Ambush (2021) - Dakota Pederson (b. 1999)
When Jesus Wept (1956/1959) - William Schuman (1910-1992)
Riptides (2020) - Katahj Copley (b. 1998)
Shenandoah (2019) - Omar Thomas (b. 1984)
Perpetua (2019) - Peter Meechan (b. 1980)
Amparito Roca (1925/1935) - Jaime Texidor (1884-1957)/arr. Winter
Ambush (2021)
Ambush is a work that describes the fight of war, and recounts a flanking ambush set out by soldiers as they close in on a victory. A fiery chord opens the work and is followed by a strict melody which is expressed through precise articulation. Strong harmonies in the brass and bold melodies throughout make this piece a fierce statement of war and victory.
- Program Note by composer
Association of Concert Bands Young Composers Composition Competition, 2020, winner
When Jesus Wept (1956/1959)
As written for orchestra, the second movement, When Jesus Wept, begins with a solo by bassoon and soon after the bassoon is accompanied by oboe. Schuman's reworking of the composition for concert band uses solo euphonium and trumpet instead of the bassoon and oboe. When Jesus Wept is in the form of a round and uses Billings's music in its original form.
When Jesus wept, the falling tear
in mercy flowed beyond all bound;
when Jesus mourned, a trembling fear
seized all the guilty world around.
This composition is a transcription by the composer from his New England Triptych: Three Pieces for Orchestra after William Billings, of which When Jesus Wept is the second movement. 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. New England Triptychdoes not constitute a fantasy on themes of Billings, nor variations on his themes, but rather a fusion of styles and musical language.”
Schuman used the text of the hymn in its original round form, and the movement functions as the central prelude to the third movement, Chester. The composition calls for controlled, sensitive, legato playing from the ensemble. The solo euphonium and trumpet parts are demanding in range, color, and intonation. When performed in succession, the composer wished for movements two and three to be performed virtually attacca.
- Program Notes by Jennifer Daffinee
Riptides (2020)
Throughout Earth’s time, many myths about what the ocean contains have emerged. Mermaids, sea monsters and creatures of the unknown are expected to be dwelling under the sea. In 1721, Hans Egede, a Dano-Norwegian missionary, set sail to Godthåb, the largest city on the western coast of Greenland. On this voyage, he observed:
“[the] most terrible creature resembling nothing they saw before. The monster lifted its head so high that it seemed to be higher than the crow’s nest on the mainmast. The head was small and the body short and wrinkled. The unknown creature was using giant fins which propelled it though the water. Later the sailors saw its tail as well. The monster was longer than the whole ship.”
The deepest point ever reached by man is 35,858 feet below sea level, which happens to be the deepest known point on Earth’s ocean floor. Around 700 feet below sea level, light disappears; therefore, the rest of the journey to the bottom of the hydrosphere is in complete darkness through the unknown.
After learning about Egede and his voyage, I realized how fearful the ocean can be and how little we know about it. I began composing Riptides to depict my exploration of the Ocean. The piece begins with a call to the sea and develops into its melody, which is surrounded by a scheme of danger. As Riptides continues, the energy races through this quality of danger and fear, represented by a mermaid call. The piece is built on eccentric percussion instruments such as the conch shell horn, ocean drums and thumb rolls on the timpani and bass drum. Decorated elements such as dissonant textures and glissando techniques are used, differing from any other piece I have written thus far. As the frantic thrill continues to the pivotal point of the piece, Riptides takes a voyage to the deepest parts of the unknown -- of the unfamiliar.
- Program Note by Ann Wilson
Shenandoah (2019)
Omar Thomas is an American composer, arranger, and educator. He completed his undergraduate work in music education at James Madison University and earned his master’s degree in jazz composition from the New England Conservatory in Boston. He joined the faculty of the Berklee College of Music as an assistant professor while still working on his master’s degree, and is currently Assistant Professor of Composition in the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin.
Folk music has been a popular source of inspiration in wind band literature for over one hundred years and the folk song “Shenandoah” has been adapted for wind band numerous times. Thomas’s piece takes the folk song in a bit of a different direction; he describes the piece as “at times mysterious, somewhat ominous, constantly introspective, and deeply soulful,” and also remarks that it shows the Shenandoah Valley “not bathed in golden sunlight, but blanketed by low-hanging clouds and experiencing intermittent periods of heavy rainfall.” The piece was commissioned by a consortium led by the University of Maryland Wind Ensemble, and was premiered by that ensemble in May of 2019.
Perpetua (2019)
Peter Meechan is a Canadian-based British composer. He studied undergraduate composition at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, UK, and completed his Master of Arts and PhD (composition) at the University of Salford, Manchester, UK. His music has been commissioned, recorded, broadcast and performed by some of the world’s leading symphony orchestras, wind orchestras, brass bands, conductors and soloists, including: “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, The United States Air Force Band, and The United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own.”
Perpetua was written in 2019, between two other pieces Meechan was writing with darker subject matter, Close to the Sun and let this place. As a contrast to these two pieces, it is purposely joyful, and is “perpetually” moving. Meechan says that, as opposed to “what I saw around me … Perpetua is the world I want to live in.”
Perpetua was commissioned by Foothills Concert Band (Calgary, AB, Canada) and their conductor, Anthony Reimer.
American Bandmasters Association Sousa/Ostwald Prize, 2022, winner
Amparito Roca (1925/1935)
This Spanish pasodoble march was written by Spanish bandleader and composer Jaime Texidor. The introduction and first strain are indicative of a bullfighter’s music, whereas the gentle, lighthearted trio section takes on the character of a couples dance, evoking the other essential element of the pasodoble. The powerful brass in the dogfight (bullfight), and the tutti texture of the final section bring this piece to a grand conclusion.
- Program Note by arranger
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