Soundcloud
audio from the composer's
website
Video + score
Fiat Lux (Fanfare for Wind Ensemble) is a
work that celebrates enlightenment, friendship, and
positivity. The work is scored in the keys of C Major and
G Major, which add to the overall brightness of its sound (you
may or may not be aware that every key has a very particular
character, but I digress). The compound meter and
percussion scoring lend it a slightly cinematic quality that is
true to my aesthetic as a composer and to the intent of the
work. It is intended that the listener and performer
experience exuberant joy and hope for a brighter tomorrow. -
Randall Standridge
Video (Rocky Mountain Wind Symphony) Audio (Rutgers Wind Ensemble: really fast - from a CD they made of Holsinger's music)
As recorded in the Jewish scriptures, some 3,500 years ago, Chedorlaomer led a rebellion that ravaged everything that lay in his path. Near the so-called Dead Sea, the marauder’s forces were engaged in a conflict with an army from Sodom, Gomorrah, and nearby kingdoms. Chedorlaomer’s men looted the cities and also kidnapped Lot, Abram’s brother’s son.
This is
the same Abram who later became Abraham, known as father of the
Hebrews. When Abram heard that Lot was taken captive, he trained
and armed 318 men from his large household and went in pursuit of
the invaders. With this relatively small contingent, Abram
defeated Chedorlaomer’s entire army, rescuing Lot, his family, and
all the people who had been kidnapped. It is Abram’s intense
pursuit that this music depicts. - Brian Casey
Video
(University of No. Carolina Symphony Band)
Video
(Angelo State University Wind Enemble )
MIDI audio of upper woodwinds compilation part, mm. 70-82 at
concert tempo (100 BPM),
practice tempo (80 BPM),
and slow tempo (60 BPM)
MIDI audio of alto sax part, mm. 70-82 at concert tempo (100 BPM),
practice tempo (80 BPM) and
slow tempo (60 BPM)
The Redwoods was commissioned by the North Tonawanda (NY) High School Band. This work, inspired by the beauty, power and majesty of the Redwood - the most remarkable of trees - begins with a heroic-romantic trumpet melody accompanied by woodwind arpeggios, punctuated by brass rhythms. After a transition, the opening melody is followed by the rich, lush, main theme (m. 29) stated by the horns and woodwinds. After the main theme has undergone variations in orchestration, a new section follows (m. 65), with the upper woodwinds playing a second, delicately stated theme reminiscent of a music box. The new theme is heard once more (m. 73) but played in a heroic manner. The main theme recapitulates in a similar heroic manner (m. 82), and as each theme returns it is heard with a change of instrumentation and accompaniment. After the final thematic statement, a brass fanfare brings us to the end of the piece, which culminates in a grand climax. - Rossano Galante
Festivo
represents the style that has become associated with Nelhybel's
band music: fast, driving rhythms that feature the brass are
supported by important percussion parts. In the slow middle
section, the percussion focus shifts to the melodic realm of
chimes, xylophone, and bells. Vaclav Nelhybel was born in
Czechoslovakia in 1919. He
was one of the first "serious" composers for whom wind band music
became the field of primary interest.
Created in 2010, Rest is a
concert band adaptation of my choral work, There Will Be Rest,
published in 2000. It was commissioned by conductor Russel
Mikkelson and family, in loving memory of his father, Elling
Mikkelson (1932–2005). In making this version, I preserved almost
everything from the original: the harmony, dynamics, even the
original registration. I also endeavored to preserve carefully the
fragile beauty and quiet dignity suggested by Sara Teasdale’s
words
With the removal of the text in the band
version, I felt free to enhance the music, most strikingly in the
form of a sustained climactic statement of the main theme. This
extended climax allows the band version to transcend the
expressive boundaries of a straight note-for-note setting of the
original. Thus, both versions are intimately tied and yet
independent from one another, each possessing its own strengths
and unique traits. - Frank Ticheli
There will be rest, and sure stars shining
Over the roof-tops crowned with snow,
A reign of rest, serene forgetting,
The music of stillness holy and low.
I will make this world of my devising
Out of a dream in my lonely mind.
I shall find the crystal of peace,—above me
Stars I shall find.Sara Teasdale (1884–1933)