PURCHASE.
instrumentation.
Piccolo
Flute 1 Flute 2 Oboe 1 Oboe 2 Bb Clarinet 1 Bb Clarinet 2 Bb Clarinet 3 Bass Clarinet Alto Saxophone 1 Alto Saxophone 2 Tenor Saxophone Baritone Saxophone Bassoon Bb Trumpet 1 Bb Trumpet 2 Bb Trumpet 3 F Horn 1 F Horn 2 F Horn 3 F Horn 4 Tenor Trombone 1 Tenor Trombone 2 Tenor Trombone 3 Euphonium Tuba Snare Drum Cymbals Bass Drum |
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Samuel Livingston’s exemplary depiction of the American land and cityscape is a wonderfully harmonious work for band! Written in his succinct style, with a heavy focus on orchestration, this long form work makes it a perfect closer for your medium-level ensemble.
As the title suggests, this three-movement work for symphonic winds consists of three pieces, each a depiction in music of a particular kind of place. However, these pieces are not just sound paintings – they are melodic from start to finish.
The first movement, “Big Sky,” depicts the kind of rugged Western landscape often shown in Western movies, and the music is similar to that of some Western film scores. The most unusual feature of this movement is the 10/8 time signature. A brief introductory figure leads to the two main themes, a driving theme in the minor and a soaring melody in the major (in which the horns are especially prominent). The final section of the recapitulation brings the two themes together, followed by a brief coda based on the introductory figure that began the piece. The second movement, “Mountain Lake at Dawn,” depicts the scene described in the title. The music is quiet and peaceful. It begins very quietly, with solo instruments trading short phrases. A four-bar phrase from the main theme is followed by a calm quarter-note melody in the brasses, with rippling sixteenth-notes in the woodwinds. A short interlude in the clarinets leads to the main theme, a legato eighth-note melody beginning in the brasses and saxophones, moving to the woodwinds and finally to the full band, playing softly. Next comes a gently syncopated melody, with some imitative counterpoint, exchanged between the trumpets, saxophones, and woodwinds. Then a reprise of the main theme, and the movement ends quietly in the same way that it began. The third movement, “Cityscape,” is an attempt to capture in music the energy of a large city on a busy workday. The movement begins with a syncopated introductory theme in the horns and trombones. The first main theme is a syncopated melody in the trumpets. Both these themes are accompanied by sixteenth-note runs in the high woodwinds and a driving eighth-note rhythm in the lower instruments. The second main theme is a legato melody in the horns and woodwinds. This theme is a bit unusual, because it consists of three phrases (not four), and the first two phrases are each 2 1/2 bars long. A short development section introduces some new melodies based on the two main themes. After the recapitulation, a brief coda brings all three themes together to conclude the piece. piece information.
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