A NEW SEASON BEGINS

"Jolly Good!"

The Quad City Wind Ensemble commences a new season with "British Band Classics," October 22, at 3:00 PM at St. Ambrose University's Galvin Fine Arts Center.

The cornerstone of the modern band repertoire was laid by visionary British composers such as Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gordon Jacob, and others. These men adapted the British brass band tradition to create a new medium: the "military band," which incorporated woodwinds. These composers and their landmark works remain among the most significant works for the contemporary symphonic bands and wind ensembles.

Sir Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006) is known to audiences for some of his lighter works, including A Grand Grand Overture(featuring three vacuum cleaners and a floor polisher) and recently performed by the QCWE. Peterloo Overture departs significantly from that norm and is a highly dramatic depiction of an 1819 event. A crowd of some 8000 people met to hear a speech on political reform. The gathering was broken up by armed forces--including the cavalry--and resulted in eleven deaths and 400 injuries. Arnold wrote, "This overture attempts to portray these happenings musically, but after a lament for the killed and injured, it ends in triumph, in the firm belief that all those who have suffered and died in the cause of unity amongst mankind will not have done so in vain."

Along with his original band works, symphonies, and other compositions, Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) served as musical editor of the most important book of Anglican church music, the 1906 English Hymnal. Many of the tunes he collected and harmonized served as the impetus for other compositions, such as the three organ preludes of 1920. Based on Welsh hymn tunes, the best-known of these is probably Rhosymedre. The melody is simple, made up almost solely of scale tones, yet Vaughan Williams constructed a piece of grand proportion, with a broad arc that soars with the gradual rise of the tune itself. Walter Beeler arranged the lovely prelude for concert band in 1972, marking the composer's centenary.

Gordon Jacob's (1895-1984) magnum opus was undoubtedly the William Byrd Suite, composed originally for orchestra. The band edition, now a classic, came about on the recommendation of Adrian Boult, as part of the music for an exhibition and promotion of British national art and spirit. At this same time, Jacob, still a student at the Royal Academy of Music, composed the Original Suite, the title given by the publisher Boosey and Hawkes. Jacob said of that decision, "At that time very little original music was being written for what was then 'military band,' so the title was a way of distinguishing that it was an original work rather than an arrangement--not that the music was original in itself. It was an unfortunate title, I know." The entire piece emulates the folk tunes in wide use by other band composers. With two brisk outer movements, the dramatic climax is found within the Intermezzo, a beautiful tune ushered in by a solo alto saxophone with increasing chromaticism and even implied Impressionistic references. 

While the First Suite by Gustav Holst (1874-1934) is based entirely on original material, the Second Suite in F is an arrangement of folk songs and morris dances. A very British style March leads to an instrumental version of one of the composer's choral works, the "Song without Words." Complete with an anvil, the "Song of the Blacksmith," is particularly evocative, while the "Fantasia on the Dargason," combines the main theme with "Greensleeves" in several variations and concluding with a duet for piccolo and tuba! Colin Matthews 1984 edition aims to return more closely to Holst's original scoring, and that is how we will offer it, only a bit larger than the minimum complement of 23 players. It's a whole different sound of this well-known work. I think the audience will love it.

A composer born in the British empire, who spent a significant amount of time in the Isles, and eventually settled in the United States, Percy Aldridge Grainger (1882-1961) remains among the great "characters" in music history. Himself a collector of folk tunes, he also dabbled in the creation of early electronic instruments, while championing the sarrusophone and an extensive use of large numbers of percussion instruments. Although Grainger wrote for a wide array of ensembles, the wind band claims him as its own (for we continue to play his music!)

Grainger (center) with his saxophone

Grainger wished that he had never written Country Gardens, a light piece of froth that sent audiences clamoring at every one of his concerts. It remained in constant demand as an encore wherever he went. In the 1950s, Leopold Stokowski came to Grainger with a proposition to re-arrange much of his music for a unique recording project. The 1953 version of Gardens is a radical departure from the original. Contained within are at least two "mistakes" in the harmony, the first of Grainger's jokes. Later, one can hear the trombones sticking out their tongues at the bourgeois audiences who refused to adopt any of his other works. It's all good fun. We'll try to get Stokowski's wind tempo!

Colonial Song, composed as a Yule-gift for his mother, "Mumsie," in 1911, remains among the most beautiful pieces in the band's repertoire. Grainger himself wrote, "In this piece, the composer has wished to express feelings aroused by thoughts of the scenery and people of his native land, Australia."

"Gum-sucker" is an Australian nick-name for Australians form in Victoria, the home state of the composer. The eucalyptus trees that abound in Victoria are called "gums," and the young shoots at the bottom of the trunk are called "suckers"; so "gum-sucker" came to mean a young native son of Victoria, just as Ohioans are nick-named "Buck-eyes." In the march, Grainger has used his own "Australian Up-Country-Song melody, written by him to typify Australia, which melody he also employed in his "Colonial Song." Gum-suckers March is the final movement of the suite, "In a Nutshell," but has become a stand-alone favorite.

A concert full of favorites. Who could possibly want to miss it?

YOUR MOMENT OF WOW...

Everybody wants in on the act.
He doesn't have the Dude's hair, however...

For several years now, I've been blogging. Much of the impetus arose from the dissertation process. Now, I write because it keeps my brain engaged, and I attempt to develop arguments that are well supported by the evidence. If people choose to read these few words each week, all the better.

Somewhere along the line, I seem to have become overwhelmed with my disdain for the "management vs. the worker" conundrum. This blog strayed from no discussion of either the score nor the podium (except in discussing the musical chairs of the profession). I know that I've stirred more than a few pots and have to hope that some of this may have been ever-so-slightly influential in decisions made, initiatives moving forward, and people simply deciding to work together.

But mostly, things have been negative, so it's a new year and time for WOW. This brings us full circle to the reason behind the title: talking about the score, and sometimes about the conductor's approach to it. WOW is the "work of the week" and will focus mostly on the wind repertoire. Why? In my own study of the music I teach and conduct, I realize that nothing in the music history books gave any shrift to this medium.

Take Karel Husa, who passed away on December 14, 2016. He was a giant in the wind medium, and his Music for Prague, 1968 is a monument to the repertoire. Husa won a Pulitzer in 1969: for Prague you say? Nope. A string quartet...And this is just the beginning.

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My intent here is to highlight one or more works that I deem (I suppose that some of the "movers and shakers" in the profession might agree, but that doesn't matter) to be, for whatever reason, a WOW kind of musical expression and experience. To that end, our very first WOW is:

Gustav Holst: Suite in E-flat (1909), possibly the first true masterpiece for the modern wind band. It is unfortunate that no one has seen fit to publish Holst's original source material because a performance clear of all the "clutter" would be a wonder to behold.

I own several scores, condensed, full, and even a copy of the manuscript. It's interesting to see what's missing from any of the published sources: this note from the composer: As each movement is founded on the same phrase, it is requested that the Suite shall be played right through without a break...

Holst and Vaughan Williams out hunting for tunes...

I've engaged in many discussions with (apparently, unknowing) conductors and players over which of the Holst suites is superior. The answer is simple (the E-flat). The material, although sounding at times like the folk tunes that Holst and his colleague Vaughan Williams collected in the countryside, is entirely original. AND, all of the movements is based upon the simplest of motives: three pitches, mostly presented in their original "set". So simple and yet so genius.

The "set" is expressed in its entirety in the first movement, the Chaconne, a paean to countless ground bass forms (one of the best known being "Dido's Lament" from Purcell's Dido and Aeneas). Holst achieves a balance here with 16 versions of the tune; a few times it is inverted, and there is some harmonic elision toward the close.

To me, Holst's ability to finish the movement in much the same way as he began, albeit with vastly different orchestration--and dynamic--is another sign of a brilliant mind at work. One must recall that Holst was well versed in Eastern philosophy and taught himself to read Sanskrit. His interest in astrology and mythology had a direct bearing on his most popular work, The Planets. Of course, this is not the Gustav Holst of that galactic suite; this is Holst, the trombone player.

The second movement has that catch-all title, "Intermezzo," and begins with a pair of E-flat clarinets announcing the tempo and rhythm (two instruments are necessary). The theme is similar to the chaconne except that it carries upward after the three notes of the set.

There is a bridge in the clarinets (and tambourine) that leads to the second theme.

Note the "extra" pick-ups in the first measure. This theme is very similar to the opening, except much different in rhythm (all the note values are doubled) and character. At the close, Holst combines all the elements: opening, bridge, and second themes, in (for want of a better word) a particularly cute conclusion.

Despite my bias toward the Chaconne, the march may surpass it in concept and construction. Here, Holst gives us a theme in inversion. Note the difference below:

 A sudden and smashing chord in A-flat takes us to the trio, itself Holst's homage to Elgar's "Land of Hope and Glory" and based on the original material (seen below with the countermelody)

But again, and most glorious of all, is after a mysterious build-up, and even some snarling of teeth, both tunes emerge in perfect counterpoint, bringing to a close the WOW work that ushered in a new age of composition for the wind band.

And here's a link to a local community band and its version of the March: https://youtu.be/UskLkC8tRM4t

Frederick Fennell, founder of the Eastman Wind Ensemble, and an authority on so much of the wind band repertory reminds us over and over that band music like this--so forward thinking--so artistic--did not exist until Holst wrote it down.

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And from our Middle East desk:

Zubin Mehta

In 2018, Zubin Mehta is stepping down at the Israel Philharmonic, ending 55 years of association, the last three decades as "Music Director for Life". Israeli news source Haaretz notes that 

Despite Mehta’s flourishing international career, his relationship with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra is unique – each is greatly associated with the other. Although the Philharmonic has strong management and musicians, Mehta’s departure is likely to cause a shake-up requiring a reorganization, new music, and a new identity.

Excellent orchestra. Not particularly a place one would want to live--in more ways than the obvious. Israel is moving toward becoming a pariah in the international community. Not thinking I'd want to take that one on.