Literature Study
Blue Shades (1996)
Frank Ticheli (b. 1958)
Teaching Music through Performance in Band, Vol. 2, p. 547. Here listed as a grade 6. NBA 5, WRP VI (out of VII), publisher, 5. 11 minutes. ABA form, 430 meaures.
Frank Ticheli is Professor of Composition at the University of Southern California. He earned degrees in composition from Southern Methodist University and the University of Michigan. Among his composition teachers are: William Albright, George Wilson, Leslie Bassett and William Bolcom.
Ticheli writes band music in many grades of difficulty, and I first learned of him through “Fortress” for grade 3 bands, and then the widely-played “Cajun Folk Songs.” “Blue Shades” was commissioned by a consortium of universities and high schools, and contains several jazz/blues styles throughout. The slower middle section features the clarinet in a bluesy/torch song style, occasionally sultry and then “dirty.” Some of the closing section reminds me of the hard driving super heroes movie themes like "The Incredibles."
“Blue Shades” has featured solos for clarinet, bass clarinet, and oboe. Only the clarinet, during the slow center section, has notes in an extreme range. Among the jazz techniques utilized in the piece are pitch bending, flutter tonguing, and straight vs. swing eighth notes. Ticheli uses compositional techniques of hemiola (duple feeling in triple meter), cross rhythms, and syncopation.
Harmonically, Ticheli uses no actual blues progressions, but freely incorporates blues notes of flatted 3rds, 5ths, and 7ths, and pentatonic scales. The work is pitched in G with both major and minor modes.
This is an exciting work and musically satisfying to rehearse and perform. The piece is complicated enough to require significant rehearsal, and so, doesn’t appear to be accessible for OSW at this time. So, “Blue Shades” goes on the shelf for a while.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
List of Titles for the Literature Study
Here’s my list of ten works for wind band that I’ve decided to include in this literature study. See the last post for criteria used for selection. Of course, there are other pieces that could be included, but, in the words of Katsumoto, “we have made a good start.”
After The Thunderer, Ira Hearshen
Blue Shades, Frank Ticheli
Fantasies on a Theme By Haydn, Norman Dello Joio
Fascinating Ribbons, Joan Tower
Huntingtower, Ottorino Respighi
Sea Songs, Thomas Knox
Southern Harmony, Donald Grantham
Symphony for Band, Donald E. McGinnis
Theme and Fantasia, Armand Russell
Watchman, Tell us of the Night, Mark Camphouse
I listened to as many as I had recordings and discovered other recordings on iTunes. At this point I have no scores to any of the pieces. Here’s what I’ve discovered so far:
After the Thunderer was composed as an adagio in a similar vein to the adagietto in Mahler’s Third Symphony. May conductors first play Sousa’s The Thunderer and then Hearshen’s piece so that audiences can discover his compositional technique. I viewed a performance of this on YouTube and had an immediate attraction to the piece. At first listen the work would be attractive to our musicians and accessible to our audience.
Blue Shades is a very jazzy/bluesy piece in ABA form. There is a constant rhythmic drive in the A sections with several intricate rhythms in the low woodwinds. It might be technically too difficult for 4 rehearsals. But, the work has become a standard with university and military ensembles, and some advanced high school bands have also performed it. There is an online score viewable for this piece.
Fantasies on a Theme by Haydn is a theme with three variation/fantasies by Norman Dello Joio. Having just performed his Variants on a Mediaeval Tune this fall, which many of the musicians really liked, this piece would seem a winner for us. A friend recommended this piece, since we both have a growing admiration for Dello Joio’s compositions.
Fascinating Ribbons is a short fanfare-like composition. I see this piece programmed a lot, so included it on our list. Joan Tower is a well-known composer in the orchestral world. It’s nice to have a piece by her in the wind band world, too.
Huntingtower was written in the 1930s just before the passing of Respighi, the famed composer of The Pines of Rome. Sometimes the word “Ballad” is used in the title on programs. I’ve never seen a score to the piece, but have listened a few times. The work is intriguing and seems to have compositional depth. I’ll need more hearings to evaluate the piece. Perhaps this is an indication of the piece’s worth, but maybe also that it’s too difficulty for 4 rehearsals. There’s a wonderful recording by Col. Lowell Graham and the USAF Band on the album Songs of the Earth.
Sea Songs is completely unknown to me, except by title. I believe that Knox was an arranged for the Marine Band, and others speak well of his compositions. At this point, I’ve never heard the piece, so I’ll have to place this late in the study to give time to procure a score and recording.
Southern Harmony is well-known to many band directors. The work has 4 movements based on the shaped-note hymnbook “Southern Harmony.” The open and peculiar harmonies sound like classic “fa-so-la” used by singing teachers like William Billings. There are pockets of fasola in the mid-south yet today. Donald Grantham has set 4 tunes in an extended suite. The fourth movement sounds technically difficult, while the first three sound very accessible. This piece rents for $300, although the second movement, “Wondrous Love,” is available separately for $150. A complete score sells for $55.
Symphony for Band, was composed in the 1950s by my former college band director Donald E. McGinnis, and is published by Barnhouse. We could never get him to program the piece, although I think later bands may have. The work uses set theory and serial composition technique in its three movements. The symphony is not as difficult as other similar works, so maybe we can honor Dr. McGinnis with a performance. I don’t have a recording or score, so this one will have to fall later in the study.
Theme and Fantasia is another set of variations, this one using serial technique. The composer, Armand Russell, studied at Eastman with Howard Hanson and others, and taught composition at the University of Hawaii. While working on my doctorate the wind ensemble performed this piece, and I wish I had paid better attention. It comes highly recommended by Dr. Wayne Gorder and has a difficulty level of IV, so, accessible to musicians and audience alike. Again, will have to be a late study.
Watchman, Tell Us Of The Night. IMO this is the best piece that I have heard by Mark Camphouse. It is introspective and weighty. He makes good use of woodwind timbres. The chorale tune to "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come" occurs late in the work. This piece will come early in the lit study. It’s definitely accessible to the musicians, and maybe the audience, too. We’ll have to determine whether it’s too complicated for 4 rehearsals.
So, we’ll tackle Blue Shades first because we can view a score when listening to our recordings. I’ll report on my study next week.
After The Thunderer, Ira Hearshen
Blue Shades, Frank Ticheli
Fantasies on a Theme By Haydn, Norman Dello Joio
Fascinating Ribbons, Joan Tower
Huntingtower, Ottorino Respighi
Sea Songs, Thomas Knox
Southern Harmony, Donald Grantham
Symphony for Band, Donald E. McGinnis
Theme and Fantasia, Armand Russell
Watchman, Tell us of the Night, Mark Camphouse
I listened to as many as I had recordings and discovered other recordings on iTunes. At this point I have no scores to any of the pieces. Here’s what I’ve discovered so far:
After the Thunderer was composed as an adagio in a similar vein to the adagietto in Mahler’s Third Symphony. May conductors first play Sousa’s The Thunderer and then Hearshen’s piece so that audiences can discover his compositional technique. I viewed a performance of this on YouTube and had an immediate attraction to the piece. At first listen the work would be attractive to our musicians and accessible to our audience.
Blue Shades is a very jazzy/bluesy piece in ABA form. There is a constant rhythmic drive in the A sections with several intricate rhythms in the low woodwinds. It might be technically too difficult for 4 rehearsals. But, the work has become a standard with university and military ensembles, and some advanced high school bands have also performed it. There is an online score viewable for this piece.
Fantasies on a Theme by Haydn is a theme with three variation/fantasies by Norman Dello Joio. Having just performed his Variants on a Mediaeval Tune this fall, which many of the musicians really liked, this piece would seem a winner for us. A friend recommended this piece, since we both have a growing admiration for Dello Joio’s compositions.
Fascinating Ribbons is a short fanfare-like composition. I see this piece programmed a lot, so included it on our list. Joan Tower is a well-known composer in the orchestral world. It’s nice to have a piece by her in the wind band world, too.
Huntingtower was written in the 1930s just before the passing of Respighi, the famed composer of The Pines of Rome. Sometimes the word “Ballad” is used in the title on programs. I’ve never seen a score to the piece, but have listened a few times. The work is intriguing and seems to have compositional depth. I’ll need more hearings to evaluate the piece. Perhaps this is an indication of the piece’s worth, but maybe also that it’s too difficulty for 4 rehearsals. There’s a wonderful recording by Col. Lowell Graham and the USAF Band on the album Songs of the Earth.
Sea Songs is completely unknown to me, except by title. I believe that Knox was an arranged for the Marine Band, and others speak well of his compositions. At this point, I’ve never heard the piece, so I’ll have to place this late in the study to give time to procure a score and recording.
Southern Harmony is well-known to many band directors. The work has 4 movements based on the shaped-note hymnbook “Southern Harmony.” The open and peculiar harmonies sound like classic “fa-so-la” used by singing teachers like William Billings. There are pockets of fasola in the mid-south yet today. Donald Grantham has set 4 tunes in an extended suite. The fourth movement sounds technically difficult, while the first three sound very accessible. This piece rents for $300, although the second movement, “Wondrous Love,” is available separately for $150. A complete score sells for $55.
Symphony for Band, was composed in the 1950s by my former college band director Donald E. McGinnis, and is published by Barnhouse. We could never get him to program the piece, although I think later bands may have. The work uses set theory and serial composition technique in its three movements. The symphony is not as difficult as other similar works, so maybe we can honor Dr. McGinnis with a performance. I don’t have a recording or score, so this one will have to fall later in the study.
Theme and Fantasia is another set of variations, this one using serial technique. The composer, Armand Russell, studied at Eastman with Howard Hanson and others, and taught composition at the University of Hawaii. While working on my doctorate the wind ensemble performed this piece, and I wish I had paid better attention. It comes highly recommended by Dr. Wayne Gorder and has a difficulty level of IV, so, accessible to musicians and audience alike. Again, will have to be a late study.
Watchman, Tell Us Of The Night. IMO this is the best piece that I have heard by Mark Camphouse. It is introspective and weighty. He makes good use of woodwind timbres. The chorale tune to "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come" occurs late in the work. This piece will come early in the lit study. It’s definitely accessible to the musicians, and maybe the audience, too. We’ll have to determine whether it’s too complicated for 4 rehearsals.
So, we’ll tackle Blue Shades first because we can view a score when listening to our recordings. I’ll report on my study next week.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Wind Band Literature Project
Omaha Symphonic Winds, a select 55-member adult concert band, is completing its third concert season and making plans for its concerts next year.
The ensemble, formed in 2009, consists of band directors, music teachers, retired military musicians, and area professionals. OSW is conducted by its founder, Dr. William Hall, a former trombonist with The United States Army Band (Pershing’s Own) and with The United States Army Field Band. Most recently Hall was director of bands at Dana College in Blair, NE. Dr. Hall holds degrees from The Ohio State University, The Catholic University of America, and Kent State University.
Omaha Symphonic Winds programs outstanding works for symphonic band and orchestras by recognized composers. OSW seeks to present polished performances on a limited number of rehearsals, so the choice of literature is critical. The musicians need to be challenged while enjoying the pieces, and the audience needs to be able to relate immediately to most of the pieces on a program.
The ensemble’s repertoire through three seasons includes standard symphonic band works, such as: Gustav Holst’s First and Second Suites, Dmitri Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, Malcolm Arnold’s Four Scottish Dances, Clifton Williams’ Symphonic Dance, No. 3 (Fiesta) and Festival, Darius Milhaud’s Suite Française, Norman Dello Joio’s Variants on a Mediaeval Tune, Robert Jager’s Esprit de Corps, Samuel Barber’s Commando March, Alfred Reed’s Hounds of Spring and Russian Christmas Music, Sir Arthur Sullivan’s Pineapple Poll, Vaclav Nelhybel’s Symphonic Movement, and Jack Stamp’s Pastime.
OSW has also performed several orchestral transcriptions, such as: Finale to the Kalinnikov Symphony No. 3, Finale to the Tchaikovsky Symphony, No. 4, Finlandia by Jean Sibelius, Overture to The Barber of Seville by Rossini, Mannin Veen by Haydn Wood, Early Light by Carolyn Bremer, and Leonard Bernstein’s Overture to Candide.
As OSW considers it’s fourth concert season, and the need to extend its list of repertoire, it seems incumbent on me, as conductor, to learn more pieces that are within our rehearsal/performance ability. I began thinking of developing a systematic process for discovery and a method of documenting the process.
Here’s an outline of the process I will use.
Limitations of the Study: The music selected for study must be:
a. Not well-known to William Hall
b. In difficulty level grades 4-5
c. Serious literature by respected composers
d. Listed in the National Band Association Select Music List, and/or
e. Listed in the Wind Repertory Project
f. Consistent with mission of OSW, that is:
i. playable in 4 rehearsals
ii. symphonic band as opposed to wind ensemble in nature
iii. attractive to mature musicians
iv. accessible to audiences
Method of the Study:
g. Locate and list possible works from NBA/Wind Band Rep lists
h. Prioritize the list
i. Seek out recordings (already in hand/iTunes download)
j. Acquire scores
k. Search for reviews/notes/score studies
l. Select one piece per week
i. listen repeatedly (at least once per day)
ii. view the score while listening
iii. read reviews/notes/score studies
iv. evaluate the piece for suitability
Blog about experience.
Program selected pieces.
In regards to my blogging goal, today is the first post. I hope to post once weekly with my findings. Perhaps next week’s blog will list the works I’ve chosen for the study. Please feel free to recommend works and to send me .mp3 recordings and .pdf scores. Also, please alert me to other blogs and websites that discuss wind band music.
The ensemble, formed in 2009, consists of band directors, music teachers, retired military musicians, and area professionals. OSW is conducted by its founder, Dr. William Hall, a former trombonist with The United States Army Band (Pershing’s Own) and with The United States Army Field Band. Most recently Hall was director of bands at Dana College in Blair, NE. Dr. Hall holds degrees from The Ohio State University, The Catholic University of America, and Kent State University.
Omaha Symphonic Winds programs outstanding works for symphonic band and orchestras by recognized composers. OSW seeks to present polished performances on a limited number of rehearsals, so the choice of literature is critical. The musicians need to be challenged while enjoying the pieces, and the audience needs to be able to relate immediately to most of the pieces on a program.
The ensemble’s repertoire through three seasons includes standard symphonic band works, such as: Gustav Holst’s First and Second Suites, Dmitri Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, Malcolm Arnold’s Four Scottish Dances, Clifton Williams’ Symphonic Dance, No. 3 (Fiesta) and Festival, Darius Milhaud’s Suite Française, Norman Dello Joio’s Variants on a Mediaeval Tune, Robert Jager’s Esprit de Corps, Samuel Barber’s Commando March, Alfred Reed’s Hounds of Spring and Russian Christmas Music, Sir Arthur Sullivan’s Pineapple Poll, Vaclav Nelhybel’s Symphonic Movement, and Jack Stamp’s Pastime.
OSW has also performed several orchestral transcriptions, such as: Finale to the Kalinnikov Symphony No. 3, Finale to the Tchaikovsky Symphony, No. 4, Finlandia by Jean Sibelius, Overture to The Barber of Seville by Rossini, Mannin Veen by Haydn Wood, Early Light by Carolyn Bremer, and Leonard Bernstein’s Overture to Candide.
As OSW considers it’s fourth concert season, and the need to extend its list of repertoire, it seems incumbent on me, as conductor, to learn more pieces that are within our rehearsal/performance ability. I began thinking of developing a systematic process for discovery and a method of documenting the process.
Here’s an outline of the process I will use.
Limitations of the Study: The music selected for study must be:
a. Not well-known to William Hall
b. In difficulty level grades 4-5
c. Serious literature by respected composers
d. Listed in the National Band Association Select Music List, and/or
e. Listed in the Wind Repertory Project
f. Consistent with mission of OSW, that is:
i. playable in 4 rehearsals
ii. symphonic band as opposed to wind ensemble in nature
iii. attractive to mature musicians
iv. accessible to audiences
Method of the Study:
g. Locate and list possible works from NBA/Wind Band Rep lists
h. Prioritize the list
i. Seek out recordings (already in hand/iTunes download)
j. Acquire scores
k. Search for reviews/notes/score studies
l. Select one piece per week
i. listen repeatedly (at least once per day)
ii. view the score while listening
iii. read reviews/notes/score studies
iv. evaluate the piece for suitability
Blog about experience.
Program selected pieces.
In regards to my blogging goal, today is the first post. I hope to post once weekly with my findings. Perhaps next week’s blog will list the works I’ve chosen for the study. Please feel free to recommend works and to send me .mp3 recordings and .pdf scores. Also, please alert me to other blogs and websites that discuss wind band music.
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