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Jeff Girard and Midwest Sheet Music present
The Wind Band Report
Collegiate Edition:
Extended works and other resources
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Vol. 4, No. 3 Mar. 2016
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Hi all, I'm actually in Gallup, NM, editing this newsletter as I'm on my way to Reno for the Western/Northwestern CBDNA. My coworker Jim Kerfoot is about to head out for the Southwestern CBDNA in Boulder. Maybe we'll see some of you there.
The final months of the school year will be here soon, which means not only do I get a break from trips and orders, I can also get done several projects I've had stacked up for a while - the web site, my reference book list, summer conducting symposiums, and more. For now though, here are few new resources and works I wanted to share with you for consideration now and in the future. |
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Favorite extended works for Band
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These are not works you're going to program this year. I've listened to a lot of works this last year or so and I decided for this issue I'd focus on some of the top extended works, pieces that will fill an entire half of a concert, or even the entire concert. You can hear the sound files by clicking the images, though you may want to wait until you get some uninterrupted time, even if you plan to just skim the recordings. I think any of these are of a high enough quality to merit use in your top level bands.
I've already mentioned the Boysen Symphony No. 6 a few times so I'll skip that one, but it's still probably my favorite. Of the six below, the first four are full symphonic length and the last two a little shorter in time and breadth. |
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Tetelestai
Andrew Boss
Some of you may have heard about this piece already, it's starting to make the rounds just on it's own accord. Andrew Boss, who is pursuing his doctorate in composition at the University of Texas, is a young composer who has written a very successful major symphony.
Tetelestai is Greek for "It Is Finished", the supposed last words of Jesus. The symphony is based on images conjured from the story of the crucifixion, but is not a programmatic depiction. It's a powerful work that stands on its own without the back story. You can read a bit more about the work here, and you can preview the score as well.
Score: $80
Set: $350
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Champ de Mars par jour de Lumiere
Eric Champagne
This was one of the works previewed in part at the new music reading session at WASBE in San Jose last summer by Canadian composer Eric Champagne. The work is inspired by a large, abstract stained-glass design that was integrated into the station above Montreal's Champ-de-Mars metro stop in the 1960s.Written in 12 continually connecting tableaux, it's a very colorfully orchestrated composition which really captures the impressions of light refracted by the fresco. As I listened to it I could see the different ways light can shine and refract from various angles through different portions of this stained-glass masterpiece, with moments of brilliance, reflection, and awe.
Set: $400
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Symphony No. 4 - El Colosso
Ferrer Ferran
Much like the painting that inspired this symphony ( El Coloso by Francisco de Goya), this work is dark, brooding, violent and intense. The four movements represent different aspects and interpretations of the work (though the second movement is an interpretation of his related sketch " The Sleeping Giant"), and the result is breathtaking. You can cross cue the opening cello solo if you don't have any strings to draw from at your school.
Score: $50
Set: $425
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Night Journey
Daniel Basford
Night Journey is a cantata for chorus, baritone voice, and band. It's a representation of the passing of time from dusk to sunrise told through the texts of a variety of poets, the looser narrative allowing for more variety in the individual movements. The work is structured in 3 parts in eight movements. You can read a more detailed summary of the work here. There's a lot of transparent writing (only 2 movements employ a full tutti) and beautiful scoring along the way.
Set: $360
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Libertadores
Oscar Navarro
At only 14 minutes, this work is a little more time accessible than the works above. It's divided into two part, the first part inspired by the Amazon River and the second by the so called "separatist leaders" of South America, Simon Bolivar and Jose San Martin. The first part uses voices and hand percussion to add to the color of the representation of the rainforest, and the militaristic finale features your entire percussion section playing marching snares in front of the band. It's a very dramatic visual and aural ending to the work.
Score: $100 Set: $425 |
Suite Rustica No. 3
Fernando Lopes-Graco
OK, this work is not new (1977) but having just discovered it I think it's worth noting for what it is. Portuguese composer Fernando Lopes-Graco wrote three Rustic Suites. The first one is for orchestra and has been recorded frequently. The second was for string quartet, but the third was written for wind band. It's a six movement collection of Portuguese inspired dances and songs, very chamber-like, but with notes of mild dissonance along the way. There's only one recording that I could find and it isn't as great as I'd like, but I hope you can see past some of that to the charm beneath it.
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Larger Scores for classic Carl Fischer/ Theodore Presser works
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Carl Fischer has just published several of their classic scores in a new, larger, spiral bound format. The original scores are still available, but if you prefer to work with larger page (as I'm starting to as my eyes begin to betray me) it's now available. One thing to note - one of these is the full collected "New England Triptych" if you plan on doing all three movements some day.
You can now get the larger scores for the following works:
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Charles Ives
145-40006L - Large Score - $45.00
Vincent Persichetti
Symphony for Band
165-00043L - Large Score - $60.00
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William Schuman Chester145-40000L - Large Score - $45.00
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I've been keeping track of the CBDNA listserv and all the conducting symposiums announced on there. In the next week or so I'll be reaching out to all those that I can and see about getting the details. I'll make sure to have scores for everything on hand, more so if you mention you might be directing people my way specifically. I'll get your session listed on our symposium page so that participants can see the entire list of repertoire and purchase the ones they need. I'll have a little down time while I'm at the Reno CBDNA so I plan to start while I'm there.
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| At the North Central CBDNA, Timothy Mahr asked me about a catalog of the various DVDs I have on hand. Getting that info onto the website is a goal of mine, but it's a little ways down the list because there are several other basic functions that still need to be addressed on the web first (see below). However, I have been keeping my own private database of titles, including informational links and video clips when I can find them. It's just an Excel sheet, but if you want a look just let me know and I'll send it to you. |
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Web site - the next steps
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Our web site will continue to develop in the coming months. As far as searching for band music, because my own personal database is incorporated into there, there shouldn't be too many gaps in finding wind band works on the site. However, in the coming weeks we will be updating the listings from the publishers we have and adding some new publishers we haven't integrated yet, particularly LudwigMasters, As always though you can always type in whatever info you have about any piece you can't find.
More importantly, the first thing we will tackle when I return from CBDNA is having secure credit card transmission capabilities on the site. If you have a personal order or your school uses a credit card to pay, you'll be able to submit the card information with your order instead of one of us having to contact the other at a later time.
However, because several titles (foreign) can have a slightly fluid price, and because our site lets you type in information yourself instead of having to select from a set list, we won't be charging your card when you submit it. All we will do is retrieve your card info in a secure manner. When the order is ready to ship out, assuming there have been no dramatic or unusual price changes, we'll charge your card and email/send you the receipt. Details will be on our site once its ready, but it will be one less hassle to deal with when ordering on line. I'm good with that, I'd rather be researching music than calling people up for card numbers. |
| That's it, I need to do a high school newsletter and a choral newsletter still, and as I said above I'll be at Reno for the Northwest/West CBDNA Divisional conference all next week and into the beginning of the week after (it's a 3-4 day drive, whew), but I'll make sure Cindy and Mark monitor my email and let me know if there's anything that needs my personal attention. Thanks for a great year and I'm very much looking forward to NOT traveling for a few months. Take care! |
 Thanks for reading, drop me a line anytime.
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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