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Jeff Girard and M-R Music present
The Wind Band Report 2014
Issue 4 - High School / Middle School
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Vol. 2, No. 4 October 2014
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If you received my newsletter for Collegiate level bands, the introduction below is the same. Just scroll down to get to the beginning and intermediate level works.
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and welcome back. It's been a while since I published a newsletter here. This summer was particularly busy. The inventory from my former store, Shattinger Music, was put up for auction in the late spring and M-R Music ended up acquiring a large portion of it. Much of the summer was spent making space here in the store for it all, then sorting it and filing it in all the appropriate places. It was quite the process, and I saw many pieces that I recognized, remembering where that music was at Shattinger Music and sometimes when we first got it.
 We also brought on board Jim Kerfoot to help us out part time. Jim was another of my wind band colleagues at Shattinger Music, and some of you may have talked with him on the phone there. For the time being we are sharing the same email address and phone number, so you can reach out to him that way if you wish on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
Just as a side note - I was recently asked to compile an extensive list of upper level popular American repertoire for a foreign band that will be visiting the States. They like to feature upbeat American popular charts as a significant part of their programs at home and wanted more suggestions. I compiled a list of 100 of the best grade 3-6 works that fit that bill, including sound links. If you want to look at it for yourself, you can download the excel file here.
Finally, I've been listening to a lot of music. There are several great new works published by our usual major American publishers, but I've heard some good gems from publishers you may not hear about regularly. I've listed some of them below along with any sound links I could find.
Thank you all, and please let me know what kind of research I can do for you to help you out. Look for my next issue in a few weeks, which will feature supplemental materials and resources you can use to help out in your job. Midwest is coming up too, so I have plenty to share with you up until then. Take care, all!
Click the images to listen to each selection.
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Showdown at High Noon
Jack Wilds
There aren't many grade 1 works that really grab my attention. The two I have listed here were among the biggest exceptions for this year.
This work is a tribute to the iconic western soundtracks of the 1960's. The melodic material is spread about to all sections of the band, with a little foot stomping at the beginning to entertain them. Not only are the percussion parts numerous and interesting (up to 8 parts, all traditional instruments), there is an alternative snare drum part for more advanced players.
The first clarinet part has a single middle staff B and C, which you can change to a G for players not ready to tackle that yet.
Cat. # GMM341
Set - $45
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Statement
Gary Gazlay
You can't always explain why you're drawn to a piece of music. There's no programmatic story, no special ethnic musical writing, no novelty sounds or styles. It's a simple melodic statement, repeated with very small variations in the presentation and harmonic background. It shouldn't be the kind of piece that catches my attention after 10 seconds, but something about it just seems to work for me as a beginning band piece.
There is one change of style at the end to a slightly faster tempo, but otherwise it's a piece that's easy to put together and offers opportunities for students to find and follow the main melodic theme and see how the whole piece fits together in form.
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Three Brazilian Folksongs
Villa-Lobos / Katherine Fenske
Heitor Villa-Lobos made frequent trips to northeast Brazil, where there was a blend of various regional cultures. It was from these trips that he gathered music for his collection of folk songs used for music education in Brazilian schools.
The three songs in this medley (The Crab,The Little Dove Flew Away, and
Spider Monkeys) cover a range of styles you can work and teach with. There are parts for up to six percussion players, though the piece can be performed with fewer.
Cat. # DP200518
Set: $76
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Mozart Symphony No. 29, First Movement.
David Bobrowitz
I'm a big proponent of introducing established classical composers and their repertoire to young students. Not every transcription or arrangement holds up the same though.
This one caught my notice in part because the source material is very good, but also because it's scored well. It's not too exposed, yet it's able to keep a good variety of color throughout with all sections getting a chance to stay active. Even the percussion is done tastefully, neither overused nor overly scarce.
Cat. # JB89 Set: $55
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Haunted Carousel
Joseph Eidson
The Haulted Carousel is a slightly off-kilter waltz that introduces a few easy meter changes without being too complex. It's a little dark and very evocative, with those occasional mixed meters being just enough to throw off the waltz sound for just a moment.
It's not some over-the-top Halloween fare, it's not just a bunch of novelty sounds or an attempt to lure you in with lots of strange noises and harmonies. It's charming and haunting at the same time, fading away at the end with the rising sun.
Cat. # 3016591 Set: $45
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*** Click on the images to hear recordings of each piece. ***
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Fantasia on "Kingsfold"
Robert Longfield
This is a great setting of the well known English tune "Kingsfold", which is one of the tunes Vaughn Williams used in his English Folk Song Suite. He has also adapted and used it in his
English Hymnal where it has had two different well known texts set to it.
It's a colorful and regal fantasy consisting of three stylistic statements of the tune. Longfield's use of color is great, and he keeps much of the English elements of restraint, simplicity and regality through most of the work. Plus, it works as a secular, sacred, and a Christmas piece (one of the standard texts is O Sing a Song of Bethlehem), so you can choose how to present it in your program.
Cat. # 50100144
Set - $60
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This piece is a light-hearted, fun work in a parody style evoking the era of black and white films without dialogue, only musical accompaniment. The six movements (Hollywood Fanfare, Follow that Cab!, Gangster's Moll, Bungling Burglars, Matinee Idol, Slapstick) each evoke an imaginary scene that was could have been up on the screen long ago.
You can pick and choose individual movements to shorten the suite. Even though it's lighter in nature, there is a lot of serious writing that you're students will need to rehearse and practice. This is a good way to introduce students to Ellerby's collegiate level music.
Cat. # BMC086
Set: $95
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Lyric Variations on "Slane"
David Williams
The famous tune "Slane" originated as an Irish folk song called The Banks of the Bann, but was turned into a hymn tune in the 20th century, most famously set with the text "Be Thou My Vision".
The tune is set in a standard form of a theme and three variations. All of the presentations of the melody are lyrical and flowing. Everything is beautiful, smooth and singing, no harsh dissonances or attacks. It's a lovely little intermezzo to change the tone in a program between works with more modern harmonizations.
Cat. # LVSLANE
Set: $80
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The Exultant Heart
Jess Turner
Jess Turner is an up and coming composer, and this work recently won the NBA/Merrill Jones Composition Contest.
The Exultant Heart is a piece about the simple joy that true love brings to one's life. The main theme is formed from melodic sections of two of classical music's great love themes. After a hauntingly and beautiful opening, the middle section features a lively dance that alludes to a rustic wedding dance in the country. After the dances climax the opening theme returns and combines with the dance tune, which eventually settles down to a return of the opening mood while chimes softly improvise like church bells fading into the distance.
The imagery I get when listening to this piece is much like that of the time and setting of Copland's Appalachian Spring. It's a work of simple beauty.
Cat. # 3016771
Set - $70
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Silent Movie Suite
Martin Ellerby
This piece is a light-hearted, fun work in a parody style evoking the era of black and white films without dialogue, only musical accompaniment. The six mini-movements (Hollywood Fanfare, Follow that Cab!, Ganger's Moll, Bungling Burglars, Matinee Idol, Slapstick) each evoke an imaginary scene that was one might have seen on the silver screen long ago.
There's a lot of colorful writing along the way, along with a few novelty sounds in the percussion section (which can be covered by as few as four players). You can pick and choose individual movements to shorten the suite. Even though it's lighter in nature, there is a lot of serious writing and difficult parts that your students will need to rehearse and practice. This is a good way to introduce students to Ellerby's music before the collegiate level.
Cat. # M050091189
Set - $165
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In the future I have plans to feature a number of up and coming composers, lesser known publishers, new reference works and videos, and the launch of a new publisher/printer specializing in upper level wind band works of new composers without a publishing home.
I'll see you at Midwest, and until then stay in touch and let me know what you'd like to see here in the Wind Band Report. |
Thank you for your support, and I look forward to helping you throughout the school year!
Jeff Girard Instrumental Specialist Instrumental Music (my direct line): 314/942-1522 General phone line: 314/291-4686 Fax: 314/621-4166 |
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 1234 Main Street, Awesomeville, MA � 555.555.5555 |
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