Bandscapes Movement 1

There are now 13 bands that are part of the Bandscapes Commission Consortium (see posts below for more information). The two latest bands are the Hinsdale Town Band Hinsdale, NH Matt Kennedy, Conductor and the Dalton-Whitfield Community Band Dalton, GA Ellie Jenkins, Conductor. My initial deadline of November 8th was to determine if there was enough interest to move forward with this project. Other bands are welcome to become a part of the consortium up until the work is completed by the end of December 2013. The cost is only $50 which is not due until after score and parts are sent and the band and conductor will be listed on the dedication page of the score.

I decided to write poetry for the suggested narration for this composition. Poetry is another one of my passions and I have been writing poems for over 40 years. Here is poem for the first movement:

Celebrate the band!

Whirling woodwinds

Bold brass

Pounding percussion

From pickling piccolos

To tumbling tubas

Spectrum of sounds
Delight the senses.

The first movement, Intrada, opens with a fanfare. The Allegro theme is first presented by the woodwinds alone. The woodwinds begin the second statement of the theme with three part imitation before melding into rhythmic unison. In this section, the brass and percussion add the counterpoint. The brass then usher in a contrasting section that is reminiscent of the opening fanfares. The percussion then takes over as the focal point with some brass punctuations derived from the previous section. There is a recapitulation of the woodwind parts of the movement with some slight variation before the coda. The coda returns to the opening fanfare tempo before accelerating to an exciting conclusion. The last chord serves as both an ending for the movement and is purposely slightly unsettled, indicating that there is more to come.

The second movement begins the tour of the individual families of instruments starting with the piccolo and flutes. Each of these movements with be 30"-45" long. Here is narration for the next movement as a teaser of what is to come.

Narration for Flute Fandango

The highest woodwinds lead the parade.

The piercing piccolo and fluttering flutes.

Metal descendants from wooden roots.

Blown like a Coke bottle

Keys fingered full throttle.

They dance with dexterity
With Spanish celerity.

I use flip pdf technology for the musical examples that go along with my posts. It uses Flash Player that most browsers come with. You will be hearing an mp3 of sampled sounds playing the music and you will see the score at the same time. You will need to turn the pages by clicking on the arrows at the appropriate time and you can use the zoom in feature to see more detail on larger scores. To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/Bandscapes_blog.html.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Dr. B