 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Joshua R
Date: 2005-03-07 01:35
I have already looked at the page compiled by Roger Garret. That list is great, but it almost has too many choices. Also, I don't have the opportunity to listen to any of the pieces to compare. What are your favorites and what might be good for our high school band? Our tuba and horn sections are weak, and our baritone section to an extent. We also have way too many saxes... but that shouldn't have anything to do with music selection. We just played The Cowboys by John Williams (along with a march, Jubilee, and With Quiet Courage) on Friday and now will be getting into new music for our spring concert. Hopefully you guys can come up with something that I can recommend to the director, right? Thanks.
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Author: Contra
Date: 2005-03-07 02:09
Weak horn section... Sounds like most bands I've heard, including ours. I'm glad I never took it up.
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2005-03-07 02:32
Horn is quite a difficult instrument to play. The first horn player is the only person in the orchestra that has an assistant to play the easy parts so s/he doesn't wear out for the solos.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Joshua R
Date: 2005-03-07 02:33
I like the second link there as more people make actual comments on the music. But I want to know what these sound like. I would like to hear comments on personal favorites, and a little as to what type of song this is. Our band has played many of the compositions on those lists. For example, last year we played Mars and Irish Tune from County Derry. We have played Variations on a Korean Folk Song, Poet and Peasant, First Suite (which the director says is his favorite), Incantation and Dance, Les Preludes, 1812, Overture to a new Age, Shenandoah, October, Bolero, Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral (Part of larger song, I forget name, of Wagner), and so on.
I included the info on the horns and tubas so that if you had a choice between favorites, you would give me more info on the one with less reliance on those sections. That being said, our band always picks stuff that we might not be able to do, just for the challenge (we always manage to do it). Don't let that comment get in the way, they'll learn the music if they have to.
I want to hear more comments about the actual pieces that you recommend, so I have something to base my decision on. I won't tell my band director we should play such and such because it was someone's favorite. I want to know why it is someone's favorite.
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Author: Aussiegirl
Date: 2005-03-07 08:45
I know our band had a weak horn section....your saxes must have been quite good to keep up the opening of With Quiet Courage then! I love that piece, the clarinet part is a lip killer though! Or it was for me when i played it a few years ago.
Theres a piece callesd Toccata for Band that i couldnt tell you who it was composed by, but its very fun if you put a bit of work into it.
Another one i remember from awhile back was called Serenade for Wind Band, and it kept changing into crazy time signatures like 13/8 and 15/8...the saxes n bass clarinet hated it coz their part was too repetitive but it was fun....something to do as a cheeky processional at a school assembly we always though! had anyone else come accross this piece?
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Author: DezzaG
Date: 2005-03-07 10:42
Derek Burgoious(sp) wrote the serenade for his wedding. Great little piece, good for teaching time signatures and changes.
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Author: clarispark
Date: 2005-03-07 13:54
The Toccata for Band that Aussiegirl was referring to might be Toccata by Frescobaldi, arranged by Earl Slocum, but I don't know for sure. We just played it for our band festival. Joshua, your band seems to have tackled a lot of fun music! We have so much stuff in our music library we just haven't played...
Copland's Emblems is fun; played E-flat on it with a small group from our band; Wagner's Trauersinfonie as arranged by Leidzen is a good one; pretty much anything by Vaughan Williams (we're playing his "Folk Song Suite", which I think has been out of print for many years), the Prelude, Siciliano, and Rondo by Arnold is an interesting one; A Festival Prelude by Reed is another nice one, but expect high notes on first part; and another not on that list I played in Honors Band this year, called Mambo Furioso, was pretty good, but kind of difficult. You need good percussionists and saxes; all of the other sections can be merely okay. It's by Brant Karrick and it's a tribute to Tito Puente. It's a fairly new piece (2001) and it's still in print, because we had to order it and got the music just before the honors band weekend.
Hope this helps, good luck!
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Author: Joshua R
Date: 2005-03-08 01:04
To be honest, when we played Courage, the horns did a great job. We do have too many drummers, though. Mistakes were clearly visible in Cowboys.
We site read the A Festival Prelude, and then passed it in. I didn't like it too much; it just seemed boring and not something I wanted to play again (like if we were to practice it for a performance). Thanks for the recommendations so far.
Our director will be passing out something like Bubbling Woodwinds or something. I don't know what it is yet. I think it's supposed to feature two flutes and three clarinets, any comments?
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Author: Bigno16
Date: 2005-03-08 02:51
Weak horn section? That's unfortunate.
Luckily, I don't have that problem and never have.
My high school band has 8 outstanding horn players of District and All-State level, one of whom recently participated in the All-Eastern festival this year.
It's like a little army of french horns, I love it, and people are just amazed.
So as a result, we are doing Claude T. Smith's "Eternal Father, Strong to Save" for contest this year again.
Anyway, ironically, we also have a weak sax section. A somewhat lazy tuba section (one, maybe two good players out of the three) and a baritone section that is mediocre but doing well for the time being.
You could try some stuff by Percy Grainger and possibly Robert W. Smith, tho he likes to make a lot of solo use out of many instruments and requires a strong horn section sometimes. It depends. I'd stay away from Frank Ticheli, because you need strong members in all sections of the band. Possibly Steven Reineke works, but those may end up being similar to Ticheli.
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Author: Dori
Date: 2005-03-08 03:34
A clarification to some earlier posts: There is the piece Toccata for Band by Frank Erickson. I would definitely recommend this for a high school band.
A totally different, and much more difficult, one is Toccata by Girolama Frescobaldi, arranged for band by Earl Slocum. IMHO this might be a bit too advanced for the average high school band.
I really like both pieces (although I'm not sure the rest of the clarinet section would agree with me about Frescobaldi's Toccata <g>).
Hope this helps.
Dori
Speaking of Toccata for Band, my son's high school band recently played this and several other pieces I've played in the past. We had fun singing the clarinet and tuba parts together while we were in the car.
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Author: Shorthand
Date: 2005-03-08 04:02
If you guys pulled off Cowboys, I'd have to wonder just how weak your horn section is. Williams loves the French Horn, and as I remember Cowboys is no exception.
The lists above are great - but I doubt there are any surprises for your director.
There are a couple of pieces on there that I would say you shouldn't graduate high school without playing, like La Fiesta Mexicana, and the Holst 1.
However, I'd like to add a couple of newer pieces I've played that I really enjoyed:
Alligator Alley by Michael Daugherty - a middle school piece - so its pretty accessable but its really fun - great little crowd pleaser to round out a program
Islas y Montan~as by Shelly Hanson - I've only played two movements but its a neat piece
Ride by Sameul Hazo - hang on to your hat but its a blast. I can't remember the other character, but its about his attempts to follow another composer down windy-twisty roads when following him home, but the other guy drove waaaay too fast.
Another fun one would be "A Walk in Jurassic Park" by Stephen Melillo. Its a comission by the Air Force band that predates the movie by about a decade and is a lot of fun - kind of Stravinsky-esque.
And I can't finish without a parting endorsement for De Meij's LOTR symphony - it isn't as infuential as some other war-horses, but the fact that it became a war-horse within 3 years of its composition speaks volumes for it.
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Author: Iacuras
Date: 2005-03-08 18:39
Joshua,
Some of the peices we have played in our wind ensemble this year you might like. One of my favorites was Slava! written by Leanord Bernstein. Another great one, is Ride written by Samuel R. Hazo. Both are fun, upbeat peices that I really loved. Hope this helps!!
Steve
"If a pretty poster and a cute saying are all it takes to motivate you, you probably have a very easy job. The kind robots will be doing soon."
"If you can't learn to do something well, learn to enjoy doing it poorly."
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Author: Aussiegirl
Date: 2005-03-12 08:43
Im pretty sure Toccata for band was Ericson now...lots of interweaving between 3 clarinet parts at times? and a funky as trumpet fanfare...one band i was in had a surplus of trumpets...good ones!
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Author: ken
Date: 2005-03-12 17:36
As much as I abhor unqualified repertoire laundry lists (and not to over-shadow the fine Woodwind.org Website Band repertoire listing), here's one I believe high school band Directors should be pushing and promoting ---- the standards ---- "original" band music" leaving the post-modernist fringe to the colleges. More, "orchestral transcriptions" should be introduced sparingly and (resources permitting) reserved for upper classmen Wind Ensemble programs. No less then 90% of the below literature should be perpetually and faithfully rotated in and out of the folders. The other 10%, 1) Thematic medleys for school-related and seasonal concerts, i.e., arrangements of Broadway medleys, holiday music, vocals, marching band and musicals. 2) Methods and warm-up material, i.e., Bach Chorale, Rubank scale, ear training and rhythmic exercise books. 3) Sight reading material odd meter and varied tempo-focused. 4) New band works and for student conductor, 20th-21st century to challenge and exhort, i.e., advanced works by, Frank Techeli, Claude T. Smith, Donald Grantham, Karel Husa, Phillip Sparke, Keith Gates, Jack Stamp, Ron Nelson, etc. Fundamentals and balance is the key! v/r Ken
Assorted FBA Graded (not exclusive or in alphabetical order)
Holst: First Suite in E Flat (Op. 28a)
a) Second Suite in F (Op. 28b)
Chance: Variations on a Korean Folk Song
a) Incantation and Dance
Giannini: Symphony No.3
Clifton Williams: Fanfare and Allegro
a) Symphonic Suite
b) The Ramparts
Cheetham: Fanfare and Steeplechase
Schuman: Chester Overture
Rogers: Victory at Sea
Bennett: Suite of Old American Dances
a) Down to the Sea in Ships
b) Symphonic Songs
Creston: Celebration Overture
Milhaud: Suite Francaise
Vaughn-Williams: English Folk Song Suite
a) Flourish for Wind Band
Barnes: Symphonic Overture
Alfred Reed: Russian Christmas Music
a) First Suite for Band in E Flat
b) Armenian Dances (Parts 1 & 2)
c) El Camino Real
H. Owen Reed: La Fiesta Mexicana
Grainger: Irish Tune from County Derry
a) Shepherd's Hey
b) Ye Banks and Braes O' Bonnie Doon
c) Lincolnshire Posy
d) Molly on the Shore
e) Lads of Wamphrey March
Hanson: Chorale and Alleluia
Ward/Dragon: America the Beautiful
Jacob: William Byrd Suite
a) Andante Tranquillo
b) Celebration Overture
c) Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring
Makris: Ageian Festival Overture
Dello Joio: Variants on a Mediaeval Tune
Erickson: First Symphony for Band
Gould: Jericho
a) Ballad for Band
Jenkins: American Overture for Band (Op. 13)
Nelhybel: Symphonic Requiem
Nixon: Elegy and Fanfare-March
Persichetti: Divertimento for Band (Op. 42)
Werle: Sinfonia Sacra (Symphony No. 1 for Winds)
Melillo: Stormworks
Holsinger: Liturgical Dances
Zdechlik: Chorale and Shaker Dance
Assorted Marches, by Sousa, Fillmore, King and Alford
Post Edited (2005-03-12 20:52)
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Author: Shorthand
Date: 2005-03-13 02:53
Wow - what a good list.
I have to disagree with saying that "post-modern" stuff (we aren't talking 12-tone here) isn't for middle-school or high-school band consumption. Today's students are practically born post-moderns and should be given an opportunity to embrace that tradition too. Its an opportunity I've certainly enjoyed, though of course I didn't see anything until college.
They won't loose respect for the great, romantic works you listed above - how could they?
Come one folks, we're clarinets, not flutes - shouldn't we be at least a little subversive?
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Author: GBK
Date: 2005-03-13 03:46
Contra wrote:
> That list has most of my favorite songs on it.
Sorry - No songs on that list...
Song: (sông, 'so[ng]) - a short musical composition with words.
...GBK
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Author: Joshua R
Date: 2005-03-13 07:19
Yes, I recognize quite a few of those on the list. Right now we are trying to get the director to play Jupiter from the planets. I showed him the list on this website and he mentioned that we have Traursinfonie in the library. Forgive me if I spelled it wrong. Perhaps we'll add that one as well. His favorite is Holst 1st Suite, but we played it a couple years ago. Thanks for the input so far.
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Author: Shorthand
Date: 2005-03-13 11:47
If he loves the Holst 1 - steer him toward Vaugn Williams. His compositions for band are dear, sweet pieces that you will all cherish for years to come.
Reed and de Meij also share a lot of the same aesthetic with Holst. (i.e. are composers he'd like if he likes the Holst 1.)
IMO, Several of the movements out of La Fiesta Mexicana or of The Lord of the Rings Symphony are more accessable than the transcription of Jupiter - plus they're different enough to introduce you to more aesthetic language. And trust me they're as much fun as the Holst 1.
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Author: clarinetist04
Date: 2005-03-14 18:04
Weak Horn and Tuba sections...Hammersmith? Just kidding!
Toccata by Frescobaldi is a fun piece, as is Slava! (written with the exclamation point). Most of Tom Duffy's music is fairly accessible as is much of Michael Colgrass more recent music (save the Winds of Nagual and Arctic Dreams). David Gillingham's music, some of it anyway, is really fantastic to play but I recall it having moderate to fairly difficult horn parts. Tempered Steel by Young is a great piece if you have the solo woodwind players to play the solos well.
Other great pieces:
American Civil War Fantasy (Jeremy Bilik)
Appalachian Overture (James Barnes)
Armenian Dances Parts I and II (Alfred Reed)
Triptych (Vaclav Nelhybel)
Canzona (Peter Menin)
Chester (William Schuman)
Dynamica (Jan van der Roost)
Ghost Train (Eric Whitacre)
Havendance (David Holsinger)
Lord of the Rings, Symphony No. 1 (Johan de Meij)
Liturgical Music for Band (Martin Mailman)
October (Eric Whitacre)
Pas Redoubles (Camille Saint-Saens)
Satiric Dances (Norman Dello Joio)
Scenes from "The Louvre" (Norman Dello Joio)
Suite Francaise (Darius Milhaud)
The Hounds of Spring (Alfred Reed)
Trauersinfonie (Richard Wagner)
Valdres (Johannes Hanssen)
This is an abbreviated list of some of the pieces I played during my high school days. Hope this helps! Good Luck!
On another note, if you don't mind going through the list, I have a database of some 2000 pieces for band if you'd like to take a glance. I can e-mail you the excel file if you so please. It would be laborious, though, to search through it.
Post Edited (2005-03-14 18:06)
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