Return to Wind River

SKU: PR.46500013L

UPC: 680160600151. 11 x 14 inches.

I n 1803, President Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clarks Corps of Discovery to find a water route to the Pacific and explore the uncharted West. He believed woolly mammoths, erupting volcanoes, and mountains of pure salt awaited them. What they found was no less mind-boggling: some 300 species unknown to science, nearly 50 Indian tribes, and the Rockies. I have been a student of the Lewis and Clark expedition, which Thomas Jefferson called the Voyage of Discovery, for as long as I can remember. This astonishing journey, lasting more than two-and-a-half years, began and ended in St. Louis, Missouri and took the travelers up more than a few rivers in their quest to find the Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean. In an age without speedy communication, this was akin to space travel out of radio range in our own time: no one knew if, indeed, the party had even survived the voyage for more than a year. Most of them were soldiers. A few were French-Canadian voyageurs hired trappers and explorers, who were fluent in French (spoken extensively in the region, due to earlier explorers from France) and in some of the Indian languages they might encounter. One of the voyageurs, a man named Pierre Cruzatte, also happened to be a better-than-average fiddle player. In many respects, the travelers were completely on their own for supplies and survival, yet, incredibly, only one of them died during the voyage. Jefferson had outfitted them with food, weapons, medicine, and clothing and along with other trinkets, a box of 200 jaw harps to be used in trading with the Indians. Their trip was long, perilous to the point of near catastrophe, and arduous. The dream of a Northwest Passage proved ephemeral, but the northwestern quarter of the continent had finally been explored, mapped, and described to an anxious world. When the party returned to St. Louis in 1806, and with the Louisiana Purchase now part of the United States, they were greeted as national heroes. I have written a sizeable number of works for wind ensemble that draw their inspiration from the monumental spaces found in the American West. Four of them (Arches, The Yellowstone Fires, Glacier, and Zion) take their names, and in large part their being, from actual national parks in Utah, Wyoming, and Montana. But Upriver, although it found its voice (and its finale) in the magnificent Columbia Gorge in Oregon, is about a much larger region. This piece, like its brother works about the national parks, doesnt try to tell a story. Instead, it captures the flavor of a certain time, and of a grand adventure. Cast in one continuous movement and lasting close to fourteen minutes, the piece falls into several subsections, each with its own heading: The Dream (in which Jeffersons vision of a vast expanse of western land is opened); The Promise, a chorale that re-appears several times in the course of the piece and represents the seriousness of the presidential mission; The River; The Voyageurs; The River II ; Death and Disappointment; Return to the Voyage; and The River III . The music includes several quoted melodies, one of which is familiar to everyone as the ultimate river song, and which becomes the through-stream of the work. All of the quoted tunes were either sung by the men on the voyage, or played by Cruzattes fiddle. From various journals and diaries, we know the men found enjoyment and solace in music, and almost every night encampment had at least a bit of music in it. In addition to Cruzatte, there were two other members of the party who played the fiddle, and others made do with singing, or playing upon sticks, bones, the ever-present jaw harps, and boat horns. From Lewis journals, I found all the tunes used in Upriver: Shenandoah (still popular after more than 200 years), Vla bon vent, Soldiers Joy, Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier, Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy (a hymn sung to the tune Beech Spring) and Fishers Hornpipe. The work follows an emotional journey: not necessarily step-by-step with the Voyage of Discovery heroes, but a kind of grand arch. Beginning in the mists of history and myth, traversing peaks and valleys both real and emotional (and a solemn funeral scene), finding help from native people, and recalling their zeal upon finding the one great river that will, in fact, take them to the Pacific. When the men finally roar through the Columbia Gorge in their boats (a feat that even the Indians had not attempted), the magnificent river combines its theme with the chorale of Jeffersons Promise. The Dream is fulfilled: not quite the one Jefferson had imagined (there is no navigable water passage from the Missouri to the Pacific), but the dream of a continental destiny.

SKU: PR.16500104F

ISBN 9781491132159. UPC: 680160681082.

Ever since the success of my series of wind ensemble works Places in the West, I've been wanting to write a companion piece for national parks on the other side of the north American continent. The earlier work, consisting of GLACIER, THE YELLOWSTONE FIRES, ARCHES, and ZION, spanned some twenty years of my composing life, and since the pieces called for differing groups of instruments, and were in slightly different styles from each other, I never considered them to be connected except in their subject matter. In their depiction of both the scenery and the human history within these wondrous places, they had a common goal: awaking the listener to the fragile beauty that is in them; and calling attention to the ever more crucial need for preservation and protection of these wild places, unique in all the world. With this new work, commissioned by a consortium of college and conservatory wind ensembles led by the University of Georgia, I decided to build upon that same model---but to solidify the process. The result, consisting of three movements (each named for a different national park in the eastern US), is a bona-fide symphony. While the three pieces could be performed separately, they share a musical theme---and also a common style and instrumentation. It is a true symphony, in that the first movement is long and expository, the second is a rather tightly structured scherzo-with-trio, and the finale is a true culmination of the whole. The first movement, Everglades, was the original inspiration for the entire symphony. Conceived over the course of two trips to that astonishing place (which the native Americans called River of Grass, the subtitle of this movement), this movement not only conveys a sense of the humid, lush, and even frightening scenery there---but also an overview of the entire settling-of- Florida experience. It contains not one, but two native American chants, and also presents a view of the staggering influence of modern man on this fragile part of the world. Beginning with a slow unfolding marked Heavy, humid, the music soon presents a gentle, lyrical theme in the solo alto saxophone. This theme, which goes through three expansive phrases with breaks in between, will appear in all three movements of the symphony. After the mood has been established, the music opens up to a rich, warm setting of a Cherokee morning song, with the simple happiness that this part of Florida must have had prior to the nineteenth century. This music, enveloping and comforting, gradually gives way to a more frenetic, driven section representative of the intrusion of the white man. Since Florida was populated and developed largely due to the introduction of a train system, there's a suggestion of the mechanized iron horse driving straight into the heartland. At that point, the native Americans become considerably less gentle, and a second chant seems to stand in the way of the intruder; a kind of warning song. The second part of this movement shows us the great swampy center of the peninsula, with its wildlife both in and out of the water. A new theme appears, sad but noble, suggesting that this land is precious and must be protected by all the people who inhabit it. At length, the morning song reappears in all its splendor, until the sunset---with one last iteration of the warning song in the solo piccolo. Functioning as a scherzo, the second movement, Great Smoky Mountains, describes not just that huge park itself, but one brave soul's attempt to climb a mountain there. It begins with three iterations of the UR-theme (which began the first movement as well), but this time as up-tempo brass fanfares in octaves. Each time it begins again, the theme is a little slower and less confident than the previous time---almost as though the hiker were becoming aware of the daunting mountain before him. But then, a steady, quick-pulsed ostinato appears, in a constantly shifting meter system of 2/4- 3/4 in alteration, and the hike has begun. Over this, a slower new melody appears, as the trek up the mountain progresses. It's a big mountain, and the ascent seems to take quite awhile, with little breaks in the hiker's stride, until at length he simply must stop and rest. An oboe solo, over several free cadenza-like measures, allows us (and our friend the hiker) to catch our breath, and also to view in the distance the rocky peak before us. The goal is somehow even more daunting than at first, being closer and thus more frighteningly steep. When we do push off again, it's at a slower pace, and with more careful attention to our footholds as we trek over broken rocks. Tantalizing little views of the valley at every switchback make our determination even stronger. Finally, we burst through a stand of pines and----we're at the summit! The immensity of the view is overwhelming, and ultimately humbling. A brief coda, while we sit dazed on the rocks, ends the movement in a feeling of triumph. The final movement, Acadia, is also about a trip. In the summer of 2014, I took a sailing trip with a dear friend from North Haven, Maine, to the southern coast of Mt. Desert Island in Acadia National Park. The experience left me both exuberant and exhausted, with an appreciation for the ocean that I hadn't had previously. The approach to Acadia National Park by water, too, was thrilling: like the difference between climbing a mountain on foot with riding up on a ski-lift, I felt I'd earned the right to be there. The music for this movement is entirely based on the opening UR-theme. There's a sense of the water and the mysterious, quiet deep from the very beginning, with seagulls and bell buoys setting the scene. As we leave the harbor, the theme (in a canon between solo euphonium and tuba) almost seems as if large subaquatic animals are observing our departure. There are three themes (call them A, B and C) in this seafaring journey---but they are all based on the UR theme, in its original form with octaves displaced, in an upside-down form, and in a backwards version as well. (The ocean, while appearing to be unchanging, is always changing.) We move out into the main channel (A), passing several islands (B), until we reach the long draw that parallels the coastline called Eggemoggin Reach, and a sudden burst of new speed (C). Things suddenly stop, as if the wind had died, and we have a vision: is that really Mt. Desert Island we can see off the port bow, vaguely in the distance? A chorale of saxophones seems to suggest that. We push off anew as the chorale ends, and go through all three themes again---but in different instrumentations, and different keys. At the final tack-turn, there it is, for real: Mt. Desert Island, big as life. We've made it. As we pull into the harbor, where we'll secure the boat for the night, there's a feeling of achievement. Our whale and dolphin friends return, and we end our journey with gratitude and celebration. I am profoundly grateful to Jaclyn Hartenberger, Professor of Conducting at the University of Georgia, for leading the consortium which provided the commissioning of this work.

SKU: CL.012-4559-75

Mark Twain's colorful characters come to musical life in A Tom Sawyer Portrait! The journey begins in St. Petersburg, Missouri, with a jaunty musical portrayal of Tom and Huck and a ragtime sequence which depicts the sleepy river town. An Americana-style ballad follows that is tender, lyrical and poignant. This segues into a no holds barred blues section representing the mighty Mississippi. The Portrait concludes with our heroes' return, featuring a recap of the opening theme augmented in the brass and accompanied by woodwind runs and exciting percussion. This is a great selection for the concert band that demands solid musicianship but will reward students for their efforts!

SKU: HL.44012269

UPC: 888680057640. 9.0x12.0x0.118 inches. English-German-French-Dutch.

Golden Winds was commissioned by Jugendblasorchester Schramberg, Germany, to celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2012. They gave the premiere, conducted by Andreas Hirt, at their Christmas concert that year.The work opens with a nervously energetic theme in the lower woodwinds, which is developed in canon and builds to climax for the whole band. The mood subsides to introduce a meditative section featuring first the clarinets and then a rich, chorale-like theme which grows into a passionate tutti. This then leads to the main body of the piece, a rhythmic vivo, which introduces its main theme quietly before it is taken up by the full band. A brief bridge passage thenintroduces a muscular second subject which develops until the bridge passage reappears to lead to a repeat of the main theme. This is transformed to herald a return of the opening bars of the piece, which now bring the work to a celebratory close.

Golden Winds werd geschreven in opdracht van het Jugendblasorchester Schramberg uit Duitsland, dat in 2012 zijn vijftigjarig bestaan vierde. Het orkest bracht het werk in premiere tijdens het kerstconcert van het jubileumjaar, onder leiding van dirigent Andreas Hirt.De compositie begint met een koortsachtig, energiek thema in het lage hout. Dit ontvouwt zich vervolgens tot een canon, die uitmondt in een door het complete orkest uitgevoerd hoogtepunt. De muziek wordt rustiger van sfeer en er ontwikkelt zich een meditatieve passage, aanvankelijk gespeeld door de klarinetten, waarna een rijk, koraalachtig thema uitgroeit tot een gepassioneerd tutti. Het centralegedeelte van het werk, een ritmisch vivo, introduceert het hoofdthema, eerst zachtjes en dan weerklinkend in het hele orkest. Een kort fragment leidt een krachtig tweede motief in, waarop wordt voortgebouwd totdat de bridgepassage opnieuw opduikt en ons meevoert naar een herhaling van het hoofdthema. Dat ondergaat een transformatie en kondigt dan de terugkeer van de openingsmaten aan, waarmee het werk op feestelijke wijze wordt afgesloten.

Golden Winds wurde zum 50-jahrigen Jubilaum des Jugendblasorchesters Schramberg in Auftrag gegeben. Die Premiere fand beim Weihnachtskonzert selbigen Jahres unter der Leitung von Andreas Hirt statt.Das Werk setzt mit einem Thema voll gespannter Energie in den tiefen Holzblasern ein, das kanonisch weiterentwickelt wird und sich zu einem Hohepunkt fur das gesamte Orchester aufbaut. Diese Stimmung klingt ab zugunsten eines meditativen Abschnitts, der zunachst die Klarinetten in den Vordergrund ruckt und dann ein volltonendes, choralartiges Thema, das zu einem leidenschaftlichen Tutti anschwillt. Dieses fuhrt zum Hauptteil des Stuckes, einem rhythmischen Vivo, das seinHauptthema leise vorstellt, bevor es vom gesamten Orchester aufgenommen wird. Eine kurze Uberleitung prasentiert ein kraftvolles zweites Thema, das weiterentwickelt wird bis die Uberleitung zuruckkehrt und die Wiederholung des Hauptthemas bewirkt. Dieses verwandelt sich in eine Ankundigung der Eroffnungstakte, die das Werk nun zu einem festlichen Schluss fuhren.

Golden Winds est une commande de l'Harmonie des Jeunes de Schramberg, en Allemagne, pour marquer son cinquantenaire en 2012. L'orchestre a cree cette piece sous la direction d'Andreas Hirt lors de son concert de Noel la meme annee.La piece s'ouvre sur un theme nerveux et energique joue dans le registre grave des bois qui se developpe en canon et s'amplifie pour arriver a un climax avec l'orchestre entier. L'ambiance s'apaise pour introduire un passage contemplatif qui met en avant d'abord les clarinettes, puis un theme opulent en forme de choral qui se transforme en un tutti ardent. Celui-ci mene au corps de la piece, un vivo rythme qui introduit doucement son themeprincipal avant une reprise par l'orchestre entier. Un court passage de transition introduit alors un second sujet muscle qui se developpe jusqu'a la reapparition du passage de transition pour mener a une reprise du theme principal. Ce theme se transforme pour annoncer le retour des premieres mesures de la piece, qui menent a une conclusion festive.