The Red Balloon Anne McGinty

of itself is very difficult to read at this point, and students’ parts are no doubt just

as difficult to comprehend.

Throughout the first movement, apart from its technical difficulties, students must be sure to convey the character of water and remain light and “nonchalant”

The second movement, “The Current,” utilizes 6/8 lines split between

instruments. 6/8 is often difficult to conduct with a young group, let alone when

adding split melody lines to it. Special care must be taken to ensure that the

students count carefully.

• 
  Snare drum utilizes different sticks / mallets – communicate this color change!
  
• 
  The end of the second movement shifts between 6/8, 5/8, 4/4, 6/8, and finally
  

section

• 
  Hair pins at measure 37 could prove difficult for younger band This piece calls for an ocean drum – these are often not found in smaller schools.
  
• 
  One can be made by taping / rubber-banding two equal-sized drum heads (at least
  

• 
  Beginning of “Warm Wind” needs players strong enough to carry solo melody
  

• 
  The marimba part requires a student to play four-mallet marimba. This is
  

• 
  The free parts in the final movement may cause issues in the woodwinds – the
  

Form:

“The Water”

• 
  Freely
  
• 
  Eb Major
  
• 
  Section begins with a sustained pitch in the flutes, clarinet, ocean drum, and
  

• 
  Cue 1: figures in the 2nd clarinet, bassoon, tenor sax, vibes (15 seconds)
  
• 
  Cue 2: figures in the 1st cl, alto sax, 1st horn (muted), and euphonium (15 seconds)
  
• 
  Cue 3: figures in the 1st trombone (muted), bass cl, and 2nd trombone (muted)(15
  

• 
  Cue 4: figures in piccolo, flute, 1st trumpet (in time) (20 seconds)
  
• 
  Section ends on a fermata with only the suspended cymbal going
  

SECTION A m. 17-70

“The Current”

• 
  Brisk (dotted quarter = 92)
  
• 
  6/8 meter
  

• 
  Very horizontal, flowing texture
  
• 
  Clarinets, saxes, and marimba have the flowing rhythmic figures that sound like the current
  
• 
  Addition of wind chimes
  
• 
  m. 21 oboe solo
  
• 
  m. 29 flute solo (same figure as oboe solo but set back one beat)
  

• 
  m. 37 –brass enter, winds cut out
  
• 
  m. 42 –layering of textures low to high, beginning in bari sax and ending in piccolo
  
• 
  m. 47 –brass enter, winds cut out
  

• 
  Muted trumpet entrance –sustained pitch while winds move
  
• 
  Layering of textures in the winds
  
• 
  Meter change to 5/8, 4/4, then back to 6/8
  
• 
  Euphonium solo entrance –m. 69, beat 2
  

SECTION B m.71-115

“The Warm Wind”

• 
  Quarter note = 66
  
• 
  ¾
  
• 
  Key Change –Ab Major
  

• 
  Euphonium solo and horn melody
  
• 
  m. 79 addition of brass and winds, melody in clarinets 1/2, trumpets 1/2, and
  
• 
  countermelody in clarinet 3, alto 1, and trumpet 3
  

• 
  Thin texture
  
• 
  Trumpet 1 solo accompanied by horns, trombones, euphonium, and tuba
  
• 
  m. 95 melody switches to euphonium, trombone 1, and horn 1/2
  

• 
  Transition material into the finale
  
• 
  Steadily adding textures
  
• 
  Accelerando
  
• 
  m. 107 suspended cymbal roll
  
• 
  m. 111 snare drum roll
  

• 
  Forte, accented downbeat, cymbal crash
  
• 
  Heavily accented passage
  
• 
  Melody passes between low woodwinds and brass with the high woodwinds and
  
• 
  xylophone
  
• 
  m. 131 melody in timpani
  
• 
  m. 145 building up to the final section –crescendo and ritardando
  

SECTION D m. 147-163

“Horizon”

• 
  Majestic (quarter note = 72)
  
• 
  m.147 melody in horns, euphonium, trumpets with unison low woodwinds, low brass chord
  
• 
  m.154 layering melody in horns, euphoniums, trumpets, chimes
  
• 
  m.160 emphasis on trumpet 1, tuba, timpani, then final unison chord
  

Suggested Listenings:

1. 
   University of North Texas Symphonic Band: Gulf Breezes, http://www.tuckermusicworks.com/music-5.html
   
2. 
   Chris Tucker, Legends, http://tuckermusicworks.com/
   
3. 
   The Royal Wind Orchestra of Horst, The Netherlands: Stephen
   

4. 
   Christopher Tucker: Music Gallery, http://www.tuckermusicworks.com/music-5.html
   

Sources/Bibliography:

• 
  Oklahoma City University Program Note Resource: Christopher Tucker, http://www2.okcu.edu/music/prgnotes.asp
  
• 
  Music Program Notes for Band and Wind Ensemble Music, http://windband.org/foothill/pgm_note/notes_t.htm#Tucker
  
• 
  "Aleatoric Music." Aleatoric Music.
  

Second Suite in F

Gustav Holst, Collin Matthews

Band Group 1

He was the first of two children born to Adolph and Clara von Holst. Holst had a miserable childhood plagued by weak eyes and chest. Along with asthma, Holst also suffered neuritis in his hands which made long hours of practicing his violin and piano very difficult. Holst was sent to Cheltenham Grammar School and tried his hand at composition but failed to gain scholarship to the Royal College of Music and

various other colleges in London. Due to his failed admission to said colleges, Holst took up the position of organist at Wick Rissington in 1893. Soon after, Holst served as organist and choirmaster of the choral society at Bourton-on-the-Water; a position which would help him gain a deeper understanding of the English choral tradition.

After gaining some experience as organist, Holst was finally attended the Royal College of Music where he studied composition with Charles Stanford. Holst’s affliction with neuritis continued to cause problems in practicing piano, so it was at the Royal College of Music that he eventually took up the trombone to continue his instrumental studies and also provide a little side income. In 1895, he won an open scholarship for composition at the RCM and in the same year would meet his life-long friend and esteemed critic, Ralph Vaughan Williams. In this year, Holst would complete his first opera, “The Revoke” and foster an interest for Hindu philosophy and Sanskrit literature. This led to settings of several hymns from the Rig Veda, his opera, Sita, and his symphonic poem, Indra. Right before the completion of Indra, however, Holst would marry the soprano Isobel Harris in 1901. Around this time, Holst would try also enlisting for service in World War I, but was denied due to his poor eyesight and asthma.

Still deeply affected by the ongoing war efforts, Holst would begin his most well-known work, The Planets. In his short 59 years, Holst wrote 200 pieces including choral hymns, operas, suites for military band, and symphonies. Many of his earlier works show influence from Wagner with later works continuing to incorporate elements from composers that Holst was particularly fond of. This group includes Strauss, Ravel, and even his contemporary and friend, Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Holst would lecture and teach at several colleges in conjunction with composing in his later years and would, ironically, prove to be most productive in his retirement. In 1932, Holst was hospitalized for hemorrhagic gastritis and entered a nursing home at the end of 1933. Undergoing surgery that would hopefully end his gastritis, Holst survived the operation, but died soon after on May 29^th from heart related complications. His ashes are buried in the Cathedral in Chichester.

Composition Information:

Second Suite is in four movements: “March,” “Song Without Words,” “Song

of the Blacksmith,” and “Fantasia on the Dargason.” Written in 1911 and premiered in 1922, the piece gets its origin from several English folk melodies (possibly collected by Vaughan Williams in an attempt to accurately catalog English folksongs from small towns during his college years.) The first movement, “March,” is based off the English folk songs, Morris Dance, Swansea Town and Claudy Banks. The second movement, “Song Without Words,” is based on the haunting melody of I’ll Love my Love. The third movement, “Song of the Blacksmith,” has the winds in addition to percussion imitate the sounds frequently associated with a hammer against an anvil. This movement is based off “A Blacksmith Courted Me.” Finally, the last and most well-known movement, “Fantasy on the Dargason” begins with an alto sax solo 6/8 that eventually mixes with an artfully crafted arrangement of Greensleeves which remains in 3/4. The suite as a whole has remained a cornerstone in wind band literature and is frequently played among groups ranging from high school to professional ensembles.
Historical and Stylistic Information:

Second Suite in F for Military Band was composed in 1911 and was not

published until 1922. The piece is dedicated to James Causley Windram and was premiered by The Royal Military School of Music band in Royal Albert Hall. This was Holst’s second and final suite for military band and utilizes English folk songs throughout. Program notes state that the Suite was put away and forgotten after 1911, but the manuscript shows otherwise. Showing signs of considerable haste in its revision, Holst’s daughter, Imogen, believes that the work was written for a specific occasion, even if it was not performed at that time.

The first folk song, Morris Dance is a type of music that accompanies the

Morris dancing style that is popular throughout England. There are 6 main styles of

the dance with the most popular being in Glouchestershire and Oxfordshire. The

dancing from this area involves rhythmic stepping to the music with bells

commonly attached at the shins. Drawing inspiration from a slightly different area

of England, Swansea Town in taken from a collection of folk melodies that are based

out of the town Swansea in south Wales. Claudy Banks is based off a love story of a

young lass named Betsy and her sea sailing escort, Johnny.

I’ll Love My Love is also based off a love story, but in a slightly more depressing light that sets the stage for the incredibly moving 2nd movement. A Blacksmith Courted Me tells the tale of a woman that has a one night stand with a blacksmith and then finds out that he is married. All having somewhat comical themes, the upbeat, jig styled melodies gives the piece its signature English flavor.

Technical Information :

• 
  Biggest technical demand in this piece revolves around STYLE- making sure
  

crucial to the success of the piece

• 
  Must differentiate sections of movements – Morris Dance vs. Swansea Town in
  

• 
  With style, it is important to make differentiations between each entrance
  

emphasize changes in dynamics and color

• 
  Might be worthwhile to consult original folk melody when working on
  

• 
  In the second movement make sure that all instruments blow through phrases
  
• 
  Must maintain sense of melody through end of second movement – solo melody
  

• 
  Strongly consider the acquirement of a real anvil for the third movement, not just
  

brake drum at the very least – not a small mallet!

• 
  Rehearsal time must be spent on the beginning of movement three – the unison
  

• 
  Measure 177 can prove to be tricky in handing off the 8th notes to each new
  

• 
  3rd movement can prove to be a mine field for any inexperienced musician to fall
  

• 
  Articulation and ensemble dynamics must be even and balanced throughout
  

• 
  Heavy dynamic shifts, especially ending of fourth movement, change of tune in
  

• 
  Tuning on last chord of Blacksmith
  
• 
  Endurance for 1st cornet can prove to be a little taxing throughout
  
• 
  Tempo of last movement is pretty quick and can easily bog down, don’t let it!
  
• 
  Triple over duple subdivision starting at C in 4th movement is tricky
  
• 
  Boils down to very exposed orchestration at the end of piece à make sure piccolo
  

• 
  Emphasize the color changes between each new iteration of the Dargason
  

Form:

Introduction

1-10 motif is in cornet

Theme

27-34 cornets have the motif

35-46 theme is restated in flute, oboe, clarinet, and sax

Development

47-78- Euphonium takes up ostinato

79-110 Flute, oboe, clarinet, saxaphones, and trumpets pick up ostinato

2nd theme

111-135 Theme (Clarinet, sax)

136-159 restatement of theme (add flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, cornet, and

trombone

Theme 1

Theme 2

197-210 –A: ostinato (brass, low saxes, percussion later joined by bassoon and

bass clarinets)

210-219 –B: melody (oboe, clarinets, cornet)

220-229 –A: melody (flute, oboe, clarinet, 2nd cornet, horns)

Ostinato (bass clarinet, bassoon, sax, cornet, trombone, euphonium)

A. 230-238- Theme (Alto Sax)

239-254 –Theme(Bb Clarinet)

255-270 -Theme (Clarinet, alto sax)

271-286 –Theme (Flute, clarinet, oboe, 1st cornet)

B. 287-318 –Theme (Clarinet, oboe, flute)

Ostinato (euphonium) à Greensleeves

A. 319-326 –Theme (bass clarinet, bassoon, saxes)

327-342 –Recap. of Theme (Flute, oboe, clarinet, cornet)

343-350 –Theme (tenor sax, horns)

351-358 –(clarinet, sax)

359-367 –Theme (flute, oboe, clarinet, 1st cornet)

368-374 –Theme in cornet

B. 375-397 –Theme (flute, oboe, clarinet)

Ostinato (euphonium, clarinet

A. 398-405 –Theme (clarinet, sax)

406- 418 –Theme (euphonium)

419-427 –Theme (basses)

428-432 –Theme (flute)
Suggested listening:
1. Tokyo Kosei Wind Ensemble

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF4MDhDkhlc

2. Cleveland Symphonic Winds

3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73QrV3ZLJ-A

4. Holst/Vaughan Williams: British Wind Band Classics, Royal Northern

College of Music Wind Orchestra, Naxos

5. British Music for Concert Band, The Central Band of the RAF, spotify

6. United States Marine Corps Band: Gustav Holst, First Suite, http://

7. I’ll Love My Love, traditional folk song, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm6RvWg730Q

8. The Dargason (dance), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDRIIpOBiU4
Sources/Bibliography:

• 
  Wind Repertory Project, http://windrep.org/Second_Suite_in_F
  
• 
  Music Program Notes for Band and Wind Ensemble, http://windband.org/foothill/pgm_note/notes_h.htm#Holst
  
• 
  Oklahoma City University Program Note Resource for Band Directors, http://www2.okcu.edu/music/prgnotes.asp
  
• 
  http://uni.naxosmusiclibrary.com.proxy.lib.uni.edu/catalogue/item.asp?cid=CHAN9697
  
• 
  "Gustav Holst (1874–1934) | 1. The Early Years." Gustav Holst (1874–1934).
  

- “The Foothill College Symphonic Wind Ensemble”

Program Notes, Second Suite in F for Military Band http://www.windband.org/foothill/pgm_note/notes_h.htm–Holst
GRADE IV

Elegy for a Young American

Ronald Lo Presti

Band Group 1

Ronald Lo Presti was born in 1933 in Williamstown, Massachusetts. He

finished his undergraduate degree at the Eastman School of Music and is former

Ford Foundation composer in residence. He has taught at Texas Technical

University and Indiana State University and is currently a professor at Arizona State

University. He was a recipient of several Ford Foundation grants to young American

composers. Lo Presti died in 1985.

Elegy was written in honor of John F. Kennedy’s presidency, and in memory

of his passing. It was written a year after his assassination in 1963. The piece --.is

through-composed, and is in multiple unmarked movements which signify both the

memory of President Kennedy, as well as the multiple stages of grief; opening with a

respectful and solemn tone, then reflected feelings of shock, denial, anger, remorse,

and loss.
Composition Information:

The word elegy comes from the Greek word meaning “lament.” In literature,

an elegy refers to a mournful, melancholic, or plaintive poem. It especially refers to a

funeral song or a lament for the dead. An elegy may denote a type of musical work,

usually of a somber nature.

President Kennedy’s death was a shock to the nation, and the multiple

sections of this piece cover each stage of grief. From the program notes, “The many

stages of mourning can be felt as the work unfolds. A quiet adagio sets a tone of

respect and solemnity in the beginning. Feelings of shock and denial are reflected by

the dynamics and octave jumps in the melody. Anger and remorse express

themselves, but they are replaced with a resolution of the loss and an allegro

celebration of the contributions of this great American. The maestoso closing

reminds us again of our loss.”
Historical/Stylistic Information:

Elegy was premiered by the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Wind

Ensemble in 1964 with Daniel DiCicco.
Technical Information:

• 
  Highly dense harmony with intricate tonality – very mature sense of
  

• 
  An inherent sense of balance is desirable, and appropriate instrumentation is
  

• 
  Work demands a high amount of control from conductor – oppressively slow
  

• 
  Keep percussionists engaged – they will be counting a lot…
  

• 
  Section 9 calls for precise percussion, including a snare drum with a tenor
  

keep them under control, as the tenor / snare part can easily overpower the

band

• 
  The use of silence can be greatly effective in this piece – see the measure
  

section 13.

• 
  Be aware of contrapuntal lines within music – see third, fourth, and fifth
  

• 
  Stringendo poco a poco at section 8 is quite rapid, and requires a high degree
  

• 
  While not entirely technical, it would be well worth the conductor’s time
  

covers

• 
  Very high flute and picc parts at places
  
• 
  Must have good control to play from ppp – fff dynamic range
  
• 
  Intonation is crucial at more exposed places  suspensions abound
  
• 
  Main melody in second half of the piece involves 2 successive octave leaps
  

Form:

always extremely clear melody lines, but I believe that the piece is primarily broken

up into 2 parts. The first half from measure 1- 54 follows an ABCBA form and the

second half is AABA with a coda. The first 8 bars of the piece act as an introduction

made up of four 2 bar phrases before giving way to a section that doesn’t exactly

have an identifiable melody but is made up primarily of ascending quarter note lines

throughout all the different voices. At measure 16, the exact opposite occurs with

lines made up of descending patterns. Then breaking up the orchestration with a

solo trombone section part, I could only come up with the name of “transition” for

this section. After this, an augmented version of a later theme is introduced which

I labeled as C in this section of the piece. Then the B section and the A section are

repeated.

C section and segues into the second half of the piece through its usage in a flute

solo. This theme is then repeated followed by a B section, then A again and the coda.

• 
  Adagio sostenuto, clarinets play 3-part melody
  
• 
  Saxes / alto clarinet / bass clarinet / bassoon join melody
  
• 
  9 – 15 High WW melody, horn / sax accompaniment, trombone / low WW
  

• 
  Tutti ensemble cadence, falling action throughout entire
  

ensemble

• 
  Trombone chorale, melody is suggested, timpani segues into