University of Michigan Symphonic Band performing "Chester." Enjoy!
Chester Recording
"Chester" is a piece that is familiar to most people who ever participated in a high school band although the piece is certainly more than a piece conceived for high school bands. The piece is a series of variations based on the hymn tune "Chester", the popular hymn tune by William Billings and one of the most patriotic anthems of the American Revolution. The tune first appeared in "The New England Psalm Singer" in 1770. The larger work by Schuman uses several twentieth-century compositional idioms including polytonality and pantonal chords. Combined with impressive variations and transformations of the original tune, "Chester" is certainly a piece to be reckoned with in its craftsmanship and organization.
Below you can find program notes on the piece by William Schuman.
The tune on which this composition is based was born during the very time of the American Revolution, appearing in 1778 in a book of tunes and anthems composed by William Billings called The Singing Master's Assistant. This book became known as "Billings' Best" following as it did his first book called "The New England Psalm Singer," published in 1770. Chester was so popular that it was sung throughout the colonies from Vermont to South Carolina. It became the song of the American Revolution, sung around the campfires of the Continental Army and played by fifers on the march. The music and words, both composed by Billings, expressed perfectly the burning desire for freedom which sustained the colonists through the difficult years of the Revolution.
Let tyrants shake their iron rod, And Slav'ry clank her galling chains, We fear them not, we trust in God, New England's God forever reigns.
The Foe comes on with haughty Stride; Our troops advance with martial noise, Their Vet'rans flee before our Youth, And Gen'rals yield to beardless Boys.
What grateful Off'ring shall we bring? What shall we render to the Lord? Loud Halleluiahs let us Sing, And praise his name on ev'ry Chord.
Program Note by William Schuman
Below is a recording of William Revelli and the University of Michigan Symphonic Band performing "Chester." Enjoy!
Chester Recording
Saturday, July 24, 2010
More Wind Music on Composers Datebook
Today's Composers Datebook focuses on Hindemith's Konzertmusik Op. 41, a fantastic piece for winds. We have posted on this piece here, but you should find the information below enlightening. You can find the text below and the audio clip. There is also some great commentary in the piece on how far band music has come since 1926. Enjoy!
Composers Datebook audio (7/24/2010)
Hindemith for Winds
In 1926 the German composer Paul Hindemith was the director of that year's Donaueschingen Music Festival, which, since its inception in 1921, had quickly established itself as an important showcase for new and progressive music.
For the 1926 Festival, Hindemith decided to spotlight a genre of music overlooked by many composers., namely music for wind bands, and contributed a work of his own, entitled "Concert Piece for Wind Orchestra," which premiered on today's date in 1926, and was published as his Opus 41. The same concert also offered premiere performances of new band works by three other prominent European composers: Ernst Krenek, Ernst Pepping, and Ernst Toch.
The critics of the day opined that the music was interesting, but lamented that such talented composers would waste their time writing for bands.
In his book "Winds of Change," a history of band music and its reception, Dr. Frank Battisti explains: "In 1926, serious works for band were of no interest to German and Austrian band directors, who preferred to continue performing the standard repertory of transcriptions, arrangements, and marches. Critics, after hearing these works, remained convinced that the wind band would never become a medium of artistic musical expression."
With the passage of time, and a dramatic change in the attitudes of band director and critics alike towards concert music for bands, Hindemith's 1926 concert programming seems downright prophetic.
Composers Datebook audio (7/24/2010)
Hindemith for Winds
In 1926 the German composer Paul Hindemith was the director of that year's Donaueschingen Music Festival, which, since its inception in 1921, had quickly established itself as an important showcase for new and progressive music.
For the 1926 Festival, Hindemith decided to spotlight a genre of music overlooked by many composers., namely music for wind bands, and contributed a work of his own, entitled "Concert Piece for Wind Orchestra," which premiered on today's date in 1926, and was published as his Opus 41. The same concert also offered premiere performances of new band works by three other prominent European composers: Ernst Krenek, Ernst Pepping, and Ernst Toch.
The critics of the day opined that the music was interesting, but lamented that such talented composers would waste their time writing for bands.
In his book "Winds of Change," a history of band music and its reception, Dr. Frank Battisti explains: "In 1926, serious works for band were of no interest to German and Austrian band directors, who preferred to continue performing the standard repertory of transcriptions, arrangements, and marches. Critics, after hearing these works, remained convinced that the wind band would never become a medium of artistic musical expression."
With the passage of time, and a dramatic change in the attitudes of band director and critics alike towards concert music for bands, Hindemith's 1926 concert programming seems downright prophetic.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Roberto Sierra on Composers Datebook
Since we will be performing some of Roberto Sierra's music on the last concert of the year, it seems appropriate that we include a Composers Datebook that features him on the blog. This Composers Datebook is from Thursday, July 22. Enjoy!
Composers Datebook audio (7/22/2010)
de Falla and Sierra
London might seem an unlikely venue for the premiere of such quintessentially Spanish music, but it was something of an international affair, when Manuel de Falla's ballet, under the English title, "The Three-Cornered Hat" received its premiere performance at the Alhambra Theatre in London on today's date in 1919.
The ballet was choreographed by the Russian dancer Leonide Massine, who performed in the premiere with the Ballet Russe company headed by Serge Diaghilev, who had commissioned de Falla to write the work in the first place. The conductor for the premiere, Ernest Ansermet, was Swiss, but the scenery, costumes and curtain, at least, were designed by de Falla's countryman, the famous Spanish artist Pablo Piccasso.
Castillian by birth and French by training, de Falla must have found it frustrating that during his lifetime his music was often snubbed in Spain as sounding too cosmopolitan, and then pigeon-holed abroad as sounding all-too Spanish!
The career of Latino-American composer Roberto Sierra has also turned out to be similarly cosmopolitan. Born in Puerto Rico in 1953, Sierra studied in Europe -- with the Hungarian composer György Ligeti among others -- before returning to the United States where he now lives and works.
Sierra's music has been performed by the Kronos Quartet and leading American orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, with whom Sierra served as composer-in-residence.
Composers Datebook audio (7/22/2010)
de Falla and Sierra
London might seem an unlikely venue for the premiere of such quintessentially Spanish music, but it was something of an international affair, when Manuel de Falla's ballet, under the English title, "The Three-Cornered Hat" received its premiere performance at the Alhambra Theatre in London on today's date in 1919.
The ballet was choreographed by the Russian dancer Leonide Massine, who performed in the premiere with the Ballet Russe company headed by Serge Diaghilev, who had commissioned de Falla to write the work in the first place. The conductor for the premiere, Ernest Ansermet, was Swiss, but the scenery, costumes and curtain, at least, were designed by de Falla's countryman, the famous Spanish artist Pablo Piccasso.
Castillian by birth and French by training, de Falla must have found it frustrating that during his lifetime his music was often snubbed in Spain as sounding too cosmopolitan, and then pigeon-holed abroad as sounding all-too Spanish!
The career of Latino-American composer Roberto Sierra has also turned out to be similarly cosmopolitan. Born in Puerto Rico in 1953, Sierra studied in Europe -- with the Hungarian composer György Ligeti among others -- before returning to the United States where he now lives and works.
Sierra's music has been performed by the Kronos Quartet and leading American orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, with whom Sierra served as composer-in-residence.
Army Band Concert Tonight (7/23)
Tonight you can hear the United States Army Band in concert at 8:00 PM on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Building. The concert will feature the Ceremonial Band, is free, and begins at 8:00 PM. Enjoy!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Marine Band Concert Tonight (7/22)
Tonight, in a repeat performance of last night's program, you can hear the United States Marine Band perform at the Sylvan Theater on the grounds of the Washington Monument. The concert is free and begins at 8:00 PM. Enjoy!
Schuman: George Washington Bridge
Today, two composers were featured on Composers Datebook: Aaron Copland and William Schuman. Although both of these composers played a role in wind and band development in the 20th century, today's blog post will focus on Schuman. Although the piece featured on Composers Datebook is not "George Washington Bridge", the information is interesting nonetheless. You can find the Composers Datebook text as well as the audio link at the bottom of this post.
William Schuman was a composer whose contributions to the band repertoire cannot be overstated. Schuman, an American composer, was the first winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 1943. Among his many works for band, four pieces stand apart as the most performed: "Chester", "Be Glad Then, America", "When Jesus Wept", and "George Washington Bridge." Of the four, "George Washington Bridge" is the earliest piece (written 1950) and is the only piece not part of the larger work "The New England Triptych." You can find more information on the piece below as well as a recording and biographical information on Schuman. Enjoy!
Below you can find program notes on the piece by the composer.
There are a few days in the year when I do not see George Washington Bridge. I pass it on my way to work as I drive along the Henry Hudson Parkway on the New York shore. Ever since my student days when I watched the progress of its construction, this bridge has had for me an almost human personality, and this personality is astonishingly varied, assuming different moods depending on the time of day or night, the weather, the traffic and, of course, my own mood as I pass by.
I have walked across it late at night when it was shrouded in fog, and during the brilliant sunshine hours of midday. I have driven over it countless times and passed under it on boats. Coming to New York City by air, sometimes I have been lucky enough to fly right over it. It is difficult to imagine a more gracious welcome or dramatic entry to the great metropolis.
Program Note by William Schuman
Wikipedia article on Schuman
George Washington Bridge Recording
Composers Datebook
Copland and Schuman at Watergate
Composers Datebook audio link (7/20/2010)
In the summer of 1972 five burglars broke into the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and soon the term "Watergate" came to signify a political scandal that nearly led to the impeachment of then-president Richard Nixon.
But if you had said, "Watergate" to someone in D.C. in July some 30 years earlier, you probably were referring to a series of outdoor concerts by the National Symphony Orchestra, whose "Watergate Concerts" were held on the banks of the Potomac near the Lincoln Memorial.
These concerts presented a mix of old and new music, classical favorites and recently composed works by American composers. For example, on today's date in 1945, the weather in D.C. was clear and warm when Alexander Smallens conducted an outdoor Watergate Concert that included the recently-composed suite from Aaron Copland's ballet "Rodeo" and William Schuman's orchestral suite entitled "Newsreel."
Both suites had, in fact, been premiered at summertime Pops concerts: Copland's at a 1943 Boston Pops Concert conducted by Arthur Fielder, and Schuman's by the New York Philharmonic at one of their 1942 Lewisohn Stadium concert, conducted by Smallens.
Schuman's suite was inspired by the popular newsreel features shown at movie theaters in those days -- a time when radio ruled, and if people wanted to see footage of places and faces in the news, they had to turn to the movies, not CNN.
William Schuman was a composer whose contributions to the band repertoire cannot be overstated. Schuman, an American composer, was the first winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 1943. Among his many works for band, four pieces stand apart as the most performed: "Chester", "Be Glad Then, America", "When Jesus Wept", and "George Washington Bridge." Of the four, "George Washington Bridge" is the earliest piece (written 1950) and is the only piece not part of the larger work "The New England Triptych." You can find more information on the piece below as well as a recording and biographical information on Schuman. Enjoy!
Below you can find program notes on the piece by the composer.
There are a few days in the year when I do not see George Washington Bridge. I pass it on my way to work as I drive along the Henry Hudson Parkway on the New York shore. Ever since my student days when I watched the progress of its construction, this bridge has had for me an almost human personality, and this personality is astonishingly varied, assuming different moods depending on the time of day or night, the weather, the traffic and, of course, my own mood as I pass by.
I have walked across it late at night when it was shrouded in fog, and during the brilliant sunshine hours of midday. I have driven over it countless times and passed under it on boats. Coming to New York City by air, sometimes I have been lucky enough to fly right over it. It is difficult to imagine a more gracious welcome or dramatic entry to the great metropolis.
Program Note by William Schuman
Wikipedia article on Schuman
George Washington Bridge Recording
Composers Datebook
Copland and Schuman at Watergate
Composers Datebook audio link (7/20/2010)
In the summer of 1972 five burglars broke into the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and soon the term "Watergate" came to signify a political scandal that nearly led to the impeachment of then-president Richard Nixon.
But if you had said, "Watergate" to someone in D.C. in July some 30 years earlier, you probably were referring to a series of outdoor concerts by the National Symphony Orchestra, whose "Watergate Concerts" were held on the banks of the Potomac near the Lincoln Memorial.
These concerts presented a mix of old and new music, classical favorites and recently composed works by American composers. For example, on today's date in 1945, the weather in D.C. was clear and warm when Alexander Smallens conducted an outdoor Watergate Concert that included the recently-composed suite from Aaron Copland's ballet "Rodeo" and William Schuman's orchestral suite entitled "Newsreel."
Both suites had, in fact, been premiered at summertime Pops concerts: Copland's at a 1943 Boston Pops Concert conducted by Arthur Fielder, and Schuman's by the New York Philharmonic at one of their 1942 Lewisohn Stadium concert, conducted by Smallens.
Schuman's suite was inspired by the popular newsreel features shown at movie theaters in those days -- a time when radio ruled, and if people wanted to see footage of places and faces in the news, they had to turn to the movies, not CNN.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Band Music on the Radio?
If you have ever listened to a classical music radio station, you know that band music does not normally grace the airwaves with its presence (a notable exception being the Gustav Holst "First Suite in Eb for Military Band"). That being said, this summer you can listen to band music every Tuesday night on WABE from Atlanta, GA. You can listen at 90.1 FM or online at http://www.wabe.org/. The series is hosted by Dr. Scott Stewart, the Director of Wind Studies at Emory University. You can find a description of the series below.
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Summer Winds celebrates the rich and varied repertoire of the wind band/ensemble, including music from the early Renaissance through the current day.
The host of Summer Winds, Dr. Scott Stewart, is Director of Wind Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education and Doctor of Conducting from the Indiana University School of Music and a Master of Music from the University of Texas at Austin.
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The first broadcast was last night (sorry for the late notice) and they will continue every Tuesday at 9:00 PM until August 31. Last night's (July 20) "Summer Sampler" program is below and next week's (July 27) "From Russia with Love" program is further down. As of right now, last night's program is not available for download, but we will keep looking. In the meantime, sit back, relax, and enjoy the sounds of some great band music on WABE.
July 20, 2010
Summer Sampler
Frenergy (John Estacio/Fraser Linklater)
- University of Calgary Wind Ensemble
- Glenn Price, conductor
- 5:17
Overture di Ballo (Sir Arthur Sullivan/John Bourgeois)
- “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band
- John Bourgeois, conductor
- 11:10
Toccata Marziale (Ralph Vaughan Williams)
- Royal Northern College of Music Wind Orchestra
- Timothy Reynish, conductor
- 4:37
Tuba Concerto (Edward Gregson)
- DePaul University Wind Ensemble
- Donald DeRoche, conductor
- Floyd Cooley, tuba
- 18:45
Ballad for Band (Morton Gould)
- Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra
- Frederick Fennell, conductor
- 8:24
The Northern Pines (John Philip Sousa)
- Dallas Wind Symphony
- Frederick Fennell, conductor
- 3:33
July 27, 2010
From Russia With Love
Festive Overture (Dmitri Shostakovich/Donald Patterson)
- “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band
- Michael Colburn, conductor
- 5:45
Circus Polka (Igor Stravinsky)
- London Symphony Orchestra
- Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
- 3:24
Salvation is Created (Pavel Tchesnokov/Bruce Houseknecht)
- Northern Illinois University Wind Ensemble
- Steven Squires, conductor
- 3:19
Folk Dances (Dmitri Shostakovich/H. Robert Reynolds)
- Indiana University Wind Ensemble
- Ray Cramer, conductor
- 4:05
Russian Christmas Music (Alfred Reed)
- United States Air Force Band
- Dennis Layendecker, conductor
- 14:57
March for a Spartakiade (Serge Prokofiev)
- Royal Northern College of Music Wind Orchestra
- Clark Rundell, conductor
- 3:37
Symphony No. 3 (Khozevnikov)
- “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band
- John Bourgeois, conductor
- 15:08
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Summer Winds celebrates the rich and varied repertoire of the wind band/ensemble, including music from the early Renaissance through the current day.
The host of Summer Winds, Dr. Scott Stewart, is Director of Wind Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education and Doctor of Conducting from the Indiana University School of Music and a Master of Music from the University of Texas at Austin.
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The first broadcast was last night (sorry for the late notice) and they will continue every Tuesday at 9:00 PM until August 31. Last night's (July 20) "Summer Sampler" program is below and next week's (July 27) "From Russia with Love" program is further down. As of right now, last night's program is not available for download, but we will keep looking. In the meantime, sit back, relax, and enjoy the sounds of some great band music on WABE.
July 20, 2010
Summer Sampler
Frenergy (John Estacio/Fraser Linklater)
- University of Calgary Wind Ensemble
- Glenn Price, conductor
- 5:17
Overture di Ballo (Sir Arthur Sullivan/John Bourgeois)
- “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band
- John Bourgeois, conductor
- 11:10
Toccata Marziale (Ralph Vaughan Williams)
- Royal Northern College of Music Wind Orchestra
- Timothy Reynish, conductor
- 4:37
Tuba Concerto (Edward Gregson)
- DePaul University Wind Ensemble
- Donald DeRoche, conductor
- Floyd Cooley, tuba
- 18:45
Ballad for Band (Morton Gould)
- Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra
- Frederick Fennell, conductor
- 8:24
The Northern Pines (John Philip Sousa)
- Dallas Wind Symphony
- Frederick Fennell, conductor
- 3:33
July 27, 2010
From Russia With Love
Festive Overture (Dmitri Shostakovich/Donald Patterson)
- “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band
- Michael Colburn, conductor
- 5:45
Circus Polka (Igor Stravinsky)
- London Symphony Orchestra
- Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
- 3:24
Salvation is Created (Pavel Tchesnokov/Bruce Houseknecht)
- Northern Illinois University Wind Ensemble
- Steven Squires, conductor
- 3:19
Folk Dances (Dmitri Shostakovich/H. Robert Reynolds)
- Indiana University Wind Ensemble
- Ray Cramer, conductor
- 4:05
Russian Christmas Music (Alfred Reed)
- United States Air Force Band
- Dennis Layendecker, conductor
- 14:57
March for a Spartakiade (Serge Prokofiev)
- Royal Northern College of Music Wind Orchestra
- Clark Rundell, conductor
- 3:37
Symphony No. 3 (Khozevnikov)
- “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band
- John Bourgeois, conductor
- 15:08
Marine Band Concert Tonight (7/21)
Tonight you can hear the United States Marine Band in concert at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Building. The concert starts at 8:00 PM and is free. Program information is below. Enjoy!
Edward Gregson Festivo (1985)
Arthur Pryor / arr. Shelsta “Fantastic Polka”
Master Gunnery Sergeant Bryan Bourne, trombone soloist
Eric Richards “A Klezmer Tribute”
Master Sergeant John Mula, clarinet soloist
Harold Arlen / lyrics Gershwin arr. Bulla* “Lose That Long Face”
Staff Sergeant Sara Dell'Omo, mezzo-soprano
John Philip Sousa* March, “The Dauntless Battalion”
Edward Gregson Festivo (1985)
Arthur Pryor / arr. Shelsta “Fantastic Polka”
Master Gunnery Sergeant Bryan Bourne, trombone soloist
Eric Richards “A Klezmer Tribute”
Master Sergeant John Mula, clarinet soloist
Harold Arlen / lyrics Gershwin arr. Bulla* “Lose That Long Face”
Staff Sergeant Sara Dell'Omo, mezzo-soprano
John Philip Sousa* March, “The Dauntless Battalion”
Mendelssohn for Winds on Composers Datebook
Mendelssohn's "Overture for Winds" was featured today on Composers Datebook. Since this piece is especially relevant to our blog, today's post will focus on this wonderful piece for winds. Enjoy!
Felix Mendelssohn's "Overture for Winds" has a long and somewhat problematic history in wind band music. Mendelssohn scored the piece for harmoniemusik (wind octet) plus flute, trumpet, and an English bass horn (follow the link to find out more about this instrument). However, Mendelssohn lost the score to the eleven instrument version and submitted for publication a revised version for twenty three instruments plus percussion. The autograph of the original has since been recovered and both versions are considered viable in the wind band medium. There have also been several versions of the twenty three instrument version of the piece to reflect more modern instrumentation.
Program notes by John Boyd can be found below and further down you can find the Composers Datebook information and audio.
The Op. 24 by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy was composed in July of 1824 for the court orchestra of Bad Doberan near Rostock, where the young musician was accompanying his father Writing for the Boston Symphony, George Marke remarks, "Some artists develop their craft slowly, others seem to being at the top. There is little difference between Mendelssohn's early and his mature works."
The original score was lost but recopied by Mendelssohn in July of 1826. These two scores were entitled "Nocturno" and were written for the instrumentation of one flute, two clarinets, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, one trumpet, and one English bass horn (a conical bore upright serpent in the shape of a bassoon).
In his correspondence to the publisher Simrock, Mendelssohn mentions his desire to have this eleven instrument version published, but apparently could not locate the score as he never mentions it again to Simrock after March 4, 1839. Mendelssohn did send Simrock and Ouverture fur Harmoniemusik (Overture for Wind Band) scored for twenty-three winds and percussion along with a four-hand piano score on November 30, 1838. The 1838 composition is a re-scoring of the Nocturno for German Band of that era and was not published until 1852 following the death of Mendelssohn.
It has been suggested by musicologists that the 1838 re-scoring was an effort to imitate the orchestral color of Weber's Preciousa Overture. In Weber's overture, a gypsy melody is introduced by a small wind band with percussion accompaniment. At this time, however, Mendelssohn was also negotiating for the publication of the overture by Mori in London. It is quite possible that the re-scoring was an attempt to acquire greater performance opportunities for his work by making it available in settings for British and German band along with a proposed edition for orchestra.
Several editions for modern instrumentation have appeared, all using the 1838 score as their source. However, the rediscovery of the 1826 autograph makes possible this edition based on the most authentic source known to date.
Program Note by John P. Boyd
Below is the Composers Datebook from July 21, 2010 along with the audio link.
Composers Datebook Audio (7/21/2010)
Mendelssohn for Winds
In the summer of 1824, the fifteen-year-old Mendelssohn spent a holiday with his father in the fashionable spa town of Bad Doberan, on the Baltic coast near Rostock. Writing home to his family in Berlin he confessed that, although he was "comfortably lodged ... with friendly people, a decent piano, [and a] pretty view . . . so far I have not written a note."
That would change, however, as Mendelssohn met and befriended musicians employed by the local Grand Duke Friedrich Franz I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, whose court ensemble was a wind-band.
For them, the young Mendelssohn composed a "Nocturno," scored for the classical octet of double winds, plus a flute, trumpet, and an odd brass instrument called a "Como Inglese di Basso" roughly similar in shape to a bassoon, but with a cup mouthpiece and both open and keyed holes, which Mendelssohn described to his sisters in a letter he wrote on today's date in 1824 as "a large brass instrument with a fine, deep tone, that looks like a watering can or a stirrup pump."
Music for that original 1824 "Nocturno" has not survived, but eventually Mendelssohn reworked and enlarged the piece, adding new music, and much later, in 1838, expanded the scoring to a full wind ensemble and published the result as his "Overture for Winds," Op. 24.
Felix Mendelssohn's "Overture for Winds" has a long and somewhat problematic history in wind band music. Mendelssohn scored the piece for harmoniemusik (wind octet) plus flute, trumpet, and an English bass horn (follow the link to find out more about this instrument). However, Mendelssohn lost the score to the eleven instrument version and submitted for publication a revised version for twenty three instruments plus percussion. The autograph of the original has since been recovered and both versions are considered viable in the wind band medium. There have also been several versions of the twenty three instrument version of the piece to reflect more modern instrumentation.
Program notes by John Boyd can be found below and further down you can find the Composers Datebook information and audio.
The Op. 24 by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy was composed in July of 1824 for the court orchestra of Bad Doberan near Rostock, where the young musician was accompanying his father Writing for the Boston Symphony, George Marke remarks, "Some artists develop their craft slowly, others seem to being at the top. There is little difference between Mendelssohn's early and his mature works."
The original score was lost but recopied by Mendelssohn in July of 1826. These two scores were entitled "Nocturno" and were written for the instrumentation of one flute, two clarinets, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, one trumpet, and one English bass horn (a conical bore upright serpent in the shape of a bassoon).
In his correspondence to the publisher Simrock, Mendelssohn mentions his desire to have this eleven instrument version published, but apparently could not locate the score as he never mentions it again to Simrock after March 4, 1839. Mendelssohn did send Simrock and Ouverture fur Harmoniemusik (Overture for Wind Band) scored for twenty-three winds and percussion along with a four-hand piano score on November 30, 1838. The 1838 composition is a re-scoring of the Nocturno for German Band of that era and was not published until 1852 following the death of Mendelssohn.
It has been suggested by musicologists that the 1838 re-scoring was an effort to imitate the orchestral color of Weber's Preciousa Overture. In Weber's overture, a gypsy melody is introduced by a small wind band with percussion accompaniment. At this time, however, Mendelssohn was also negotiating for the publication of the overture by Mori in London. It is quite possible that the re-scoring was an attempt to acquire greater performance opportunities for his work by making it available in settings for British and German band along with a proposed edition for orchestra.
Several editions for modern instrumentation have appeared, all using the 1838 score as their source. However, the rediscovery of the 1826 autograph makes possible this edition based on the most authentic source known to date.
Program Note by John P. Boyd
Below is the Composers Datebook from July 21, 2010 along with the audio link.
Composers Datebook Audio (7/21/2010)
Mendelssohn for Winds
In the summer of 1824, the fifteen-year-old Mendelssohn spent a holiday with his father in the fashionable spa town of Bad Doberan, on the Baltic coast near Rostock. Writing home to his family in Berlin he confessed that, although he was "comfortably lodged ... with friendly people, a decent piano, [and a] pretty view . . . so far I have not written a note."
That would change, however, as Mendelssohn met and befriended musicians employed by the local Grand Duke Friedrich Franz I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, whose court ensemble was a wind-band.
For them, the young Mendelssohn composed a "Nocturno," scored for the classical octet of double winds, plus a flute, trumpet, and an odd brass instrument called a "Como Inglese di Basso" roughly similar in shape to a bassoon, but with a cup mouthpiece and both open and keyed holes, which Mendelssohn described to his sisters in a letter he wrote on today's date in 1824 as "a large brass instrument with a fine, deep tone, that looks like a watering can or a stirrup pump."
Music for that original 1824 "Nocturno" has not survived, but eventually Mendelssohn reworked and enlarged the piece, adding new music, and much later, in 1838, expanded the scoring to a full wind ensemble and published the result as his "Overture for Winds," Op. 24.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Military Band Concerts Tonight
Tonight you can hear one military band performance and one military band (sort of) performance. The United States Navy Band will perform at 8:00 PM at the Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Concert Band will be joined by the Cruisers and the Sea Chanters. The concert is free. The Air Force Strings (an offshoot of the Air Force Band) will be performing at the West Front of the US Capitol Building. The concert will feature the Telemann Viola Concerto and the Dvorak Serenade for Strings. This concert also starts at 8:00 PM and is free. Enjoy the concerts!
Husa: Concerto for Wind Orchestra
Based on yesterday's post on "Apotheosis of this Earth", this blog post will continue with the music of Karel Husa and explore his "Concerto for Wind Orchestra."
Written in 1982, Husa's "Concerto for Wind Orchestra" is a relatively late piece in Husa's output for winds and was written long after Husa had been established a composer in band circles. The piece was a commission from Michigan State University and was the winner of the first Sudler International Composition Competition prize, a biennial prize given by the John Philip Sousa Foundation. You can find more information on the work as well as recording links below.
Below is the program note from the score and reviews of the work.
Concerto for Wind Ensemble was commissioned by the Michigan State University Alumni Band and dedicated to the Michigan State University Bands Director, Stanley De Rusha. The first performance was on December 3, 1982, by the Michigan State University Wind Symphony, guest-conducted by the composer, in the new Wharton Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of Michigan State University.
Divided into three movements, the Concerto for Wind Ensemble, is meant to be a display of virtuoso passages given to solo instruments as well as to the groups of the ensemble. In the Fanfare of the first movement, the brass section is “concertizing” in groups of four brass quintets (2 trumpets, horn, trombone and tuba or baritone), spread from left to right in back; the saxophones (S, A, T, B) are placed in front of the brass quintets and the woodwinds occupy the front of the stage, with percussion on the left and right side.
These groups, like the brass quintets, play in the concertante manner, especially in the first and last movements. At the same time, each movement will contain individual solo passages, such as the timpani in the beginning (Drum Ceremony), the long flute solo and later English horn and other low woodwinds in the Elegy, and then numerous instruments in the third movement, the Perpetual Motion. The composition of the Concerto was prompted by the excellence of wind and percussion players today and by the incredible growth of wind ensembles, orchestras, bands in the last twenty-five years. It is intended for their enjoyment.
"...a powerful study of wind instruments... destined to be a classic."
Ken Glickman, Lansing State Journal, 05/12/1982
Like much of his music, the work exploits thrilling rhythmic patterns, and quarter-tones. All three movements reveal Husa's characteristically brilliant orchestrations. And, like his other works, the Concerto will surely secure a high place in contemporary wind repertoire.
Derrick Henry, The Boston Globe, 14/04/1982
Below is a Naxos recording link (UMD students only) and an Amazon link. No YouTube recording is available.
Naxos link
Amazon link
Written in 1982, Husa's "Concerto for Wind Orchestra" is a relatively late piece in Husa's output for winds and was written long after Husa had been established a composer in band circles. The piece was a commission from Michigan State University and was the winner of the first Sudler International Composition Competition prize, a biennial prize given by the John Philip Sousa Foundation. You can find more information on the work as well as recording links below.
Below is the program note from the score and reviews of the work.
Concerto for Wind Ensemble was commissioned by the Michigan State University Alumni Band and dedicated to the Michigan State University Bands Director, Stanley De Rusha. The first performance was on December 3, 1982, by the Michigan State University Wind Symphony, guest-conducted by the composer, in the new Wharton Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of Michigan State University.
Divided into three movements, the Concerto for Wind Ensemble, is meant to be a display of virtuoso passages given to solo instruments as well as to the groups of the ensemble. In the Fanfare of the first movement, the brass section is “concertizing” in groups of four brass quintets (2 trumpets, horn, trombone and tuba or baritone), spread from left to right in back; the saxophones (S, A, T, B) are placed in front of the brass quintets and the woodwinds occupy the front of the stage, with percussion on the left and right side.
These groups, like the brass quintets, play in the concertante manner, especially in the first and last movements. At the same time, each movement will contain individual solo passages, such as the timpani in the beginning (Drum Ceremony), the long flute solo and later English horn and other low woodwinds in the Elegy, and then numerous instruments in the third movement, the Perpetual Motion. The composition of the Concerto was prompted by the excellence of wind and percussion players today and by the incredible growth of wind ensembles, orchestras, bands in the last twenty-five years. It is intended for their enjoyment.
"...a powerful study of wind instruments... destined to be a classic."
Ken Glickman, Lansing State Journal, 05/12/1982
Like much of his music, the work exploits thrilling rhythmic patterns, and quarter-tones. All three movements reveal Husa's characteristically brilliant orchestrations. And, like his other works, the Concerto will surely secure a high place in contemporary wind repertoire.
Derrick Henry, The Boston Globe, 14/04/1982
Below is a Naxos recording link (UMD students only) and an Amazon link. No YouTube recording is available.
Naxos link
Amazon link
Monday, July 19, 2010
Apotheosis of this Earth
In light of the environmental destruction that we see on the news every night, Karel Husa's "Apotheosis of this Earth" remains as current and relevant as it was when it was written in 1970. Husa is very famous in band circles for his music as he has written extensively for the medium--Music for Prague 1968, Apotheosis of this Earth, Concerto for Wind Orchestra, Al Fresco, Les Couleurs Fauves, and a Percussion Concerto and Trumpet Concerto are just some of the notable pieces Husa has contributed to the wind repertoire.
Husa, a Czech-American composer and 1969 winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his String Quartet No. 3, has said that he believes "Apotheosis" to be his best piece. The piece is relatively controversial because of its difficult aesthetic and its performance problems, but regardless these do not detract from the power and emotion of the work. You can find more information on the piece, a recording, and a short biography of Husa below.
The program note below is taken from the score and was written by Karel Husa.
The composition of Apotheosis of this Earth was motivated by the present desperate stage of mankind and its immense problems with everyday killings, war, hunger, extermination of fauna, huge forest fires, and critical contamination of the whole environment.
Man's brutal possession and misuse of nature's beauty - if continued at today's reckless speed - can only lead to catastrophe. The composer hopes that the destruction of this beautiful earth can be stopped, so that the tragedy of destruction - musically projected here in the second movement - and the desolation of its aftermath (the "postscript" of the third movement) can exist only as fantasy, never to become reality.
In the first movement, "Apotheosis", the Earth appears as a point of light in the universe. Our memory and imagination approach it in perhaps the same way as it appeared to the astronauts returning from the moon. The Earth grows larger and larger, and we can even remember some of its tragic moments (as struck by the xylophone near the end of the movement).
The second movement, "Tragedy of Destruction", deals with the actual brutalities of man against nature, leading to the destruction of our planet, perhaps by radioactive explosion. The Earth dies as a savagely, mortally wounded creature.
The last movement is a "Postscript", full of the realization that so little is left to be said: The Earth has been pulverized into the universe, the voices scattered into space. Toward the end, these voices - at first computer-like and mechanical - unite into the words "this beautiful Earth", simply said, warm and filled with regret...and one of so many questions comes to our minds: "Why have we let it happen?"
This work was commissioned by the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association and is dedicated to Dr. William Revelli, Conductor of Bands at the University of Michigan, upon his retirement, in recognition of his devoted service to music, to education, and to his colleagues.
Below you can find links to a full recording of "Apotheosis of this Earth."
Apotheosis of this Earth, Mvt. I, Part I
Apotheosis of this Earth, Mvt. I, Part II
Apotheosis of this Earth, Mvt. II
Apotheosis of this Earth, Mvt. III
Below is a short biography on Husa.
Husa learned to play the violin and the piano in early childhood and, after passing his final examination at high school, he enrolled in the Prague Conservatory in 1941 where he studied in a class of Jaroslav Řídký, and attended courses in conducting led by Metod Doležil and Pavel Dědeček.
After the end of the Second World War, Husa was admitted to the graduate school of the Prague Academy, where he attended courses led by Řídký and graduated in 1947. At the same time, he decided to continue his studies of composition and conducting in Paris. In 1947 he studied with Arthur Honegger and Nadia Boulanger. He studied conducting with Jean Fournet, Eugène Bigot and André Cluytens. After finishing his courses in conducting at École Normale de Musique de Paris and at Conservatoire de Paris he embarked on a career during which he has conducted the world's leading orchestras and participated in many major projects. He divided his time between composing and conducting, taking an ever more active part in Parisian and international musical life.
His First String Quartet marked a big step on the composer's path to the realm of international music: the Quartet received the 1950 Lili Boulanger Award and the 1951 award at the music festival in Bilthoven in the Netherlands. It has since also been performed on many other occasions, e.g., at the festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music in Brussels (1950), festivals in Salzburg (1950), Darmstadt (1951), and the Netherlands (1952) as well as at various concerts in Germany, France, Sweden, England, Switzerland, Australia and the United States. Other compositions written by Karel Husa during his stay in Paris include Divertimento for String Orchestra, Concertino for Piano and Orchestra, Évocations de Slovaquie, Musique d'amateurs, Portrait for String Orchestra, First Symphony, First Sonata for Piano, and Second String Quartet. Throughout this period, the composer's underlying preoccupation and interest was style, which was primarily influenced by Vítězslav Novák, Janáček, Bartók and Stravinsky.
He is probably best known for his Music for Prague 1968, a work in memory of the 1968 Soviet bloc invasion of Czechoslovakia. His String Quartet No. 3 won the Pulitzer Prize in 1969. Husa is the 1993 recipient of the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition presented by the University of Louisville for his Concerto for Cello and Orchestra. From 1954 until 1992 he was a professor at Cornell University and lecturer at Ithaca College from 1967 to 1986. Husa now resides in Apex, North Carolina.
He is a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity.
Husa, a Czech-American composer and 1969 winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his String Quartet No. 3, has said that he believes "Apotheosis" to be his best piece. The piece is relatively controversial because of its difficult aesthetic and its performance problems, but regardless these do not detract from the power and emotion of the work. You can find more information on the piece, a recording, and a short biography of Husa below.
The program note below is taken from the score and was written by Karel Husa.
The composition of Apotheosis of this Earth was motivated by the present desperate stage of mankind and its immense problems with everyday killings, war, hunger, extermination of fauna, huge forest fires, and critical contamination of the whole environment.
Man's brutal possession and misuse of nature's beauty - if continued at today's reckless speed - can only lead to catastrophe. The composer hopes that the destruction of this beautiful earth can be stopped, so that the tragedy of destruction - musically projected here in the second movement - and the desolation of its aftermath (the "postscript" of the third movement) can exist only as fantasy, never to become reality.
In the first movement, "Apotheosis", the Earth appears as a point of light in the universe. Our memory and imagination approach it in perhaps the same way as it appeared to the astronauts returning from the moon. The Earth grows larger and larger, and we can even remember some of its tragic moments (as struck by the xylophone near the end of the movement).
The second movement, "Tragedy of Destruction", deals with the actual brutalities of man against nature, leading to the destruction of our planet, perhaps by radioactive explosion. The Earth dies as a savagely, mortally wounded creature.
The last movement is a "Postscript", full of the realization that so little is left to be said: The Earth has been pulverized into the universe, the voices scattered into space. Toward the end, these voices - at first computer-like and mechanical - unite into the words "this beautiful Earth", simply said, warm and filled with regret...and one of so many questions comes to our minds: "Why have we let it happen?"
This work was commissioned by the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association and is dedicated to Dr. William Revelli, Conductor of Bands at the University of Michigan, upon his retirement, in recognition of his devoted service to music, to education, and to his colleagues.
Below you can find links to a full recording of "Apotheosis of this Earth."
Apotheosis of this Earth, Mvt. I, Part I
Apotheosis of this Earth, Mvt. I, Part II
Apotheosis of this Earth, Mvt. II
Apotheosis of this Earth, Mvt. III
Below is a short biography on Husa.
Husa learned to play the violin and the piano in early childhood and, after passing his final examination at high school, he enrolled in the Prague Conservatory in 1941 where he studied in a class of Jaroslav Řídký, and attended courses in conducting led by Metod Doležil and Pavel Dědeček.
After the end of the Second World War, Husa was admitted to the graduate school of the Prague Academy, where he attended courses led by Řídký and graduated in 1947. At the same time, he decided to continue his studies of composition and conducting in Paris. In 1947 he studied with Arthur Honegger and Nadia Boulanger. He studied conducting with Jean Fournet, Eugène Bigot and André Cluytens. After finishing his courses in conducting at École Normale de Musique de Paris and at Conservatoire de Paris he embarked on a career during which he has conducted the world's leading orchestras and participated in many major projects. He divided his time between composing and conducting, taking an ever more active part in Parisian and international musical life.
His First String Quartet marked a big step on the composer's path to the realm of international music: the Quartet received the 1950 Lili Boulanger Award and the 1951 award at the music festival in Bilthoven in the Netherlands. It has since also been performed on many other occasions, e.g., at the festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music in Brussels (1950), festivals in Salzburg (1950), Darmstadt (1951), and the Netherlands (1952) as well as at various concerts in Germany, France, Sweden, England, Switzerland, Australia and the United States. Other compositions written by Karel Husa during his stay in Paris include Divertimento for String Orchestra, Concertino for Piano and Orchestra, Évocations de Slovaquie, Musique d'amateurs, Portrait for String Orchestra, First Symphony, First Sonata for Piano, and Second String Quartet. Throughout this period, the composer's underlying preoccupation and interest was style, which was primarily influenced by Vítězslav Novák, Janáček, Bartók and Stravinsky.
He is probably best known for his Music for Prague 1968, a work in memory of the 1968 Soviet bloc invasion of Czechoslovakia. His String Quartet No. 3 won the Pulitzer Prize in 1969. Husa is the 1993 recipient of the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition presented by the University of Louisville for his Concerto for Cello and Orchestra. From 1954 until 1992 he was a professor at Cornell University and lecturer at Ithaca College from 1967 to 1986. Husa now resides in Apex, North Carolina.
He is a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Grainger: Hill Song No. 2
Today's post will be the last post on Grainger for the time being and will focus on another classic of the wind band repertoire: "Hill Song No. 2."
"Hill Song No. 2" is an example of another piece that has been arranged in several ways. Grainger orchestrated the piece for Piano 4-hands, orchestra, and wind band. Since the wind band version was only written for twenty three instruments, many people have revisited the piece to make it more suitable for a larger ensemble. However, the more chamber version of the piece is the more accurate and, in most people's estimation, the more aesthetically pleasing.
Comments on the work can be found below.
"This fresh-sounding, imaginatively constructed work was conceived for 23 solo wind and brass players, but optional extra parts are provided for full-band use. It demands great flexibility, fluency and sense of color on the part of all players, and th oughtful musicianship for the conductor. Though now regarded as a classic standard-repertory piece for winds, it is currently [1982] out of print. Hopefully, this situation will be remedied soon."--Joseph Kreines (GSJ IV/2).
"The sweep of the piece, the manner in which it lives up to its marking of 'Fierce and keen, at fast walking speed', attest to Grainger's success in his musical ambition [to 'keep the musical inventivity throughout at the white heat of thema tic creation and to spread it evenly over the entire length of the piece and over its minor textural details alike']. In his book The Wind Band, Richard Franko Goldman nominates the two Hill Songs and Lads of Wamphray as the first maj or 20th century pieces for band; but, because of the delay in their publication (35 years in the case of the march), the two famous suites by Holst became the earliest established standards of the band repertory."--Frank Hudson.
The notes below are from http://home.kpn.nl/
The experiments with the Boosey instruments led to his second large work for wind instruments, Hill Song No.2 (1901-1907), dedicated to his friend Balfour Gardiner. A characteristic of nearly all his subsequent instrumental works, that is, the scoring for complete families of instruments, chronologically begins with this composition. After a tryout in London in 1911, a slight revision was undertaken, though the premiere did not occur until the Festival of British Music in Royal Hall, Harrogate, on July 25, 1929, Basil Cameron conducting. For this occasion Grainger produced a new score for 2 flutes (with one piccolo), oboe, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, bassoon, 2 trumpets, horn, trombone, cymbal, 2 harmoniums (or 1 harmonium and 1 piano) and organ. For the American premiere in 1940, Grainger revised it again, followed by more revisions in 1942 and 1946.
Following the American premiere, Grainger noted: 'Hill Song No.2, perhaps the pleasantest compositional surprise of my life'. The first Hill Song was only the beginning of a set of pieces Grainger was planning, for on the frontispiece of the autograph score he states; 'N.B. This is merely an exploration of musically-hilly ways, a gathering of types for future Hill Songs, a Catalogue'.
In a letter to Frederick Fennell he wrote: 'I have always been in love with the wildness, the freshness & the heroic qualities of hill countries, hill peoples & hill music. (…) Wishing also to write a bagpipe-like Hill Song that consisted only of fast and energetic elements I wrote my 2nd Hill Song in the period 1901-1907. This work consisted partly of energetic musical material culled from Hill Song No.1 & partly of new material composed in 1907. This time the scoring, for 24 solo wind instruments, was mainly for a mixture of double-reeds (oboes etc.) & single-reeds (clarinets, saxophones, etc.). This is probably the first time in known music that such a large body of solo winds was brought together in chamber music. (…) Hearing my Hill Songs in 1907 my beloved friend Frederick Delius – as keen a lover of the hills as I – was led to write, around 1912, his master-work The Song Of The High Hills. There was, however, one basic difference in the conception of Delius’s & my hill-musics. His Song Of The High Hills (according to statements made by him to me) sought to express the feelings & impressions of a man wandering thru the hills. In writing my Hill Songs, on the other hand, I was not concerned with man’s impressions of nature, but strove, as it were, to let the hills themselves express themselves in music’.
Grainger’s programme-note reads: ‘My Hill Songs arose out of a longing for the wildness, freshness, and purity of hill-countries, hill-folk and hill-musics (Scotland, the Himalayas, the bagpipes etc.). Technically they seek to weave the bagpipe tone-type into many voices textures’.
There are no recordings available on YouTube, but you can find Naxos database links below (UMD students only) and a link to an Amazon recording where you can download or buy a recording. Enjoy!
Naxos Link
Amazon Link
"Hill Song No. 2" is an example of another piece that has been arranged in several ways. Grainger orchestrated the piece for Piano 4-hands, orchestra, and wind band. Since the wind band version was only written for twenty three instruments, many people have revisited the piece to make it more suitable for a larger ensemble. However, the more chamber version of the piece is the more accurate and, in most people's estimation, the more aesthetically pleasing.
Comments on the work can be found below.
"This fresh-sounding, imaginatively constructed work was conceived for 23 solo wind and brass players, but optional extra parts are provided for full-band use. It demands great flexibility, fluency and sense of color on the part of all players, and th oughtful musicianship for the conductor. Though now regarded as a classic standard-repertory piece for winds, it is currently [1982] out of print. Hopefully, this situation will be remedied soon."--Joseph Kreines (GSJ IV/2).
"The sweep of the piece, the manner in which it lives up to its marking of 'Fierce and keen, at fast walking speed', attest to Grainger's success in his musical ambition [to 'keep the musical inventivity throughout at the white heat of thema tic creation and to spread it evenly over the entire length of the piece and over its minor textural details alike']. In his book The Wind Band, Richard Franko Goldman nominates the two Hill Songs and Lads of Wamphray as the first maj or 20th century pieces for band; but, because of the delay in their publication (35 years in the case of the march), the two famous suites by Holst became the earliest established standards of the band repertory."--Frank Hudson.
The notes below are from http://home.kpn.nl/
The experiments with the Boosey instruments led to his second large work for wind instruments, Hill Song No.2 (1901-1907), dedicated to his friend Balfour Gardiner. A characteristic of nearly all his subsequent instrumental works, that is, the scoring for complete families of instruments, chronologically begins with this composition. After a tryout in London in 1911, a slight revision was undertaken, though the premiere did not occur until the Festival of British Music in Royal Hall, Harrogate, on July 25, 1929, Basil Cameron conducting. For this occasion Grainger produced a new score for 2 flutes (with one piccolo), oboe, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, bassoon, 2 trumpets, horn, trombone, cymbal, 2 harmoniums (or 1 harmonium and 1 piano) and organ. For the American premiere in 1940, Grainger revised it again, followed by more revisions in 1942 and 1946.
Following the American premiere, Grainger noted: 'Hill Song No.2, perhaps the pleasantest compositional surprise of my life'. The first Hill Song was only the beginning of a set of pieces Grainger was planning, for on the frontispiece of the autograph score he states; 'N.B. This is merely an exploration of musically-hilly ways, a gathering of types for future Hill Songs, a Catalogue'.
In a letter to Frederick Fennell he wrote: 'I have always been in love with the wildness, the freshness & the heroic qualities of hill countries, hill peoples & hill music. (…) Wishing also to write a bagpipe-like Hill Song that consisted only of fast and energetic elements I wrote my 2nd Hill Song in the period 1901-1907. This work consisted partly of energetic musical material culled from Hill Song No.1 & partly of new material composed in 1907. This time the scoring, for 24 solo wind instruments, was mainly for a mixture of double-reeds (oboes etc.) & single-reeds (clarinets, saxophones, etc.). This is probably the first time in known music that such a large body of solo winds was brought together in chamber music. (…) Hearing my Hill Songs in 1907 my beloved friend Frederick Delius – as keen a lover of the hills as I – was led to write, around 1912, his master-work The Song Of The High Hills. There was, however, one basic difference in the conception of Delius’s & my hill-musics. His Song Of The High Hills (according to statements made by him to me) sought to express the feelings & impressions of a man wandering thru the hills. In writing my Hill Songs, on the other hand, I was not concerned with man’s impressions of nature, but strove, as it were, to let the hills themselves express themselves in music’.
Grainger’s programme-note reads: ‘My Hill Songs arose out of a longing for the wildness, freshness, and purity of hill-countries, hill-folk and hill-musics (Scotland, the Himalayas, the bagpipes etc.). Technically they seek to weave the bagpipe tone-type into many voices textures’.
There are no recordings available on YouTube, but you can find Naxos database links below (UMD students only) and a link to an Amazon recording where you can download or buy a recording. Enjoy!
Naxos Link
Amazon Link
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Grainger: Colonial Song
Grainger's "Colonial Song" certainly unique when considered alongside many of Grainger's works. The piece began as a piano solo for his mother, but Grainger arranged into several different versions. A listing of the orchestrations is below.
-2 voices, harp, orchestra
-Military band
-Violin, cello, piano
-Theater orchestra
-Small orchestra
Also of note is that the melody is not a folk melody, but rather an original melody by Grainger. This is certainly unique in his oeuvre since many of his works use folk melodies as compositional material. The piece was intended as the first of a series entitled "Sentimentals." Grainger never wrote another piece as part of this series, but the "sentiment" of the work is there nonetheless. There is more information below as well as a recording. Enjoy!
The program notes below are from the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the orchestral version, but the general information is the same for both pieces.
The innovative and eccentric Australian-American composer Percy Aldridge Grainger is well known among band musicians, but in mainstream classical music circles, his notoriety is more that of an oddity, or fringe composer (or perhaps, only known for his charming ditty, “Country Gardens”). But his catalog of band works arguably contributed more to the quality and creativity of band music than that of any other single composer in the first half of the 20th century. An avid collector of folk music (as were Bartók and Lomax), an innovator of irregular rhythm and meter (as were Stravinsky and Varèse), and an imaginative inventor of musical instruments and experimental musical machines (as were Cage and Moog), Percy Grainger truly was a pioneer in classical music equal to the most acclaimed of our most innovative 20th-century musicians.
Grainger wrote (in his customary strapping, blue-eyed English rhetoric) of Colonial Song: “...I have wished to express feelings aroused by my thoughts of the scenery and people of my native land (Australia), and also to voice a certain kind of emotion that seems to me not untypical of native-born Colonials in general.
“Perhaps it is not unnatural that people living more or less lonelily in vast virgin countries and struggling against natural and climatic hardships (rather than against the more actively and dramatically exciting counter wills of the fellow men, as in more thickly populated lands) should run largely to that patiently yearning, inactive sentimental wistfulness that we find so touchingly expressed in much American art; for instance in Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, and in Stephen C. Foster’s adorable songs ‘My Old Kentucky Home,’ ‘Old Folks at Home,’ etc.
“I have also noticed curious, almost Italian-like musical tendencies in brass band performances and ways of singing in Australia (such as a preference for richness and intensity of tone and soulful breadth of phrasing over more subtly and sensitively varied delicacies of expressions), which are also reflected here.”
Colonial Song was intended by the composer to be the first composition in a series of works labeled, “Sentimentals.” Ultimately Grainger abandoned the idea of such a series, but clearly Colonial Song remained intimately dear; the dedication inscribed on the score in the composer’s hand reads, “This military band dish-up as Loving Yule-Gift to Mumsie, Yule, 1918.”
Colonial Song recording
-2 voices, harp, orchestra
-Military band
-Violin, cello, piano
-Theater orchestra
-Small orchestra
Also of note is that the melody is not a folk melody, but rather an original melody by Grainger. This is certainly unique in his oeuvre since many of his works use folk melodies as compositional material. The piece was intended as the first of a series entitled "Sentimentals." Grainger never wrote another piece as part of this series, but the "sentiment" of the work is there nonetheless. There is more information below as well as a recording. Enjoy!
The program notes below are from the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the orchestral version, but the general information is the same for both pieces.
The innovative and eccentric Australian-American composer Percy Aldridge Grainger is well known among band musicians, but in mainstream classical music circles, his notoriety is more that of an oddity, or fringe composer (or perhaps, only known for his charming ditty, “Country Gardens”). But his catalog of band works arguably contributed more to the quality and creativity of band music than that of any other single composer in the first half of the 20th century. An avid collector of folk music (as were Bartók and Lomax), an innovator of irregular rhythm and meter (as were Stravinsky and Varèse), and an imaginative inventor of musical instruments and experimental musical machines (as were Cage and Moog), Percy Grainger truly was a pioneer in classical music equal to the most acclaimed of our most innovative 20th-century musicians.
Grainger wrote (in his customary strapping, blue-eyed English rhetoric) of Colonial Song: “...I have wished to express feelings aroused by my thoughts of the scenery and people of my native land (Australia), and also to voice a certain kind of emotion that seems to me not untypical of native-born Colonials in general.
“Perhaps it is not unnatural that people living more or less lonelily in vast virgin countries and struggling against natural and climatic hardships (rather than against the more actively and dramatically exciting counter wills of the fellow men, as in more thickly populated lands) should run largely to that patiently yearning, inactive sentimental wistfulness that we find so touchingly expressed in much American art; for instance in Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, and in Stephen C. Foster’s adorable songs ‘My Old Kentucky Home,’ ‘Old Folks at Home,’ etc.
“I have also noticed curious, almost Italian-like musical tendencies in brass band performances and ways of singing in Australia (such as a preference for richness and intensity of tone and soulful breadth of phrasing over more subtly and sensitively varied delicacies of expressions), which are also reflected here.”
Colonial Song was intended by the composer to be the first composition in a series of works labeled, “Sentimentals.” Ultimately Grainger abandoned the idea of such a series, but clearly Colonial Song remained intimately dear; the dedication inscribed on the score in the composer’s hand reads, “This military band dish-up as Loving Yule-Gift to Mumsie, Yule, 1918.”
Colonial Song recording
Friday, July 16, 2010
Grainger: Shepherd's Hey
In another posting on the music of Percy Grainger, today's blog post will focus on "Irish Tune from County Derry"'s sister piece "Shepherd's Hey." The link between the two pieces has nothing to do with anything compositionally or anything intended by Grainger, but was instead a publishing consideration since the pieces were published together for many years.
The tune that is featured in "Shepherd's Hey" is a Morris Dance, a tune that is also featured in his very popular "Country Gardens." The piece is a lighthearted piece with a wonderful ending. If you find the piece a little too "straightforward", please see the notes below from the Philharmonic Winds that explain the compositional philosophy behind the piece. In any case, Grainger's colorful orchestration dominates the piece in a light, witty, and fun manner. Enjoy!
The information below is from the Philharmonic Winds.
Shepherds' Hey! for wind orchestra dates from 1918. Cecil Sharp, an authority on British folk songs, gave Grainger the tune. Shepherd's Hey is a so-called Morris Dance. Like the dancers join in and leave the dance group, depending on their condition, various instruments take solo parts in playing the tune. The bells and xylophone parts are worth mentioning, giving the setting a fresh sound. The Shepherd's Hey! from the title refers to a certain dance step of the Morris Dance. But, alas, in the foreword Grainger says that "This setting is not suitable to dance Morris Dance to."
In a way this composition shows the influence of Karl Klimsch (according to Grainger his only true and worthwhile composing teacher): "If you have no theme or melody in your head, don't compose at all. If you have a theme or melody, start off with it right away and the moment your melodic inspiration runs out stop your piece. No prelude, no interlude, no postlude: just the pith of the music all the time."
Shepherd's Hey: Performance by Cleveland Symphonic Winds
The tune that is featured in "Shepherd's Hey" is a Morris Dance, a tune that is also featured in his very popular "Country Gardens." The piece is a lighthearted piece with a wonderful ending. If you find the piece a little too "straightforward", please see the notes below from the Philharmonic Winds that explain the compositional philosophy behind the piece. In any case, Grainger's colorful orchestration dominates the piece in a light, witty, and fun manner. Enjoy!
The information below is from the Philharmonic Winds.
Shepherds' Hey! for wind orchestra dates from 1918. Cecil Sharp, an authority on British folk songs, gave Grainger the tune. Shepherd's Hey is a so-called Morris Dance. Like the dancers join in and leave the dance group, depending on their condition, various instruments take solo parts in playing the tune. The bells and xylophone parts are worth mentioning, giving the setting a fresh sound. The Shepherd's Hey! from the title refers to a certain dance step of the Morris Dance. But, alas, in the foreword Grainger says that "This setting is not suitable to dance Morris Dance to."
In a way this composition shows the influence of Karl Klimsch (according to Grainger his only true and worthwhile composing teacher): "If you have no theme or melody in your head, don't compose at all. If you have a theme or melody, start off with it right away and the moment your melodic inspiration runs out stop your piece. No prelude, no interlude, no postlude: just the pith of the music all the time."
Shepherd's Hey: Performance by Cleveland Symphonic Winds
Army Band Concert Tonight (7/16)
Tonight you can hear a special concert by the United States Army Band on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol building. This "alumni" concert will feature current and former members of the U.S. Army Band Concert Band, Chorus, and Herald Trumpets and is part of the "Sunsets with a Soundtrack Series." Concert starts at 8:00 PM and is free. Enjoy!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Grainger: Irish Tune from County Derry
"Irish Tune from County Derry", another Percy Grainger classic for wind band, is certainly one of the more popular and one of the most beautiful pieces written for band. In band performances, it frequently appears with "Shepherd's Hey" (which will be featured in tomorrow's blog post) since the two pieces for many years were published together. Like most of Grainger's music, "Irish Tune" features a traditional folk song, this time in the form of "Danny Boy." The setting is a beautiful piece that has been arranged for many different instrumentations. Although it is not the most difficult piece in the wind repertoire (completely accessible for high school students), it is certainly a memorable one.
You can find more information on the piece below.
The information on "Irish Tune" below is from the Philharmonic Winds.
Irish Tune From County Derry has become one of the standard pieces of wind orchestra. The theme was noted by Miss J Ross from New Town, Limavady County, Ireland, and was published in the Petrie Collection of Ancient Irish Music of Ireland, Dublin (1855).
Grainger's setting for wind band was written in 1918, when he already had made versions for mixed choir, piano and chamber orchestra. Except for the final 16 bars, the tune is written with the accompaniment of no more than six voices at a time, yet creating a rich and full sound by keen instrumentation. In 1920 Grainger produces another setting of the Irish Tune, which is quite different from the first setting, especially harmonically. Of this setting a version for wind orchestra and choir was made.
Recording of "Irish Tune"
You can find more information on the piece below.
The information on "Irish Tune" below is from the Philharmonic Winds.
Irish Tune From County Derry has become one of the standard pieces of wind orchestra. The theme was noted by Miss J Ross from New Town, Limavady County, Ireland, and was published in the Petrie Collection of Ancient Irish Music of Ireland, Dublin (1855).
Grainger's setting for wind band was written in 1918, when he already had made versions for mixed choir, piano and chamber orchestra. Except for the final 16 bars, the tune is written with the accompaniment of no more than six voices at a time, yet creating a rich and full sound by keen instrumentation. In 1920 Grainger produces another setting of the Irish Tune, which is quite different from the first setting, especially harmonically. Of this setting a version for wind orchestra and choir was made.
Recording of "Irish Tune"
Marine Band Concert Tonight (7/15)
Tonight you can hear the Marine Band perform at the Sylvan Theater on the grounds of the Washington Monument in D.C. Tonight will be a repeat of last night's repertoire. The concert starts at 8:00 and as always is free. Enjoy the great weather and the great music!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Composers Datebook from July 13
Although this is not strictly wind band related, this item from yesterday's Composers Datebook was too interesting not to include on this blog. Both composers did quite a bit for wind instruments and these stories are always enlightening and thought provoking. You can find the audio clip at the very bottom.
Strauss, Shostakovich, Hitler, and Stalin
Decades after their deaths, Richard Strauss and Dmitri Shostakovich, still remain controversial. Strauss lived and worked in Nazi Germany under Hitler, and Shostakovich in the Soviet Union under Stalin. To what extent was their art compromised by politics -- and should that influence how we hear their music today?
In July of 1935, Strauss sent a letter to Hitler pleading for a personal meeting to explain his resignation as President of Germany's office of musical affairs. He needn't have bothered, as Hitler already knew that the Gestapo has intercepted a letter Strauss had sent to the Jewish writer, Stefan Zweig, the Austrian librettist of Strauss' latest opera, "The Silent Woman."
In that letter, Strauss mocked the Nazi's obsession with race and urged Zweig to continue to supply him with opera texts, even if they would have to meet in secret. Strauss was asked to resign, and, anxious to avoid further trouble for himself and his family, tried to appeal directly to Hitler, who never responded.
Dimtri Shostakovich also ran afoul of his dictator when, in 1936, Stalin attended Shostakovich's opera, "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk" -- and hated it. The next day Shostakovich was harshly condemned in the official press, and lived in terror for the rest of Stalin's reign, redirecting his music according to Party line and making obsequious political utterances whenever asked. Even so, many today claim to hear both terror and heroic (if coded) resistance in Shostakovich's best scores.
Audio Link to Composers Datebook (7/13)
Strauss, Shostakovich, Hitler, and Stalin
Decades after their deaths, Richard Strauss and Dmitri Shostakovich, still remain controversial. Strauss lived and worked in Nazi Germany under Hitler, and Shostakovich in the Soviet Union under Stalin. To what extent was their art compromised by politics -- and should that influence how we hear their music today?
In July of 1935, Strauss sent a letter to Hitler pleading for a personal meeting to explain his resignation as President of Germany's office of musical affairs. He needn't have bothered, as Hitler already knew that the Gestapo has intercepted a letter Strauss had sent to the Jewish writer, Stefan Zweig, the Austrian librettist of Strauss' latest opera, "The Silent Woman."
In that letter, Strauss mocked the Nazi's obsession with race and urged Zweig to continue to supply him with opera texts, even if they would have to meet in secret. Strauss was asked to resign, and, anxious to avoid further trouble for himself and his family, tried to appeal directly to Hitler, who never responded.
Dimtri Shostakovich also ran afoul of his dictator when, in 1936, Stalin attended Shostakovich's opera, "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk" -- and hated it. The next day Shostakovich was harshly condemned in the official press, and lived in terror for the rest of Stalin's reign, redirecting his music according to Party line and making obsequious political utterances whenever asked. Even so, many today claim to hear both terror and heroic (if coded) resistance in Shostakovich's best scores.
Audio Link to Composers Datebook (7/13)
Marine Band Concert Tonight (7/14)
You can hear the United States Marine Band performing tonight at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Building. Concert is at 8:00 and is free. Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Grainger: Children's March
And now for something completely different...
This week (and probably some of the next), the blog will focus on the band music of Percy Grainger. Although we have already discussed his masterpiece "Lincolnshire Posy" on the blog, many of his other works certainly deserve recognition as well. Today, this post will explore his piece "Children's March--Over the hills and far away."
Although Grainger is somewhat marginalized in the orchestral world, his contributions to the band world cannot be overstated. He wrote so many pieces for wind bands and was truly a champion of winds (especially the saxophone). "Children's March" was written 1916-1918 and is the only original work for winds from his "military period." More detailed information can be found below. Enjoy!
Philharmonic Winds information on "Children's March"
Program notes from the All Music Guide can be found below.
After making a stir in London as a pianist and composer from the opening years of the twentieth century, and doing valuable work collecting English folk song, Grainger hastily embarked for New York in the summer of 1914 as the Great War began. In America, he made a similar splash performing and having his own works widely performed. With the United States' entry into the war on April 5, 1917, popular support for the Allied effort rendered his conscientious objector stance untenable and threatened to break the large strides his career had taken. On a sudden whim on June 9, 1917, he bought a soprano saxophone and enlisted at Fort Totten as a bandsman, from which he was promptly assigned to the 15th Band of the Coast Artillery Corps, Fort Hamilton, South Brooklyn. Bandleader Rocco Resta was a friend from civilian life and Grainger spent a quietly productive time practicing wind instruments, conducting on occasion for Resta, and composing.
Among the works begun or completed during this period, the Children's March "Over the Hills and Far Away," scored for winds, percussion, and piano, is one of his happiest inspirations, encapsulating both a newly found fondness for wind sonorities and his essentially childlike nature. The piece bears no relation to the like-named, richly evocative variations of his friend Delius, composed in 1897, though both explore realms of archetypal innocence. Begun in 1916 and completed in 1918, Grainger's work is dedicated—tantalizingly and for posterity, mysteriously—to "my playmate beyond the hills." A brief excerpt "dished up for piano" (as Grainger described his arrangements) was also made in 1918 and the transcription for piano, four hands, of the entire piece followed in 1920.
A few preludizing bars bring an infectiously skipping melody quietly in to be richly varied in alternations from entrancingly confiding to riotously gay as the music modulates downward through a cycle of fifths —F, B flat, E flat, A flat—and back, though halting at the return to B flat as the music dies away, suggesting some merrily unfinished business just out of earshot. The four hands version compensates for the audacious band scoring (e.g., tambourine, castanets, snare drum, and a xylophone mallet striking a piano bass string at the peroration) with the virtuosity of splashily skirling passage work, sweeping glissandi, and sheer pulsating gusto. Grainger performed the four-hands version with his friend Ernest Hutcheson as part of a benefit concert for Moritz Moszkowski at Carnegie Hall on December 21, 1921, sharing the stage with such luminaries as Ossip Gabrilowitsch (Mark Twain's son-in-law, by the way), Alfredo Casella, Ignaz Friedman, Josef Lhevinne, Wilhelm Backhaus, and Leo Ornstein.
Below you can find comments on the work from various people.
"Though the melody is folk-like in character, the musical content of this vital and spirited work is entirely original, with a hearty, infectious melody and lively rhythms to match. Some of the parts are challenging (e.g. horns) and considerable emphasis is placed on the woodwinds. A piano is highly desirable but the solo passages have been effectively cued into the band instruments. Frank Erickson in his revision [G. Schirmer, 1971] has made minor changes to conform to modern band instrumentation. A highly enjoyable work for players and audiences alike."--Joseph Kreines (GSJ IV/2).
"Although said by some to derive from Smetana's Vltava and by others to be an eighteenth century marching song, the jolly, bouncing principal melody of this delicious little march is entirely original. The composer published it in several forms more or less simultaneously--for military band and piano (or massed pianos), in which form the composer at the end directs that a bass string of the piano be struck with a marimba hammer, piano duet, and a shortened version for piano solo. T he composer directed the Goldman Band of America in the first performance of the band version and he and Ralph Leopold gave the first performance of the piano duet version, both in America. The dedicatee is 'My playmate beyond the hills' but there is no clue as to his or her identity."--W.A. Chislett.
"[Grainger's] thorough understanding and effective scoring for wind band was obviously influenced by his period of service in the U.S. Army between 1917/19, having enlisted as a bandsman (2nd Class) in the Coast Artillery Band. A brilliant a nd extravagant example of this ability is embodied in the Children's March 'especially written to use all the forces of the Coast Artillery Band which I was serving in 1918.' This is one of his earliest wind compositions which required a piano as a n integral part of the ensemble."--Eric Banks (British 1).
"The Children's March follows a pattern typical of most of Grainger's works, introducing a tune and then subjecting it to all kinds of harmonic, rhythmic, textural, and orchestral treatments with little alteration of the actual themat ic material. A novel aspect of the score is its optional wordless part for a quartet of men's voices."--Frank Hudson.
"This is an original work for band, even though its tunes may sound like folksongs; one bears a resemblance to Smetana's The Moldau. This fascinating study in sonority calls for a bass oboe (a heckelphone is used for the Michigan State University Symphonic Band recording), low brass, tam-tam, tambourine, castanets, snare drum and piano string struck by a percussion mallet. Its form is so greatly extended that nothing like this jaunty romp is to be found in the march repertoire. The scoring was completed in February 1919. Children's March is considered to be one of Grainger's most memorable contributions to the band literature."--Dana Perna
Below you can find recording of the piece available through YouTube.
Children's March "Over the hills and far away"
This week (and probably some of the next), the blog will focus on the band music of Percy Grainger. Although we have already discussed his masterpiece "Lincolnshire Posy" on the blog, many of his other works certainly deserve recognition as well. Today, this post will explore his piece "Children's March--Over the hills and far away."
Although Grainger is somewhat marginalized in the orchestral world, his contributions to the band world cannot be overstated. He wrote so many pieces for wind bands and was truly a champion of winds (especially the saxophone). "Children's March" was written 1916-1918 and is the only original work for winds from his "military period." More detailed information can be found below. Enjoy!
Philharmonic Winds information on "Children's March"
Program notes from the All Music Guide can be found below.
After making a stir in London as a pianist and composer from the opening years of the twentieth century, and doing valuable work collecting English folk song, Grainger hastily embarked for New York in the summer of 1914 as the Great War began. In America, he made a similar splash performing and having his own works widely performed. With the United States' entry into the war on April 5, 1917, popular support for the Allied effort rendered his conscientious objector stance untenable and threatened to break the large strides his career had taken. On a sudden whim on June 9, 1917, he bought a soprano saxophone and enlisted at Fort Totten as a bandsman, from which he was promptly assigned to the 15th Band of the Coast Artillery Corps, Fort Hamilton, South Brooklyn. Bandleader Rocco Resta was a friend from civilian life and Grainger spent a quietly productive time practicing wind instruments, conducting on occasion for Resta, and composing.
Among the works begun or completed during this period, the Children's March "Over the Hills and Far Away," scored for winds, percussion, and piano, is one of his happiest inspirations, encapsulating both a newly found fondness for wind sonorities and his essentially childlike nature. The piece bears no relation to the like-named, richly evocative variations of his friend Delius, composed in 1897, though both explore realms of archetypal innocence. Begun in 1916 and completed in 1918, Grainger's work is dedicated—tantalizingly and for posterity, mysteriously—to "my playmate beyond the hills." A brief excerpt "dished up for piano" (as Grainger described his arrangements) was also made in 1918 and the transcription for piano, four hands, of the entire piece followed in 1920.
A few preludizing bars bring an infectiously skipping melody quietly in to be richly varied in alternations from entrancingly confiding to riotously gay as the music modulates downward through a cycle of fifths —F, B flat, E flat, A flat—and back, though halting at the return to B flat as the music dies away, suggesting some merrily unfinished business just out of earshot. The four hands version compensates for the audacious band scoring (e.g., tambourine, castanets, snare drum, and a xylophone mallet striking a piano bass string at the peroration) with the virtuosity of splashily skirling passage work, sweeping glissandi, and sheer pulsating gusto. Grainger performed the four-hands version with his friend Ernest Hutcheson as part of a benefit concert for Moritz Moszkowski at Carnegie Hall on December 21, 1921, sharing the stage with such luminaries as Ossip Gabrilowitsch (Mark Twain's son-in-law, by the way), Alfredo Casella, Ignaz Friedman, Josef Lhevinne, Wilhelm Backhaus, and Leo Ornstein.
Below you can find comments on the work from various people.
"Though the melody is folk-like in character, the musical content of this vital and spirited work is entirely original, with a hearty, infectious melody and lively rhythms to match. Some of the parts are challenging (e.g. horns) and considerable emphasis is placed on the woodwinds. A piano is highly desirable but the solo passages have been effectively cued into the band instruments. Frank Erickson in his revision [G. Schirmer, 1971] has made minor changes to conform to modern band instrumentation. A highly enjoyable work for players and audiences alike."--Joseph Kreines (GSJ IV/2).
"Although said by some to derive from Smetana's Vltava and by others to be an eighteenth century marching song, the jolly, bouncing principal melody of this delicious little march is entirely original. The composer published it in several forms more or less simultaneously--for military band and piano (or massed pianos), in which form the composer at the end directs that a bass string of the piano be struck with a marimba hammer, piano duet, and a shortened version for piano solo. T he composer directed the Goldman Band of America in the first performance of the band version and he and Ralph Leopold gave the first performance of the piano duet version, both in America. The dedicatee is 'My playmate beyond the hills' but there is no clue as to his or her identity."--W.A. Chislett.
"[Grainger's] thorough understanding and effective scoring for wind band was obviously influenced by his period of service in the U.S. Army between 1917/19, having enlisted as a bandsman (2nd Class) in the Coast Artillery Band. A brilliant a nd extravagant example of this ability is embodied in the Children's March 'especially written to use all the forces of the Coast Artillery Band which I was serving in 1918.' This is one of his earliest wind compositions which required a piano as a n integral part of the ensemble."--Eric Banks (British 1).
"The Children's March follows a pattern typical of most of Grainger's works, introducing a tune and then subjecting it to all kinds of harmonic, rhythmic, textural, and orchestral treatments with little alteration of the actual themat ic material. A novel aspect of the score is its optional wordless part for a quartet of men's voices."--Frank Hudson.
"This is an original work for band, even though its tunes may sound like folksongs; one bears a resemblance to Smetana's The Moldau. This fascinating study in sonority calls for a bass oboe (a heckelphone is used for the Michigan State University Symphonic Band recording), low brass, tam-tam, tambourine, castanets, snare drum and piano string struck by a percussion mallet. Its form is so greatly extended that nothing like this jaunty romp is to be found in the march repertoire. The scoring was completed in February 1919. Children's March is considered to be one of Grainger's most memorable contributions to the band literature."--Dana Perna
Below you can find recording of the piece available through YouTube.
Children's March "Over the hills and far away"
Monday, July 12, 2010
Navy Band Concert Tonight (7/12)
Tonight, you can hear the United States Navy Band performing on the West Front of the US Capitol Building. It will feature The Commodores, the Navy Band's jazz ensemble. Concert starts at 8:00 PM and is free, so enjoy the much nicer weather (as compared to last week) and come hear some great music!
Varese: Deserts
Today will be the final post on Edgard Varese. We have explored all of Varese's wind works (and one percussion work) in depth and we will end with a piece that encapsulates what Varese is probably most remembered for--works with magnetic tape.
When Varese received a tape recorder from an anonymous donor in the 1950's, his compositional dreams had been realized. He had waited in vain for technology to evolve to a point where it could express his musical ideas and that had arrived. Varese's "Deserts", written 1950-1954, is Varese's first for magnetic tape and precedes his masterpiece for tape "Poeme electronique" by three years. The piece is organized as alternating "episodes" for winds and percussion and "interpolations" for magnetic tape. The layout of the piece is given below.
1st Episode
1st Interpolation of Organized Sound
2nd Episode
2nd Interpolation
3rd Episode
3rd Interpolation
4th Episode
More detailed information about the piece can be found below. This has been taken from the All Music Guide.
This powerfully moving work, created between 1950 and 1954, was the first piece for magnetic tape—two-tracks of "organized sound"—and orchestra. Possibly first conceived when Varèse lived in the deserts of New Mexico in the mid-1930s, it was imagined to be a score to which a film would have been subsequently made—a film consisting of images of the deserts of Earth, of the sea (vast distances under the water), of outer space (galaxies, etc.), but above all, the deserts in the mind of humankind—especially a memory of the terrors and agonies from the world wars of the first half of the twentieth century, including concentration camps, atomic warfare, and their continuing resonances. The taped music (originally planned for an unrealized work called "Trinum") primarily presents those images in three interpolations that separate the music for the acoustic orchestra—winds, brass, a resonant piano, and five groups of percussion. This orchestra part expresses the gradual advance of mankind toward spiritual sunlight. The orchestra music is built from intense aggregates of sound, rather than scales for melody, and rhythm is treated not as a continuous pulse, but as a support for the sound-form, rhythm as a vibration of intensity. Of course, this highly dramatic work, in touch with the deeper, repressed emotions of world society at the time it was created (and powerful still), caused protest and violent reactions in many concert halls. It is now recognized as an exceptional example of truly humanistic music.
A full recording of the piece can be accessed below. We recommend not watching the video and just trying to appreciate the piece. There are better recordings available for purchase or download from Amazon that will give you a better idea of the unique soundscape of this piece. Enjoy!
Varese: Deserts Part I
Varese: Deserts Part II
Varese: Deserts Part III
When Varese received a tape recorder from an anonymous donor in the 1950's, his compositional dreams had been realized. He had waited in vain for technology to evolve to a point where it could express his musical ideas and that had arrived. Varese's "Deserts", written 1950-1954, is Varese's first for magnetic tape and precedes his masterpiece for tape "Poeme electronique" by three years. The piece is organized as alternating "episodes" for winds and percussion and "interpolations" for magnetic tape. The layout of the piece is given below.
1st Episode
1st Interpolation of Organized Sound
2nd Episode
2nd Interpolation
3rd Episode
3rd Interpolation
4th Episode
More detailed information about the piece can be found below. This has been taken from the All Music Guide.
This powerfully moving work, created between 1950 and 1954, was the first piece for magnetic tape—two-tracks of "organized sound"—and orchestra. Possibly first conceived when Varèse lived in the deserts of New Mexico in the mid-1930s, it was imagined to be a score to which a film would have been subsequently made—a film consisting of images of the deserts of Earth, of the sea (vast distances under the water), of outer space (galaxies, etc.), but above all, the deserts in the mind of humankind—especially a memory of the terrors and agonies from the world wars of the first half of the twentieth century, including concentration camps, atomic warfare, and their continuing resonances. The taped music (originally planned for an unrealized work called "Trinum") primarily presents those images in three interpolations that separate the music for the acoustic orchestra—winds, brass, a resonant piano, and five groups of percussion. This orchestra part expresses the gradual advance of mankind toward spiritual sunlight. The orchestra music is built from intense aggregates of sound, rather than scales for melody, and rhythm is treated not as a continuous pulse, but as a support for the sound-form, rhythm as a vibration of intensity. Of course, this highly dramatic work, in touch with the deeper, repressed emotions of world society at the time it was created (and powerful still), caused protest and violent reactions in many concert halls. It is now recognized as an exceptional example of truly humanistic music.
A full recording of the piece can be accessed below. We recommend not watching the video and just trying to appreciate the piece. There are better recordings available for purchase or download from Amazon that will give you a better idea of the unique soundscape of this piece. Enjoy!
Varese: Deserts Part I
Varese: Deserts Part II
Varese: Deserts Part III
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Varese: Integrales
In a (sort of) continuation of last weekend, today's post will focus on Edgard Varese's "Integrales" for 11 wind instruments and four percussionists. Varese is a much more influential person than his small body of work would suggest (he only has about three hours worth of surviving music to his credit). But, his innovations and theories in sound production and organization were very influential on generations of composers in the twentieth century. Written in 1924-25, Integrales is positioned in the middle of Varese's instrumental phase (as opposed to his electronic phase).
Below are program notes on Integrales from the All Music Guide.
Edgard Varèse completed Intégrales in 1925. It is scored for woodwinds, brass, and 17 different percussion instruments played by four percussionists. Varèse's term "spatial music" was first applied to this work, which broadly denotes a concept that pertains to all of his surviving output. It was his way of depicting music as a collection of coexisting sound properties (melody, harmony, rhythm, etc.). Instruments are chosen for the specific aspect of music they do best (the composer preferred winds and percussion) and they appear in sonic groupings that occur in different temporal durations from one another. This was dubbed "spatial" music because it is easier to describe it in terms of physical and temporal space; the durations among the different blocks of sound drift closer and further apart while appearing and reappearing in variations of themselves. Tensions vary in accordance the proximity of the sound blocks.
Intégrales is dedicated to Juliana Force, and its title is not meant to denote an association with anything extra-musical. One of Varèse's former students pointed out that this work was written in spite of the limitations of conventional instruments and notation, that the world of sound contained in this piece is not about the instruments, but the distinction of the timbres between them. Instruments are intended to either blend or contrast with other instruments depending on whether or not they are in the same sound "block." Many listeners feel that this ambivalence to instruments made Varèse better suited to music that excludes them, such as tape music, which he eventually turned to. He said that the future of sounds required composers and electrical engineers to find the solution to the outdated means of generating notes. This geometric and abstract approach to music came to him while listening to the scherzo of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, which inspired in him a sense of, in his own works, "projection in space." Intégrales lends itself to visual impressions of celestial bodies in motion. The composer said that mathematics and astronomy inspired him; the motion of planets revolving around a star is comparable to the blocks of sound heard in this piece.
The premiere of Intégrales was peculiar because it was so well received by the general public. At the Aeolian Hall in New York, Leopold Stokowski conducted it on March 1, 1925 to an enthusiastic crowd. This was not a group of avant-garde enthusiasts, but a more or less traditional audience who enjoyed the work so much that Stokowski was obliged to perform it again that evening. However, other than a few admiring writers, the critics hated Intégrales and mocked the piece at length. It is possible that this work offended the sensibilities of a writing community that had spent years building a meaningful way of talking about new music. Varèse's output still eludes easy description and the vast majority of musical terms and ideas available to listeners and writers do not pertain to his style. His own descriptions of his works are often opaque. Listeners without an extended musical vocabulary have the advantage of not instinctually attempting to turn the experience of Intégrales into words.
You can find links to several resources below. Enjoy!
Wikipedia article on Varese
YouTube recording of Integrales
Below is information on this recording of Integrales by Boulez taken from the CD jacket.
Edgard Varèse's Intégrales for 11 wind instruments and percussion was composed in 1924 in Fernand Léger's studio in Paris and in the USA. The premiere of Intégrales took place at a Guild concert in the Aeolian Theatre, New York, on 1 March 1925, under Leopold Stokowski.
Pierre Boulez conducted the BBC SO without a baton, with a precision and economy reminiscent of Klemperer. Boulez sculpted - rather than conducted - the orchestra, preferring to use his hands to tease -out, coax, and mould the sounds. Intégrales is not programme music and Varèse warned against any kind of discursive analysis stating that the music was just that - music. However, the sound-world of Intégrales can be interpreted as imitating both the metallic post-modern city and the sounds of the reptilian primordial swamp. Boulez eschewed sensational sound-bites, conducting the work 'straight' in favour of giving the work an almost 18th century classical comportment.
Below are program notes on Integrales from the All Music Guide.
Edgard Varèse completed Intégrales in 1925. It is scored for woodwinds, brass, and 17 different percussion instruments played by four percussionists. Varèse's term "spatial music" was first applied to this work, which broadly denotes a concept that pertains to all of his surviving output. It was his way of depicting music as a collection of coexisting sound properties (melody, harmony, rhythm, etc.). Instruments are chosen for the specific aspect of music they do best (the composer preferred winds and percussion) and they appear in sonic groupings that occur in different temporal durations from one another. This was dubbed "spatial" music because it is easier to describe it in terms of physical and temporal space; the durations among the different blocks of sound drift closer and further apart while appearing and reappearing in variations of themselves. Tensions vary in accordance the proximity of the sound blocks.
Intégrales is dedicated to Juliana Force, and its title is not meant to denote an association with anything extra-musical. One of Varèse's former students pointed out that this work was written in spite of the limitations of conventional instruments and notation, that the world of sound contained in this piece is not about the instruments, but the distinction of the timbres between them. Instruments are intended to either blend or contrast with other instruments depending on whether or not they are in the same sound "block." Many listeners feel that this ambivalence to instruments made Varèse better suited to music that excludes them, such as tape music, which he eventually turned to. He said that the future of sounds required composers and electrical engineers to find the solution to the outdated means of generating notes. This geometric and abstract approach to music came to him while listening to the scherzo of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, which inspired in him a sense of, in his own works, "projection in space." Intégrales lends itself to visual impressions of celestial bodies in motion. The composer said that mathematics and astronomy inspired him; the motion of planets revolving around a star is comparable to the blocks of sound heard in this piece.
The premiere of Intégrales was peculiar because it was so well received by the general public. At the Aeolian Hall in New York, Leopold Stokowski conducted it on March 1, 1925 to an enthusiastic crowd. This was not a group of avant-garde enthusiasts, but a more or less traditional audience who enjoyed the work so much that Stokowski was obliged to perform it again that evening. However, other than a few admiring writers, the critics hated Intégrales and mocked the piece at length. It is possible that this work offended the sensibilities of a writing community that had spent years building a meaningful way of talking about new music. Varèse's output still eludes easy description and the vast majority of musical terms and ideas available to listeners and writers do not pertain to his style. His own descriptions of his works are often opaque. Listeners without an extended musical vocabulary have the advantage of not instinctually attempting to turn the experience of Intégrales into words.
You can find links to several resources below. Enjoy!
Wikipedia article on Varese
YouTube recording of Integrales
Below is information on this recording of Integrales by Boulez taken from the CD jacket.
Edgard Varèse's Intégrales for 11 wind instruments and percussion was composed in 1924 in Fernand Léger's studio in Paris and in the USA. The premiere of Intégrales took place at a Guild concert in the Aeolian Theatre, New York, on 1 March 1925, under Leopold Stokowski.
Pierre Boulez conducted the BBC SO without a baton, with a precision and economy reminiscent of Klemperer. Boulez sculpted - rather than conducted - the orchestra, preferring to use his hands to tease -out, coax, and mould the sounds. Intégrales is not programme music and Varèse warned against any kind of discursive analysis stating that the music was just that - music. However, the sound-world of Intégrales can be interpreted as imitating both the metallic post-modern city and the sounds of the reptilian primordial swamp. Boulez eschewed sensational sound-bites, conducting the work 'straight' in favour of giving the work an almost 18th century classical comportment.
Army Band Concert Tonight (7/9)
Tonight you can hear the United States Army Band on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C. The concert is free and will take place at 8:00 PM. It is part of the "Sunsets with a Soundtrack" series and will feature the Army Blues. Information about the concert is below.
The U.S. Army Blues bring their high-energy and artistic verve to our popular summer concert series in this program featuring big-band classics and new compositions by its talented members. Fans of America's truly indigenous art-form will enjoy classics like "Stardust" and "Shenandoah," alongside compositions and arrangedments by SGM Craig Fraedrich (trumpet), SGM Tony Nalker (piano), and SFC Graham Breedlove (trumpet).
The U.S. Army Blues bring their high-energy and artistic verve to our popular summer concert series in this program featuring big-band classics and new compositions by its talented members. Fans of America's truly indigenous art-form will enjoy classics like "Stardust" and "Shenandoah," alongside compositions and arrangedments by SGM Craig Fraedrich (trumpet), SGM Tony Nalker (piano), and SFC Graham Breedlove (trumpet).
Varese: Hyperprisms
Continuing today with the music of Edgard Varese, this post will focus on "Hyperprism" a work that Varese wrote in 1923, the same time period of the 1920's that he wrote "Integrales" and "Octandre." Sorry in advance for the broken up nature of this post. There is a lot of information scattered about on this piece, but no real central writing. This is what we came up with. Happy reading!
A biography of Varese can be found in yesterday's post if you are interested in that sort of background information.
Here is a blog post by Daniel Wolf, a composer living in Frankfurt, Germany. It is always interesting to get a compositional perspective on these things. You can find his posting here.
Below is information from the Philharmonic Winds on the work.
Hyperprism calls for nine wind players and seven to 10 percussionists playing 20 instruments.
The premiere took place under the composer’s baton on 4 March 1923 at Klaw Theatre (New York,
U.S.A.). As Varèse could not find professional percussionists willing to rehearse, the entire Dalcroze School of Eurhythmics collaborated.
Below you can find an analysis of the piece. It is pretty technical, so people with less theoretical background may have trouble with it. That being said, this is a good resource to take a look at.
Hyperprism Analysis
Below is a link to a recording of Hyperprism. Enjoy!
"Hyperprism" Recording
Below is an excellent resource for any conductor looking to perform Varese's music. This link is Dr. Steven Grimo's website devoted to the conducting of Varese. Great stuff.
A biography of Varese can be found in yesterday's post if you are interested in that sort of background information.
Here is a blog post by Daniel Wolf, a composer living in Frankfurt, Germany. It is always interesting to get a compositional perspective on these things. You can find his posting here.
Below is information from the Philharmonic Winds on the work.
Hyperprism calls for nine wind players and seven to 10 percussionists playing 20 instruments.
The premiere took place under the composer’s baton on 4 March 1923 at Klaw Theatre (New York,
U.S.A.). As Varèse could not find professional percussionists willing to rehearse, the entire Dalcroze School of Eurhythmics collaborated.
Below you can find an analysis of the piece. It is pretty technical, so people with less theoretical background may have trouble with it. That being said, this is a good resource to take a look at.
Hyperprism Analysis
Below is a link to a recording of Hyperprism. Enjoy!
"Hyperprism" Recording
Below is an excellent resource for any conductor looking to perform Varese's music. This link is Dr. Steven Grimo's website devoted to the conducting of Varese. Great stuff.
Varese: Ionisation
Although not necessarily a piece for wind band, Edgard Varese's "Ionisation" has been performed on too many wind ensemble concerts and is too important a piece to not be mentioned in a blog dealing with wind music. If you are interested in background on Varese, please look through previous posts on the composer.
Widely regarded as the first piece written for "percussion ensemble", Varese wrote "Ionisation" 1929-1931 after most of his works for winds had already been composed. You can find extensive information and a performance of the piece below. Enjoy!
"Ionisation" program notes from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Wikipedia article on "Ionisation"
Background information on "Ionisation"
Below you can find a recording of "Ionisation" as performed by the Ensemble InterContemporain conducted by Pierre Boulez.
Ionisation
Widely regarded as the first piece written for "percussion ensemble", Varese wrote "Ionisation" 1929-1931 after most of his works for winds had already been composed. You can find extensive information and a performance of the piece below. Enjoy!
"Ionisation" program notes from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Wikipedia article on "Ionisation"
Background information on "Ionisation"
Below you can find a recording of "Ionisation" as performed by the Ensemble InterContemporain conducted by Pierre Boulez.
Ionisation
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Holst: Moorside Suite
Although Gustav Holst's "Moorside Suite" is not technically a piece that belongs in the traditional wind repertoire, it is a piece that was written for a group of winds alone and there is a version of it for full concert band. "Moorside Suite" is written for a traditional British brass band consisting of the following instrumentation: Eb Soprano Cornet, Solo, 1st, and 2nd Bb Cornets, Flugelhorn, 3 Eb Tenor Horns, 2 Bb Baritones, 2 Euphoniums, 1st, 2nd, and Bass Trombones, and Eb and Bb Tubas. All the instruments (except for the trombones) are conical and, like a wind ensemble, instruments are traditionally only played one on a part with the exception of the cornets (compare to clarinets in a wind ensemble).
You can get more information on British brass bands here and here.
Moorside Suite, I. Scherzo and II. Nocturne
Moorside Suite, III. March
These program notes on "Moorside Suite" are taken from the Gustav Holst website.
(1928) A Moorside Suite
- Scherzo
- Nocturne
- March
This piece is published by Smith.
In 1927 Holst was commissioned to write a competition piece for the BBC and the National Brass Band Festival Committee. The result was The Moorside Suite.
The suite has three movements, and upon a first listen, one hears a noticeable sophistication that was lacking in the military suites. The first movement seems almost reserved in its impact. The rhythm definitely darts about, but it doesn't really go towards any harmonic climax. It leaves the listener almost trapped in an intellectual game of sorts. The second movement, the "Nocturne," is written beautifully with its descending thirds and sixths. It is a warmth that Holst was just beginning to discover, perhaps only matched by "Love on thy heart," from the Seven Partsongs for female choir, or the Lyric Movement. It almost seems like a mature response to "I love my love." In fact, he also arranged this movement for strings, and there is a great recording conducted by his daughter, Imogen Holst, on Lyrita. The last movement is reminiscent of the "Marching Song" from Two Songs without Words.
Composer Gordon Jacob arranged the Moorside Suite for strings in 1952 and later made another arrangement of the piece for military band under the title Moorisde March in 1960 (available from Boosey and Hawkes).
It is said that Holst was very happy upon hearing the fifteen brass bands play his piece in the competition in 1928. The competition was eventually won by the Black Dyke Mills Band.
You can get more information on British brass bands here and here.
Moorside Suite, I. Scherzo and II. Nocturne
Moorside Suite, III. March
These program notes on "Moorside Suite" are taken from the Gustav Holst website.
(1928) A Moorside Suite
- Scherzo
- Nocturne
- March
This piece is published by Smith.
In 1927 Holst was commissioned to write a competition piece for the BBC and the National Brass Band Festival Committee. The result was The Moorside Suite.
The suite has three movements, and upon a first listen, one hears a noticeable sophistication that was lacking in the military suites. The first movement seems almost reserved in its impact. The rhythm definitely darts about, but it doesn't really go towards any harmonic climax. It leaves the listener almost trapped in an intellectual game of sorts. The second movement, the "Nocturne," is written beautifully with its descending thirds and sixths. It is a warmth that Holst was just beginning to discover, perhaps only matched by "Love on thy heart," from the Seven Partsongs for female choir, or the Lyric Movement. It almost seems like a mature response to "I love my love." In fact, he also arranged this movement for strings, and there is a great recording conducted by his daughter, Imogen Holst, on Lyrita. The last movement is reminiscent of the "Marching Song" from Two Songs without Words.
Composer Gordon Jacob arranged the Moorside Suite for strings in 1952 and later made another arrangement of the piece for military band under the title Moorisde March in 1960 (available from Boosey and Hawkes).
It is said that Holst was very happy upon hearing the fifteen brass bands play his piece in the competition in 1928. The competition was eventually won by the Black Dyke Mills Band.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Marine Band Concert Tonight (7/8)
Tonight, you can hear the Marine Band perform the same program as last night. The concert is free and will take place at 8:00 PM at the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument. Enjoy!
Marine Band Concert Tonight (7/7)
Tonight, you can hear the Marine Band in concert tonight on the West Front of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The program starts at 8:00 PM and is free. Brave the heat and listen to some great music!
Holst: Second Suite in F
Our second day of Holst Suites will be dedicated to the Second Suite in F, another hugely influential piece in the wind repertoire. The piece was written only two years after the First Suite in Eb and, although it is not as popular as the First Suite, the Second Suite is still a very important piece and notable for Holst's orchestrational style with regards to winds. Notice the contrast in number of movements and that Holst chooses to use more folk tunes (seven total) than in the First Suite. This piece is generally considered more difficult to perform than the Suite in Eb.
Wikipedia article on the Second Suite in F
Wind Repertory Project article on the Second Suite in F
You can find program notes on the piece below from the Philharmonic Winds as well as links to a performance by the same ensemble. Enjoy!
This suite, composed in 1911, uses English folk songs and folk dance tunes throughout, being written at a time when Holst needed to rest from the strain of original composition. The opening march movement uses three tunes, the first of which is a lively morris dance. The folk song Swansea Town is next, played broadly and lyrically by the euphonium, followed by the entire band playing the tune in block harmonies - a typically English sound. Claudy Banks is the third tune, brimming with vitality and the vibrant sound of unison clarinets. The first two tunes are repeated to conclude the first movement. The second movement is a setting for the English folk song I�fll Love My Love. It is a sad story of a young maiden driven into Bedlam by grief over her lover being sent to sea by his parents to prevent their marriage. The Hampshire folk song, The Song of the Blacksmith, is the basis of the third movement, which evokes visions of the sparks from red hot metal being beaten with a lively hammer�fs rhythm on the blacksmith�fs anvil. The English country-dance and folk song, The Dargason, dating from the sixteenth century, completes the suite in a manner that continues to cycle and seems to have no end. The Elizabethan love tune Greensleeves is intertwined briefly and withdrawn before the final witty scoring of a piccolo and tuba duet four octaves apart.
Second Suite in F, I: March, Morris Dance, Swansea Towns, Claudy Banks
Second Suite in F, II: Song Without Words, I'll Love My Love
Second Suite in F, III: Song of the Blacksmith
Second Suite in F, IV: Fantasia on the Dargason
Wikipedia article on the Second Suite in F
Wind Repertory Project article on the Second Suite in F
You can find program notes on the piece below from the Philharmonic Winds as well as links to a performance by the same ensemble. Enjoy!
This suite, composed in 1911, uses English folk songs and folk dance tunes throughout, being written at a time when Holst needed to rest from the strain of original composition. The opening march movement uses three tunes, the first of which is a lively morris dance. The folk song Swansea Town is next, played broadly and lyrically by the euphonium, followed by the entire band playing the tune in block harmonies - a typically English sound. Claudy Banks is the third tune, brimming with vitality and the vibrant sound of unison clarinets. The first two tunes are repeated to conclude the first movement. The second movement is a setting for the English folk song I�fll Love My Love. It is a sad story of a young maiden driven into Bedlam by grief over her lover being sent to sea by his parents to prevent their marriage. The Hampshire folk song, The Song of the Blacksmith, is the basis of the third movement, which evokes visions of the sparks from red hot metal being beaten with a lively hammer�fs rhythm on the blacksmith�fs anvil. The English country-dance and folk song, The Dargason, dating from the sixteenth century, completes the suite in a manner that continues to cycle and seems to have no end. The Elizabethan love tune Greensleeves is intertwined briefly and withdrawn before the final witty scoring of a piccolo and tuba duet four octaves apart.
Second Suite in F, I: March, Morris Dance, Swansea Towns, Claudy Banks
Second Suite in F, II: Song Without Words, I'll Love My Love
Second Suite in F, III: Song of the Blacksmith
Second Suite in F, IV: Fantasia on the Dargason
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Holst: First Suite in Eb for Military Band
Although we have posted on Gustav Holst's "Hammersmith Prelude and Scherzo" in June, the blog has yet to post blog items on Holst's First and Second Suites for Military Band. These are two of the most iconic pieces in the wind repertoire and the next two posts will be dedicated to these hugely important works.
Completed in 1909, but not premiered until 1920, Holst's "First Suite in Eb for Military Band" was written two years before the Second Suite in F and over twenty years before Holst's masterpiece for winds "Hammersmith Prelude and Scherzo." Since its composition, it has become arguably the most popular of the works for winds to be considered "band music" and is certainly the only piece for concert band (as opposed to just simply a work for winds) that one is likely to hear on a classical music radio station. The piece is constructed in three movements and is especially notable for Holst's orchestrational style. Rather than simply composing a piece with no strings which was the norm, Holst makes a point of composing a piece specifically for winds and his wind writing is second to none.
You can find more information on the piece in the form of program notes and recordings below. Enjoy!
First Suite in Eb: Chaconne
First Suite in Eb: Intermezzo
First Suite in Eb: March
Wikipedia article on the First Suite in Eb
Philharmonic Winds program notes on First Suite in Eb
The program notes below are by Esmail Khalili and can be found on the Wind Repertory Project website here.
2009 marks the 100th anniversary of the First Suite in Eb by Gustav Holst, now considered one of the masterworks and cornerstones of the band literature. Although completed in 1909, the suite didn't receive its official premiere until 11 years later on June 23rd, 1920, by an ensemble of 165 musicians at the Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall. However, the work was originally conceived to be performed by ensembles significantly smaller than the one at Kneller Hall. During this time period there was no standardized instrumentation among the hundreds of British military bands of the day, and as a result no significant literature had been previously written for the band medium; most British bands up to then performed arrangements of popular orchestral pieces. In order to ensure the suite would be accessible to as many bands as possible, Holst ingeniously scored the work so that it could be played by a minimum of 19 musicians, with 16 additional parts that could be added or removed without compromising the integrity of the work.
There are three movements in the suite: Chaconne, Intermezzo, and March. Holst writes, “As each movement is founded on the same phrase, it is requested that the suite be played right through without a break.” Indeed, the first three notes of the Chaconne are Eb, F and C, and the first three notes of the melody when it first appears in the Intermezzo are Eb, F, and C. In the third movement, March, Holst inverts the motive: The first note heard in the brilliant opening brass medley is an Eb, but instead of rising, it descends to a D, and then a G; the exact opposite of the first two movements.
The Chaconne begins with a ground bass reminiscent of those written by Henry Purcell or William Byrd. It is performed by tuba, euphonium and string bass and is repeated throughout the ensemble sixteen full times as varying instrumental textures and variations of the theme are layered within it. Following a delicately scored chamber setting of the theme, the music steadily builds to a brilliant Eb Major chord that concludes the movement.
The Intermezzo is light and brisk and features soloistic passages for the cornet, oboe and clarinet. Holst prominently displays the agility and sensitivity of the wind band through transparent textures and passages where the melody and accompaniment are woven into a variety of instrumental settings.
The March begins suddenly. It consists of two themes, the first of which, performed by brass choir and percussion, is a march light in character. The second theme is dominated by the woodwinds and is composed of a long, lyrical line reminiscent of the original Chaconne melody. The movement concludes with both themes intertwining as the band crescendos to a climax.
Gustav Holst, of Scandinavian ancestry on his father's side, was born in the English spa town of Cheltenham in 1874 and studied music at the Royal College in London. A formidable trombonist, he spent time performing with the Scottish Symphony and various seaside bands. He later became director of music at St. Paul's Girls' School, retaining this connection until the end of his life. Holst wrote a number of works for the theatre, their subjects reflecting his varied interests, from Hindu mythology to Shakespeare and the medieval world of the Wandering Scholar. He also composed a considerable amount of choral music, accompanied and unaccompanied, including arrangements of folk songs, and a smaller number of solo songs. His most famous instrumental work is The Planets, but he is also fondly remembered for his St. Paul’s Suite for string orchestra, the two suites for military band, and Hammersmith, based on the district of London bearing the works name.
Completed in 1909, but not premiered until 1920, Holst's "First Suite in Eb for Military Band" was written two years before the Second Suite in F and over twenty years before Holst's masterpiece for winds "Hammersmith Prelude and Scherzo." Since its composition, it has become arguably the most popular of the works for winds to be considered "band music" and is certainly the only piece for concert band (as opposed to just simply a work for winds) that one is likely to hear on a classical music radio station. The piece is constructed in three movements and is especially notable for Holst's orchestrational style. Rather than simply composing a piece with no strings which was the norm, Holst makes a point of composing a piece specifically for winds and his wind writing is second to none.
You can find more information on the piece in the form of program notes and recordings below. Enjoy!
First Suite in Eb: Chaconne
First Suite in Eb: Intermezzo
First Suite in Eb: March
Wikipedia article on the First Suite in Eb
Philharmonic Winds program notes on First Suite in Eb
The program notes below are by Esmail Khalili and can be found on the Wind Repertory Project website here.
2009 marks the 100th anniversary of the First Suite in Eb by Gustav Holst, now considered one of the masterworks and cornerstones of the band literature. Although completed in 1909, the suite didn't receive its official premiere until 11 years later on June 23rd, 1920, by an ensemble of 165 musicians at the Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall. However, the work was originally conceived to be performed by ensembles significantly smaller than the one at Kneller Hall. During this time period there was no standardized instrumentation among the hundreds of British military bands of the day, and as a result no significant literature had been previously written for the band medium; most British bands up to then performed arrangements of popular orchestral pieces. In order to ensure the suite would be accessible to as many bands as possible, Holst ingeniously scored the work so that it could be played by a minimum of 19 musicians, with 16 additional parts that could be added or removed without compromising the integrity of the work.
There are three movements in the suite: Chaconne, Intermezzo, and March. Holst writes, “As each movement is founded on the same phrase, it is requested that the suite be played right through without a break.” Indeed, the first three notes of the Chaconne are Eb, F and C, and the first three notes of the melody when it first appears in the Intermezzo are Eb, F, and C. In the third movement, March, Holst inverts the motive: The first note heard in the brilliant opening brass medley is an Eb, but instead of rising, it descends to a D, and then a G; the exact opposite of the first two movements.
The Chaconne begins with a ground bass reminiscent of those written by Henry Purcell or William Byrd. It is performed by tuba, euphonium and string bass and is repeated throughout the ensemble sixteen full times as varying instrumental textures and variations of the theme are layered within it. Following a delicately scored chamber setting of the theme, the music steadily builds to a brilliant Eb Major chord that concludes the movement.
The Intermezzo is light and brisk and features soloistic passages for the cornet, oboe and clarinet. Holst prominently displays the agility and sensitivity of the wind band through transparent textures and passages where the melody and accompaniment are woven into a variety of instrumental settings.
The March begins suddenly. It consists of two themes, the first of which, performed by brass choir and percussion, is a march light in character. The second theme is dominated by the woodwinds and is composed of a long, lyrical line reminiscent of the original Chaconne melody. The movement concludes with both themes intertwining as the band crescendos to a climax.
Gustav Holst, of Scandinavian ancestry on his father's side, was born in the English spa town of Cheltenham in 1874 and studied music at the Royal College in London. A formidable trombonist, he spent time performing with the Scottish Symphony and various seaside bands. He later became director of music at St. Paul's Girls' School, retaining this connection until the end of his life. Holst wrote a number of works for the theatre, their subjects reflecting his varied interests, from Hindu mythology to Shakespeare and the medieval world of the Wandering Scholar. He also composed a considerable amount of choral music, accompanied and unaccompanied, including arrangements of folk songs, and a smaller number of solo songs. His most famous instrumental work is The Planets, but he is also fondly remembered for his St. Paul’s Suite for string orchestra, the two suites for military band, and Hammersmith, based on the district of London bearing the works name.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Hindemith: Konzertmusik, Op. 41
Paul Hindemith's "Konzertmusik, Op. 41", composed in 1926, was, in some ways, written to promote the importance and relevance of wind music in classical performance. Although designed as a piece for amateurs, the piece is certainly challenging enough for professional players--a comparison may be drawn to the Schoenberg "Theme and Variations, Op. 43a" in this way. The piece is written for a variation on the German military band instrumentation. The piece has since become a standard of the wind repertoire.
Below are program notes from UMWO's performance of the Hindemith in the 2008-2009 season.
PAUL HINDEMITH
Konzertmusik, Op. 41
The changes in German and Austrian culture in the decade after World War I produced rchitecture, painting, music and theater that was, in the words of William Bolcom, “dedicated to the total overthrow of the decaying Romanticism that, some held, had fostered that war.”
As Arnold Schoenberg , and his students Alban Berg and Anton Webern first expanded then abandoned post-Wagnerian harmony, their music was regarded as irrelevant by the vast majority of concert-goers — most Germans went to hear music in the cabarets, not the concert halls. As in America, jazz was all the rage in Berlin in the 1920s.
The foremost German composer of his generation, Paul Hindemith established his reputation as a first-rate contemporary composer at the second Donaueschingen Festival in 1921, after which he was asked to serve on the organizing committee. Hindemith was convinced that the ever-widening gap between composers and general public could be bridged if composers wrote with a particular purpose and according to prescribed premises, and at Donaueschingen he now had a platform on which to display his anti-Expressionist concept of Gebrauchsmusik (functional music for amateurs). During Hindemith’s tenure as artistic director, the festival highlighted particular genres and media; specifically those that he felt were under-represented in the world of serious art music.
Hindemith felt that wind music had been unfairly regarded as a musical step-child and, thus, was determined to promote it by featuring wind music, along with mechanical music, at the 1926 festival. Hindemith specifically directed promising composers to the job of writing contemporary music for military band. As part of this festival, Hindemith composed his first work for wind band, the Kozertmusik, op. 41. On July 24, 1926, a complete concert was devoted to four new works for wind band: Hindemith’s Konzertmusik, Krenek’s Three Merry Marches, op. 44, Pepping’s Serenade and Toch’s Spiel, op. 39.
The Konzertmusik, though composed “for amateurs” is of sufficient complexity and difficulty to challenge professional players. The Konzertante-Overture begins with a satirical fanfare, then unfolds a sonata-form-cum-concerto-grosso allegro. The second movement offers six variations of the popular German folk song, “Prince, Eugene, the Noble Knight,” while exploring the various facets of the ensemble. This work concludes with a parody of a German march, a rather tongue-in-cheek presentation of typical band fare of the early twentieth century. Yet, in the opening measures, it becomes very clear that there isn’t anything ordinary about Hindemith’s presentation. In fact, he musically “thumbs his nose” at band traditionalists who would have criticized him for a contemporary treatment of such a revered musical form. The Konzertmusik, op. 41 makes use of an instrumental ensemble that includes tenorhorns and flugelhorns. It is, in fact, a German military band that has been dressed up in Hindemith’s creative melodies, rhythmic energy and brilliant counterpoint.
Below you can find a YouTube recording of the Konzertmusik Op. 41 with the Eastman Wind Ensemble and Donald Hunsberger conducting.
Konzertmusik Op. 41, I. Konzertante Ouverture
Konzertmusik Op. 41, II. Sechs Variationen
Konzertmusik Op. 41, III. Marsch
Below are program notes from UMWO's performance of the Hindemith in the 2008-2009 season.
PAUL HINDEMITH
Konzertmusik, Op. 41
The changes in German and Austrian culture in the decade after World War I produced rchitecture, painting, music and theater that was, in the words of William Bolcom, “dedicated to the total overthrow of the decaying Romanticism that, some held, had fostered that war.”
As Arnold Schoenberg , and his students Alban Berg and Anton Webern first expanded then abandoned post-Wagnerian harmony, their music was regarded as irrelevant by the vast majority of concert-goers — most Germans went to hear music in the cabarets, not the concert halls. As in America, jazz was all the rage in Berlin in the 1920s.
The foremost German composer of his generation, Paul Hindemith established his reputation as a first-rate contemporary composer at the second Donaueschingen Festival in 1921, after which he was asked to serve on the organizing committee. Hindemith was convinced that the ever-widening gap between composers and general public could be bridged if composers wrote with a particular purpose and according to prescribed premises, and at Donaueschingen he now had a platform on which to display his anti-Expressionist concept of Gebrauchsmusik (functional music for amateurs). During Hindemith’s tenure as artistic director, the festival highlighted particular genres and media; specifically those that he felt were under-represented in the world of serious art music.
Hindemith felt that wind music had been unfairly regarded as a musical step-child and, thus, was determined to promote it by featuring wind music, along with mechanical music, at the 1926 festival. Hindemith specifically directed promising composers to the job of writing contemporary music for military band. As part of this festival, Hindemith composed his first work for wind band, the Kozertmusik, op. 41. On July 24, 1926, a complete concert was devoted to four new works for wind band: Hindemith’s Konzertmusik, Krenek’s Three Merry Marches, op. 44, Pepping’s Serenade and Toch’s Spiel, op. 39.
The Konzertmusik, though composed “for amateurs” is of sufficient complexity and difficulty to challenge professional players. The Konzertante-Overture begins with a satirical fanfare, then unfolds a sonata-form-cum-concerto-grosso allegro. The second movement offers six variations of the popular German folk song, “Prince, Eugene, the Noble Knight,” while exploring the various facets of the ensemble. This work concludes with a parody of a German march, a rather tongue-in-cheek presentation of typical band fare of the early twentieth century. Yet, in the opening measures, it becomes very clear that there isn’t anything ordinary about Hindemith’s presentation. In fact, he musically “thumbs his nose” at band traditionalists who would have criticized him for a contemporary treatment of such a revered musical form. The Konzertmusik, op. 41 makes use of an instrumental ensemble that includes tenorhorns and flugelhorns. It is, in fact, a German military band that has been dressed up in Hindemith’s creative melodies, rhythmic energy and brilliant counterpoint.
Below you can find a YouTube recording of the Konzertmusik Op. 41 with the Eastman Wind Ensemble and Donald Hunsberger conducting.
Konzertmusik Op. 41, I. Konzertante Ouverture
Konzertmusik Op. 41, II. Sechs Variationen
Konzertmusik Op. 41, III. Marsch
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Varese "Octandre"
There is a long history in wind music of octet writing dating back to the 18th century harmoniemusik serenades, divertimenti, etc. The Mozart serenades, Beethoven octet, and the Stravinsky octet are just a few of the significant works for eight winds alone. Edgard Varese continued this tradition (albeit in a completely different direction) in 1923 with his "Octandre." The piece has proven to be hugely influential to later composers (as noted in the program notes below) and you should find the recording below both rewarding and enlightening.
Octandre Movement I
Octandre Movement II
Octandre Movement III
Below are program notes from the Berkeley Symphony.
Edgard Victor Achilles Charles Varèse was born on December 22, 1883 in Paris. He died on November 6, 1965 in New York City. Octandre was composed in 1923, and was first heard on January 13, 1924, in a performance sponsored by the International Composers Guild (ICG) at the Vanderbilt Theater in New York conducted by E. Robert Schmitz, the work’s dedicatee. J. Curwen and Sons of London published Octandre in 1924. The piece is scored for eight soloists playing a variety of instruments: flute (alternating with piccolo), oboe, clarinet in B-flat (alternating with clarinet in E-flat), bassoon, horn, trumpet, tenor trombone, and double bass.
Duration ca. 7 min.
Parisian by birth, Edgard Varèse felt his true home to be Burgundy, where he spent much of his hildhood. His family moved to Turin in 1893, and in 1903 he struck off on his own to Paris to study music. There his teachers were Albert Roussel (counterpoint and fugue), Vincent d’Indy (conducting), and Charles-Marie Widor (composition). From 1907 to 1915 he divided his time between Paris (where he came to know Claude Debussy) and Berlin, where he made the acquaintance of Ferruccio Busoni and Arnold Schoenberg. In 1915, he moved to New York City, which was to remain his home base for the rest of his life (he became an American citizen in 1926).
Varèse is regarded as one of the more adventurous composers of his generation, and was a pioneer in the field of electronic music. In the 1920s and 1930s he composed music for such newly invented electronic instruments as the theremin and the ondes martenot. In 1933 he tried, and failed, to raise funds to establish a center for electronic music; only after an anonymous donor gave him an Ampex tape recorder in 1953 was he able to pursue his dream of exploring electronic composition in depth. His
best-known work from this period is the Poème électronique, composed for the Philips pavilion (designed by LeCorbusier) at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair.
Self-critical and perfectionist, Varèse’s output of works is small: only a dozen or so completed compositions survive. As he told an interviewer from the New York Times in December 1923:
I have always been an experimenter. But my experiments go into the wastepaper basket. I give only finished works to the public.
About a month later, Varèse’s Octandre for eight solo instruments had its premiere (the title refers to the biological term for a flower with eight stamens). Octandre is a set of three meticulously crafted miniatures played without a break. The first movement is framed by a plaintive oboe melody that exhibits one of Varèse’s chief stylistic characteristics: a penchant for the interval of the minor second (and by octave extension, the minor ninth) and its inversion, the major seventh. The answering clarinet passage employs another melodic gesture characteristic of Varèse, a series of repeated notes. Reducing the melody to a single pitch allows the composer to focus attention on the rhythmic and coloristic aspects of the music. Indeed, the second movement is a fleet scherzo whose interest comes from rhythmic patterns distributed among ever-changing combinations of instrumental colors. As Paul Griffiths has written in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians:
Varèse’s music is typically composed of parallel streams, each made up of “sound-masses” and silences, but with continuity maintained by the overlapping of the streams.
The third movement opens with a somber introductory passage that leads into a brisk fugal section (the employment of such a traditional form is unusual for Varèse). The fugue subject is then broken into its component parts and subjected to a series of rhythmic transformations, but the original subject returns at the very end to close the work.
Octandre contains many echoes of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, though paradoxically reduced to chamber proportions. For example, the oboe melody that opens Octandre recalls the high bassoon solo that opens the Rite. Some of the metric dislocations heard in the third movement seem to be inspired by “The Glorification of the Chosen One” from Part II of Stravinsky’s masterpiece. But Varèse gave to music history as good as he got, and in spite of his small oeuvre, he played a large role in the development
of the music of the 20th century. A diverse array of later composers, including Pierre Boulez, John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Frank Zappa (who put Octandre at the top of his “desert island” music list) count him as a major influence.
Octandre Movement I
Octandre Movement II
Octandre Movement III
Below are program notes from the Berkeley Symphony.
Edgard Victor Achilles Charles Varèse was born on December 22, 1883 in Paris. He died on November 6, 1965 in New York City. Octandre was composed in 1923, and was first heard on January 13, 1924, in a performance sponsored by the International Composers Guild (ICG) at the Vanderbilt Theater in New York conducted by E. Robert Schmitz, the work’s dedicatee. J. Curwen and Sons of London published Octandre in 1924. The piece is scored for eight soloists playing a variety of instruments: flute (alternating with piccolo), oboe, clarinet in B-flat (alternating with clarinet in E-flat), bassoon, horn, trumpet, tenor trombone, and double bass.
Duration ca. 7 min.
Parisian by birth, Edgard Varèse felt his true home to be Burgundy, where he spent much of his hildhood. His family moved to Turin in 1893, and in 1903 he struck off on his own to Paris to study music. There his teachers were Albert Roussel (counterpoint and fugue), Vincent d’Indy (conducting), and Charles-Marie Widor (composition). From 1907 to 1915 he divided his time between Paris (where he came to know Claude Debussy) and Berlin, where he made the acquaintance of Ferruccio Busoni and Arnold Schoenberg. In 1915, he moved to New York City, which was to remain his home base for the rest of his life (he became an American citizen in 1926).
Varèse is regarded as one of the more adventurous composers of his generation, and was a pioneer in the field of electronic music. In the 1920s and 1930s he composed music for such newly invented electronic instruments as the theremin and the ondes martenot. In 1933 he tried, and failed, to raise funds to establish a center for electronic music; only after an anonymous donor gave him an Ampex tape recorder in 1953 was he able to pursue his dream of exploring electronic composition in depth. His
best-known work from this period is the Poème électronique, composed for the Philips pavilion (designed by LeCorbusier) at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair.
Self-critical and perfectionist, Varèse’s output of works is small: only a dozen or so completed compositions survive. As he told an interviewer from the New York Times in December 1923:
I have always been an experimenter. But my experiments go into the wastepaper basket. I give only finished works to the public.
About a month later, Varèse’s Octandre for eight solo instruments had its premiere (the title refers to the biological term for a flower with eight stamens). Octandre is a set of three meticulously crafted miniatures played without a break. The first movement is framed by a plaintive oboe melody that exhibits one of Varèse’s chief stylistic characteristics: a penchant for the interval of the minor second (and by octave extension, the minor ninth) and its inversion, the major seventh. The answering clarinet passage employs another melodic gesture characteristic of Varèse, a series of repeated notes. Reducing the melody to a single pitch allows the composer to focus attention on the rhythmic and coloristic aspects of the music. Indeed, the second movement is a fleet scherzo whose interest comes from rhythmic patterns distributed among ever-changing combinations of instrumental colors. As Paul Griffiths has written in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians:
Varèse’s music is typically composed of parallel streams, each made up of “sound-masses” and silences, but with continuity maintained by the overlapping of the streams.
The third movement opens with a somber introductory passage that leads into a brisk fugal section (the employment of such a traditional form is unusual for Varèse). The fugue subject is then broken into its component parts and subjected to a series of rhythmic transformations, but the original subject returns at the very end to close the work.
Octandre contains many echoes of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, though paradoxically reduced to chamber proportions. For example, the oboe melody that opens Octandre recalls the high bassoon solo that opens the Rite. Some of the metric dislocations heard in the third movement seem to be inspired by “The Glorification of the Chosen One” from Part II of Stravinsky’s masterpiece. But Varèse gave to music history as good as he got, and in spite of his small oeuvre, he played a large role in the development
of the music of the 20th century. A diverse array of later composers, including Pierre Boulez, John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Frank Zappa (who put Octandre at the top of his “desert island” music list) count him as a major influence.
Band Concerts Tonight (7/4)
In special Independence Day concerts, you can hear the Navy Band perform at the Independence Day Celebration at 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and the Air Force Band at the Air Force Memorial at 8:00 PM in Arlington, VA. The Navy Concert Band will perform at 6:00 between the Sylvan Theater and the Washington Monument and the Commodores (jazz ensemble) will be performing at 8:00 PM with Jane Monheit. Happy Independence Day!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Bruckner Mass in E Minor
One of the most beautiful and powerful works for winds ever composed is certainly Anton Bruckner's "Mass in E Minor." The piece is the second of Bruckner's masses and used winds exclusively in the orchestra because of the outdoor performance space. The setting is of the Ordinary--Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei.
Below are program notes by Barry Creasy, Chairman of the Collegium Musicum of London.
Like Dvorák, Bruckner was born to peasants and came to music early in life. His mother and father were involved in musical activities in their home village of Ansfelden, near Linz, in Upper Austria. At the age of four he took organ lessons and went on to study musical theory at the age of eleven. In spite of this early encouragement, Bruckner developed his skill and reputation slowly. Following the death of his father, he became a chorister in a local monastery and then trained to become a teacher. In 1855, he applied to study at the conservatoire in Vienna and then moved to Linz where he studied with Simon Sechter and later with Otto Kitzler. Although Bruckner is mostly known today for his vast symphonies (his symphonic style influenced much by his hero, Wagner), his earlier life saw the composition of many small-scale religious works for organ and for chorus. These works are almost like a concentration of the symphonies – using the same chromatic style and development in a fraction of the time.
The E minor Mass, Bruckner's first recognised masterpiece (along with the First Symphony) was completed 1866 and had its first performance outside Linz Cathedral in September of 1869; it is dedicated to Bruckner's friend and patron Bishop Rudiger of Linz. The E minor Mass stands apart from Bruckner's other two masses and, indeed, from almost all other 19th century liturgical music, by virtue of the forces it employs and its peculiarly expressive harmonic and contrapuntal language. It is scored for eight-part mixed chorus and a wind band of two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets and three trombones. The work illustrates more succinctly than any other Bruckner's unique style – combining the simplicity of expression, devoutness, restraint, poignancy and austere power of Italian Renaissance polyphony with the romantic, fully Brucknerian harmony, bold motivic development and powerful combinations and contrasts of vocal and instrumental texture.
Barry Creasy
Chairman
Collegium Musicum of London
Below is a performance by the Oklahoma City University wind philharmonic and festival choir, but it is notably missing the Credo. You can listen to a Naxos recording (UMD students only) here and access a recording at Amazon for download or purchase here. Enjoy!
Mass in E Minor, Kyrie
Mass in E Minor, Gloria
Mass in E Minor, Sanctus
Mass in E Minor, Benedictus
Mass in E Minor, Agnus Dei
You can find background information on the Ordinary of the Mass and the Mass in E Minor below.
Wikipedia article on the Ordinary of the Mass
Wikipedia article on "Mass in E Minor"
Review of the Bruckner Mass from a 2008 Houston Symphony and Chorus performance
Below are program notes by Barry Creasy, Chairman of the Collegium Musicum of London.
Like Dvorák, Bruckner was born to peasants and came to music early in life. His mother and father were involved in musical activities in their home village of Ansfelden, near Linz, in Upper Austria. At the age of four he took organ lessons and went on to study musical theory at the age of eleven. In spite of this early encouragement, Bruckner developed his skill and reputation slowly. Following the death of his father, he became a chorister in a local monastery and then trained to become a teacher. In 1855, he applied to study at the conservatoire in Vienna and then moved to Linz where he studied with Simon Sechter and later with Otto Kitzler. Although Bruckner is mostly known today for his vast symphonies (his symphonic style influenced much by his hero, Wagner), his earlier life saw the composition of many small-scale religious works for organ and for chorus. These works are almost like a concentration of the symphonies – using the same chromatic style and development in a fraction of the time.
The E minor Mass, Bruckner's first recognised masterpiece (along with the First Symphony) was completed 1866 and had its first performance outside Linz Cathedral in September of 1869; it is dedicated to Bruckner's friend and patron Bishop Rudiger of Linz. The E minor Mass stands apart from Bruckner's other two masses and, indeed, from almost all other 19th century liturgical music, by virtue of the forces it employs and its peculiarly expressive harmonic and contrapuntal language. It is scored for eight-part mixed chorus and a wind band of two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets and three trombones. The work illustrates more succinctly than any other Bruckner's unique style – combining the simplicity of expression, devoutness, restraint, poignancy and austere power of Italian Renaissance polyphony with the romantic, fully Brucknerian harmony, bold motivic development and powerful combinations and contrasts of vocal and instrumental texture.
Barry Creasy
Chairman
Collegium Musicum of London
Below is a performance by the Oklahoma City University wind philharmonic and festival choir, but it is notably missing the Credo. You can listen to a Naxos recording (UMD students only) here and access a recording at Amazon for download or purchase here. Enjoy!
Mass in E Minor, Kyrie
Mass in E Minor, Gloria
Mass in E Minor, Sanctus
Mass in E Minor, Benedictus
Mass in E Minor, Agnus Dei
You can find background information on the Ordinary of the Mass and the Mass in E Minor below.
Wikipedia article on the Ordinary of the Mass
Wikipedia article on "Mass in E Minor"
Review of the Bruckner Mass from a 2008 Houston Symphony and Chorus performance
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