15^th Anniversary Concert

Spring Concert Program

Sunday, May 10, 1998

Colin Holman, Conductor

Concert Notes

James Curnow’s Fanfare and Flourishes was composed in 1991 and features a prominent musical theme from Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Te Deum.   The concert band version was commissioned by the Alfred M. Barbe High School Band in 1995, and it makes for an exciting concert opener.

Joseph Jenkin’s American Overture was composed in 1956 for the U. S. Army Field Band and dedicated to its conductor at that time, Charles Whiting.  The musical style borders on the folk tune idiom in its use of modal scale patterns, though there are no direct quotes from folk songs.  The work calls for near virtuoso playing from all sections, especially the French horns, and it remains Jenkin’s most popular work, one which, in his own words “he is hard pressed to duplicate.”

Haydn Wood was born in 1882 and died in 1959.  At the age of two he went with his family to live on the Isle of Man, situated in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland.  He later studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Brussels Conservatory.  The title of this work, Mannin Veen, means “Dear Isle of Man” and the composition is based upon four Manx folk tunes.  The first, “The Good Old Way,” is an old and typical folk air; the second is a reel, “The Manx Fiddler”; the third, “Sweet Water in the Common” relates to the old practice of summoning a jury of 24 men, comprised of three from each of the parishes in the district where the dispute took place to decide questions of legal matters; and the fourth, “The Harvest of the Sea” is an old hymn sung by the fishermen as a song of thanksgiving after their safe return from the fishing grounds.

The music of Claude T. Smith is universally known in the world of wind ensemble music, and although his life was tragically cut short ten years ago when he died at the age of 56, his music continues to be featured everywhere.  Claude worked as an educational consultant for the Wingert-Jones Company and became staff composer for the Jenson Music Publishing Company.  He was an active clinician and guest conductor and the recipient of numerous awards and honors for his compositions and service to music education.   He was also a personal friend of the Dr. Holman's during his first years in the U.S.  Claude was a French horn player, and his music is distinguished in many ways, not the least by his lack of sympathy for the demands of his own instrument!  Eternal Father, Strong to Save was composed in 1975 and dedicated to the U. S. Navy Band.  It opens with a series of fanfares, leading to a lively theme that is treated contrapuntally.  Eventually the music subsides into the Navy hymn itself, first heard by the four horns, and then by the full band.  A return of the fanfare figures bring the work to an exultant conclusion.

Gustav Holst was one of England’s most prominent composers.  During the First World War he was placed in command of all the English army bands, organizing the troops under the YMCA Army and Education program.  His First Suite for Military Band was written in 1909, marking a new epoch in band literature and being rarely equaled by other composers who imitated it.  It is also one of the few works for concert band that have been transcribed for orchestra.  In the third movement, the 'March', there are two themes; one dynamic and rhythmic, the other lyric; both are related to the theme from the first movement of the suite.  Eventually the two ideas are combined in a thrilling finale.

As the movie music to The Cowboy and the Girl starring John Wayne, The Cowboys overture has remained one of John Williams' most endearing and enduring earlier works.   With a strong taste of Aaron Copland's and Elmer Bernstein's style of writing imbued into the composition, the overture is an exciting balance between the "outdoorsy" style and the more lyrical flowing character of the middle section.

Alfred Reed is one of the nation’s most prolific and frequently performed composers with over 300 published works to his name.  His interest in band music began during an extended period in military service when he was a member of the 529^th Army Air Force Band, and he completed his formal training at the Julliard School of Music.  The Armenian Dances Parts I and II constitute a four-movement suite for band based on authentic Armenian folk songs from the collected works of Gomidas Vartabed (1869-1935), the founder of Armenian classical music.  Part I, the first movement of the suite, is an extended symphonic rhapsody built upon five different songs, freely treated and developed for modern concert band.  Although the composer has kept his treatment of the melodies within the general limits imposed by its vocal folk-song nature, he has not hesitated to expand the possibilities in keeping within the demands of symphonic instrumental performance.  One of the intentions of this work is to promote interest in Armenian folk music in general, and it is really an homage to Vartabed.  Armenian Dances was dedicated to Harry Begian and the University of Illinois Symphonic Band, a group in which several of our current members have played.  It was premiered by them in 1974.

Henry Fillmore was one of the most colorful bandsmen of his time, during which he probably wrote, arranged and edited more band music than any other composer/bandmaster of that era.  He composed under a total of 8 names: Gus Beans, Harold Bennett, Ray Hall, Harry Hartley, Al Hayes, Henrietta Moore, and Will Huff.  His particularly lucrative specialty was the trombone novelty.  He conducted his own professional band in the 1930s which became the Cincinnati Radio Band, one of the last of its kind of radio/entertainment concert bands, though, unlike Sousa's, Fillmore’s band rarely toured.  Rolling Thunder is a circus march, played at a break-neck, barn-burning, gut-buster tempo, and is a marvelous showcase for the entire low brass section.

Fisher Tull was born in Waco, Texas in 1934.  He is a graduate of North Texas State University and he has had an extensive career as a distinguished composer and educator.  He has achieved national and international recognition for his compositions as the recipient of nine ASCAP awards and the prestigious ABA Ostwald Award in 1970.  The Final Covenant was commissioned by the New Jersey Music Educators Association and received its premiere performance in February of 1979.  As the title implies, the work expresses the deep religious emotions of the promises made by God to mankind.  Two thematic elements are employed; the first, a dramatic proclamation, is introduced by horns and subsequently taken up by trumpets and woodwinds; the second, plaintive theme, in the manner of a supplication, is presented by oboes followed by flutes and clarinets.  The first theme returns leading to a climactic section for full ensemble.  A development section focuses on fragments from the principal theme culminating in a brief brass fanfare based on the earlier accompanying motives.  The recapitulation of the principal theme brings the work to a quiet and peaceful close.

According to Sousa Band Cornet Soloist Frank Simon, The Diplomat "was one of Sousa's most stylish and brilliant marches."  The always anecdotal Sousa stated that the march was inspired by an unseen cook in Mitchell, South Dakota who had prepared for Sousa a tenderloin steak, German fried potatoes and plenty of bread and butter.   In truth, he had dedicated the march, which was composed in 1904, to Secretary of State John Milton Hay, whose diplomatic prowess had impressed Sousa.  The march remained one of Sousa's favorites.

Concert notes prepared by Colin W. Holman
Copyright © 1998 by the Fox Valley Concert Band