Concert band - Grade 4
SKU:
MH.0-931329-53-1
Composed by Gregory
B.Rudgers. Suitable for
high school, community,
and college bands.
Conductor score and set
of parts. Duration 7:30.
Published by Manhattan
Beach Music
(MH.0-931329-53-1).
ISBN
9780931329531.
Jour
ney back to ancient
Greece and view a place
of long-gone legend.
Follow the trail to the
Kingdom of Ithaca, from
the heroic palace, to a
place of tranquility, to
a reckless dance of
abandon, to the return of
Odysseus. The melodic
material used in 200 B.C.
is from a two thousand
year old Greek hymn to
Apollo. The legendary
adventures of Odysseus as
described by Homer in the
Odyssey (ca. 700 B.C.)
provide the programmatic
material. The music is
freely based upon the
First Delphic Hymn (or
Paen to Apollo), composed
ca. 200 B.C. The source
is a transcription
appearing on pages 363 -
367 of Ancient and
Oriental Music, Edited by
Egon Wellesz (Oxford
University Press: London,
1957). Each movement of
the work depicts a key
event in the epic Homeric
poem, as described below.
Movement I: Intrada - The
first four notes of this
movement, C - Bb - G -
Bb, are the melodic and
harmonic foundation for
the entire work. These
pitches, introduced in a
simple and direct manner,
are subsequently
developed in more complex
fashions throughout the
suite. Following this
stately introduction is a
militaristic fanfare that
introduces the
dotted-eighth and
sixteenth-note figure
later reprised in the
second and fourth
movements. Indeed, all
the musical ideas which
will be central to the
remaining movements first
appear in the Intrada.
This movement depicts the
grandeur of Odysseus and
his kingdom in Ithaca,
and establishes the
heroic mood of the entire
work. Movement II: Ballad
- After a brief
restatement of the
opening
dotted-eighth-and-sixteen
th fanfare, the second
movement extracts the
falling third (Bb to G)
from the C - Bb - G - Bb
motif and extends it and
expands it into a
haunting solo for alto
saxophone. The C - Bb - G
- Bb motif appears again
(see measures 23 - 33 in
trumpets) as counterpoint
to this melody, now
pulsing through the thick
texture of the band. Many
performers have come to
view the Ballad as the
emotional epicenter of
the entire suite; my
conception of the Ballad
is to achieve a union of
pathos and strength.
Programmatically, this
movement depicts
Odysseus's son,
Telemachos, as he both
longs for Odysseus's
return and stoically
defends his father's
kingdom. Movement III:
Dance - It will take
Odysseus twenty years to
return to Ithaca. During
his absence, noblemen
besiege his palace,
violating the sanctity of
the household and seeking
the hand of his wife,
Penelope. This movement
depicts the wanton
revelries that result.
The original four-note
motif is chromatically
altered and the meter is
made irregular. The rapid
tempo, driving
percussion, and angular
meter and melodies
combine in an explosion
of reckless abandon.
Movement IV: March
Building from a delicate
woodwind ensemble
accompanied by finger
cymbals to a fully
orchestrated statement
replete with thundering
percussion, this is a
resounding march of
victory. Odysseus has
returned in triumph to
restore dignity to his
household and to reclaim
the throne of the Kingdom
of Ithaca. Ensemble
instrumentation: 1
Piccolo, 8 Flute 1 - 2, 2
Oboe 1 - 2, 4 Bb Clarinet
1, 4 Bb Clarinet 2, 4 Bb
Clarinet 3, 1 Eb Alto
Clarinet, 3 Bb Bass
Clarinet, 2 Bassoon 1 -
2, 3 Eb Alto Saxophone 1,
3 Eb Alto Saxophone 2, 2
Bb Tenor Saxophone, 1 Eb
Baritone Saxophone, 3 Bb
Trumpet 1, 3 Bb Trumpet
2, 3 Bb Trumpet 3, 2 F
Horn 1-2, 2 F Horn 3-4, 2
Trombone 1, 2 Trombone 2,
2 Trombone 3, 3 Euphonium
(B.C.), 2 Euphonium T.C.,
4 Tuba, 1 Timpani, 2
Mallet Percussion: Bells,
Xylophone, 2 Percussion
1: Snare Drum,
Tambourine, 2 Percussion
2: Crash Cymbals,
Suspended Cymbal,
Tom-Tom, Finger Cymbals,
1 Percussion 3: Bass
Drum.
