Meditations in Passage

SKU: HL.44012269

UPC: 888680057640. 9.0x12.0x0.118 inches. English-German-French-Dutch.

Golden Winds was commissioned by Jugendblasorchester Schramberg, Germany, to celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2012. They gave the premiere, conducted by Andreas Hirt, at their Christmas concert that year.The work opens with a nervously energetic theme in the lower woodwinds, which is developed in canon and builds to climax for the whole band. The mood subsides to introduce a meditative section featuring first the clarinets and then a rich, chorale-like theme which grows into a passionate tutti. This then leads to the main body of the piece, a rhythmic vivo, which introduces its main theme quietly before it is taken up by the full band. A brief bridge passage thenintroduces a muscular second subject which develops until the bridge passage reappears to lead to a repeat of the main theme. This is transformed to herald a return of the opening bars of the piece, which now bring the work to a celebratory close.

Golden Winds werd geschreven in opdracht van het Jugendblasorchester Schramberg uit Duitsland, dat in 2012 zijn vijftigjarig bestaan vierde. Het orkest bracht het werk in premiere tijdens het kerstconcert van het jubileumjaar, onder leiding van dirigent Andreas Hirt.De compositie begint met een koortsachtig, energiek thema in het lage hout. Dit ontvouwt zich vervolgens tot een canon, die uitmondt in een door het complete orkest uitgevoerd hoogtepunt. De muziek wordt rustiger van sfeer en er ontwikkelt zich een meditatieve passage, aanvankelijk gespeeld door de klarinetten, waarna een rijk, koraalachtig thema uitgroeit tot een gepassioneerd tutti. Het centralegedeelte van het werk, een ritmisch vivo, introduceert het hoofdthema, eerst zachtjes en dan weerklinkend in het hele orkest. Een kort fragment leidt een krachtig tweede motief in, waarop wordt voortgebouwd totdat de bridgepassage opnieuw opduikt en ons meevoert naar een herhaling van het hoofdthema. Dat ondergaat een transformatie en kondigt dan de terugkeer van de openingsmaten aan, waarmee het werk op feestelijke wijze wordt afgesloten.

Golden Winds wurde zum 50-jahrigen Jubilaum des Jugendblasorchesters Schramberg in Auftrag gegeben. Die Premiere fand beim Weihnachtskonzert selbigen Jahres unter der Leitung von Andreas Hirt statt.Das Werk setzt mit einem Thema voll gespannter Energie in den tiefen Holzblasern ein, das kanonisch weiterentwickelt wird und sich zu einem Hohepunkt fur das gesamte Orchester aufbaut. Diese Stimmung klingt ab zugunsten eines meditativen Abschnitts, der zunachst die Klarinetten in den Vordergrund ruckt und dann ein volltonendes, choralartiges Thema, das zu einem leidenschaftlichen Tutti anschwillt. Dieses fuhrt zum Hauptteil des Stuckes, einem rhythmischen Vivo, das seinHauptthema leise vorstellt, bevor es vom gesamten Orchester aufgenommen wird. Eine kurze Uberleitung prasentiert ein kraftvolles zweites Thema, das weiterentwickelt wird bis die Uberleitung zuruckkehrt und die Wiederholung des Hauptthemas bewirkt. Dieses verwandelt sich in eine Ankundigung der Eroffnungstakte, die das Werk nun zu einem festlichen Schluss fuhren.

Golden Winds est une commande de l'Harmonie des Jeunes de Schramberg, en Allemagne, pour marquer son cinquantenaire en 2012. L'orchestre a cree cette piece sous la direction d'Andreas Hirt lors de son concert de Noel la meme annee.La piece s'ouvre sur un theme nerveux et energique joue dans le registre grave des bois qui se developpe en canon et s'amplifie pour arriver a un climax avec l'orchestre entier. L'ambiance s'apaise pour introduire un passage contemplatif qui met en avant d'abord les clarinettes, puis un theme opulent en forme de choral qui se transforme en un tutti ardent. Celui-ci mene au corps de la piece, un vivo rythme qui introduit doucement son themeprincipal avant une reprise par l'orchestre entier. Un court passage de transition introduit alors un second sujet muscle qui se developpe jusqu'a la reapparition du passage de transition pour mener a une reprise du theme principal. Ce theme se transforme pour annoncer le retour des premieres mesures de la piece, qui menent a une conclusion festive.

SKU: PR.11640775S

UPC: 680160692149.

SKU: PR.11640775L

UPC: 680160692156.

SKU: PR.164002480

UPC: 680160038237.

This work is my second for a solo woodwind and a solo percussionist, following Firewing: The Flame and the Moth for oboe and percussion by nine years. The earlier piece followed a specific story line, and pitted the oboe against the percussionist as both adversary and lover. In Spirit Realms, my aim was not only to juxtapose the very different sounds of flute (plus alto flute and piccolo) against a large array of percussion, but also to attempt three different meditative spaces, each named for a different type of spiritual practice. The musical means of expression is very different for each of the three movements (as is the instrumentation), although they share a common scale-source: the looped pentatonic scale I have been developing over the last several years.   The first movement is called Prayer Tunnel, and is named for the Eskimo practice of solo meditation within a tunnel of ice blocks. This is said to be a means of overcoming demons within, and in my musical rendering it takes the form of an unaccompanied alto flute solo. The flute begins rather angrily, full of tension, but in the course of the solo passage manages to slowly unwind. The percussionist then plays the exact same music the alto flute had played....on seven tuned cymbals. Toward the end, the alto flute re-enters, its original meditation having fused with its mirror.   Kiva represents the circular, subterranean pit in which the Anasazi practiced their religion, a form of which still can be found in the Hopi tribes of the American southwest. These are not spaces for solo meditation, but rather a group meeting place in which only the sanctified are permitted. After an introductory invocation (dove call), the music begins. At first, it is flowing, in a repetitive double-five meter. It then traces several sections, with metric shifts forcing the pulse to race faster and faster, until it halves itself in the coda and returns to the exact pulse of the beginning. The flutist here uses the C flute, and the percussionist plays on both pitched (marimba) and unpitched instruments (various drums and struck sources).   Zendo is the meditation room used by Zen Buddhists. My music begins with another invocation (wind chimes, temple cup gongs, and temple blocks), then moves on to a slow subject stated by the flute. The subject is taken up by the vibraphone, and after several modulations and tempo changes, the flutist takes up the piccolo. The music continues higher and higher, and faster and faster (Zen meditation is NOT all about becoming lost!) until it breaks free at the very end. The percussionist is put through his paces in this movement, having to reach a staggering number of instruments in a short time.   Spirit Realms was commissioned by, and is dedicated to, the Armstrong Duo. -- Dan Welcher.