Halcyon Hearts
Katahj Copley (b. 1998)
Love does not delight in evil
but rejoices with the truth,
It always protects, always trusts,
always hopes, always perseveres
Love never fails.
Halcyon Hearts is an ode to love and how it affects us all. Halcyon denotes a time where a person is ideally happy or at peace, so in short Halcyon Hearts is about the moment of peace when one finds their love or passion.
The piece centers around major 7th and warm colors to represent the warmth that love bring us. The introduction – which is sudden and colorful – symbolizes the feeling of the unexpected journey it takes to find love. Using the colors and natural energy of the ensemble, we create this sound of ambition and passion throughput the work. No matter what race, gender, religion, nationality or love, we all are united with the common thread of passion from the heart. This piece was written in dedication to those who love no matter which negativity is in the world; do not allow hate and prejudice to guide the way we live our lives. Always choose love and the halcyon days will come.
- Program Note from score
Sleep
Eric Whitacre (b. 1970)
Sleep began its life as an a-capella choral setting, with a magnificent original poem by Charles Anthony Silvestri. The choral-like nature and warm harmonies seemed to call out for the simple and plaintive sound of the winds, and I thought that it might make a gorgeous addition ot the wind symphony repertoire. Sleep can be performed as a work for band, or band and mixed chorus.
- Program Note from wind score
In the winter of 1999, Ms. Julia Armstrong, a lawyer and professional mezzo-soprano living in Austin, Texas, contacted me. She wanted to commission a choral work from me to be premiered by the Austin Pro Chorus (Kinley Lange, conductor), a terrific chorus with whom she regularly performed.
The circumstances around the commission were amazing. She wanted to commission the piece in memory of her parents, who had died within weeks of each other after more than fifty years of marriage; and she wanted me to set her favorite poem, Robert Frost's immortal "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". I was deeply moved by the spirit and her request, and agreed to take on the commission.
I took my time with the piece, crafting it note by note until I felt that it was exactly the way I wanted it. The poem is perfect, truly a gem, and my general approach was to try to get out of the way of the words, and let them work their magic. We premiered the work in Austin, October 2000, and it was well received. Rene Clausen gave Stopping By Woods a glorious performance at the ACDA National Convention in the spring of 2001, and soon after I began receiving hundreds of letters, emails and phone calls from conductors trying to get ahold of the work.
And here was my tragic mistake: I never secured permission to use the poem. Robert Frost's poetry has been under tight control from his estate since his death, and until a few years ago only Randall Thompson (Frostiana) had been given permission to set his poetry. In 1997, out of the blue, the estate released a number of titles, and at least twenty composers set and published Stopping by Woods for chorus. When I looked on line and saw all of these new and different settings, I naturally (and naively) assumed that it was open to anyone. Little did I know that, just months before, the Robert Frost Estate had taken the decision to deny ANY use of the poem, ostensibly because of this plethora of new settings.
After a LONG battle of legalities back and forth, the Estate of Robert Frost and their publisher, Henry Holt Inc., sternly and formally forbade me to use the poem for publication or performance until the poem would become public domain in 2038.
I was crushed. The piece was dead, and would sit under my bed for the next 37 years as a result of rulings by heirs and lawyers. After many discussion with my wife, I decided that I would ask my friend and brilliant poet Charles Anthony Silvestri (Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine, Lux Aurumque) to set new words to the music I had already written. This was an enormous task, because I was asking him to not only write a poem that had the exact structure of the Frost poem, but that it would even incorporate key words from Stopping By Woods, like 'sleep'. Tony wrote an absolutely exquisite poem, finding a completely different (but equally beautiful) message in the music I had already written.
And there it is. My setting of Robert Frost's Stopping By Woods no longer exists. I am supremely proud of this new work, and my only regret in all of this was that I was way too innocent in my assumption that lawyers and heirs would understand something as simple and delicate as the choral art.
- Program Notes by composer
Courtly Airs and Dances
Ron Nelson (1929-2023)
Courtly Airs and Dances is a suite of Renaissance dances which were characteristic to five European countries during the 1500s. Three of the dances (Basse Dance, Pavane, and Allemande) are meant to emulate the music of Claude Gervaise by drawing on the style of his music as well as the characteristics of other compositions from that period. The festival opens with a fanfare-like Intrada followed by the Basse Danse (France), Pavane (England), Saltarello (Italy), Sarabande (Spain), and Allemande (Germany).
The work was commissioned by the Hill Country Middle School Band from Austin, Texas, Cheryl Floyd, director.
- Program Note by composer
Sweet Land of Liberty
James Sochinski (1947-2022)
"From the breathless introduction to the touching chorale on America,... this patriotic fantasy is truly a memorable salute to the spirit and heritage of our great nation.” Composer James Sochinski adds, “This tribute to America was written in honor of the memory of my paternal grandfather, an Ellis Island immigrant who settled in New York City to raise his family. He truly loved being an American, the Yankees, Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July, and everything about his sweet land of liberty.”
- Program note by composer
Overture for Winds, op. 24
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809–1847)
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 an 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 bands 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
Strike!
Kyriaki Gkoudina (b. 1990)
Strike! was written with one idea in mind: joy. I wanted the performers to enjoy playing it, and the audience to enjoy listening to it without much thinking behind it; Strike! is written for the sheer enjoyment of the moment.
La fiesta mexicana
H. Owen Reed (1910-2014)
In 1948, H. Owen Reed spent six months in Mexico while on a Guggenheim Fellowship, during which time he studied folk music and composed. La Fiesta Mexicana was a result of his time in the country and reflects his observations of the culture. The composer provides these comments:
Prelude and Aztec Dance — The tolling of the church bells at midnight officially announces the opening of the Fiesta, which has previously been unofficially announced by the setting off of fireworks, the drinking of tequila and pulque, and the migration of thousands of Mexicans and Indians to the center of activity — the high court surrounding the cathedral. After a brave effort at gaiety, the celebrators settle down to a restless night, until the early quiet of the Mexican morning is once more shattered by the church bells and fireworks. At mid-morning a band is heard in the distance. However, attention is soon focused upon the Aztec dancers, brilliantly plumed and masked, who dance in ever-increasing frenzy to a dramatic climax.
The second movement, Mass, presents the tolling of the bells, reminding that the Fiesta is a religious celebration. The rich and poor slowly gather within the walls of the old cathedral for contemplation and worship. Mexico is at its best on the days of the Fiesta in which passion governs the love, hate and joy of the Mestizo and the Indio. The third movement, Carnival, reflects the entertainment for both young and old — the itinerant circus, the market, the bullfight, the town band, and always the cantinas with their band of mariachis.
La Fiesta Mexicana received its premiere performance in 1949 by the U. S. Marine Band conducted by Lt. Col. William F. Santelmann.
- Program Note from The Crane School of Music
Dance of the Jesters
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Dance of the Jesters is a prime example of Tchaikovsky’s keen sense of musical nationalism. Originally composed as incidental music for the ballet The Snow Maidens, the dance forever captures the color and zest of Russian folk dance music. The ballet about the Snow Maiden, the daughter of Father Frost, tells of her forbidden love with a human, Misgir, who is already betrothed to Coupava. The Snow Maiden follows him southward with plans to interrupt his wedding, but tragically melts under the rays of the southern sun.
Upon meeting Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1868, Tchaikovsky renewed his keen sense of musical nationalism. Inspired by the master composer, Tchaikovsky's compositional style would forever capture the color and zest of Russian folk dance and music. The flurry, energetic drive and playful melodies associated with his ballet scores are all heard in this rare and invigorating music. This edition comes from an arrangement from the ballet The Snow Maidens that was originally transcribed for a Russian military band.
- Program Note from transcriber