In addition to their astronomically large output of symphonic music, and with the exception of Mahler, each of the aforementioned composers wrote music for smaller consorts of instruments, whether be they strings or winds.  It is with great satisfaction I tell you that much of their consort music exists for winds.  Yes!  Flutes, clarinets, bassoons, oboes (and all the variations thereof, including English horn, oboe d’amore, basset horn, etc.).  Chamber music we call it, but by definition, these works were written for musical consorts of wind instruments.  Here is a list of three works you may know:

• Mozart – Serenade in Bb “Gran Partita”, for 13 Wind Instruments (1781/2)
• Strauss – Serenade in Eb, for 13 Wind Instruments (1881/2)
• Stravinsky – Octet for Winds (1923)

Other notable works for winds by orchestral composers:

• Holst – First Suite in Eb for Military Band (1909)
• Vaughan Williams – English Folk Song Suite (1923)
• Respighi – Huntingtower Ballad (1932)
• Grainger – Lincolnshire Posy (1937)
• Persichetti – Symphony No. 6 (1956)
• Copland – Emblems (1964)
• Schwantner – …and the mountains rising nowhere (1977)

There are of course others, and far too many to list here.  Each of the above works is coveted in the concert hall, and on the rare occasion when a major orchestra programs one of them, it is likely that it will either sell out or receive a standing ovation.  Music for consorts of winds…bands of wind instruments.  Not too shabby.

My battle with the concert hall has become this:  if music for winds was being written in 1781, and it is still being written today, why is it we don’t hear any of today’s wind music performed in the concert hall?  Answers:

• “Band music isn’t serious music.”
• “Music without strings is not music.”
• “There are no professional concert bands.”
• “It is not academic.”
• “There are no serious or well-known composers for band.”
• “I don’t write for band because you cannot achieve the same sounds and colors.”
• “People won’t come to listen to band music.”

Remarkably, I feel comfortable enough in my own skin to rufute each one of these heinous excuses.  However, to sum it all up in one short answer, THEY ARE ALL WRONG AND UNFOUNDED!!

Band, Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Chamber Winds, Wind Symphony, Symphonic Winds, Symphonic Band, Wind Orchestra, Symphonic Wind Orchestra–many guises, yes.  But all are equally as important, established, and legitimate as any Orchestra, Symphony, Philharmonic, or Chamber Orchestra.

For the next few weeks, I plan to feature composers that have successfully and willingly composed for both the orchestra and the concert band.  Some such composers include Robert Washburn, Cindy McTee, Joseph Schwantner, John Corigliano, Bruce Yurko, Steve Bryant, Jennifer Higdon, John Mackey, and Ron Nelson.  My aim is to feature some of these composers in an effort to not forget about music written for the concert band.  The cat is out of the bag:  Yes, I am a band advocate, but my love of the orchestra and the experience of hearing that music in the concert hall leaves me yearning for an explanation of the phenomenon.

I hope you enjoy the next series of posts.  Great music awaits, and some of it just happens to be for large consorts of wind instruments!

Regarding Reich, I think it is safe to say that the accessibility of Reich’s ideas is what makes him so popular among so many diverse groups of music listeners.  The Who’s Baba O’Riley for example opens with a synthesizer motive that is reminiscent of some of the phasing found in Reich’s music.  Other contemporary artists have been known to use his ideas, and it seems that music students and music patrons the world over are constantly amazed by his music–or the process of his music.  For all its simplicity, performances of Reich’s music requires great skill, concentration, and musicianship.

Try writing a piece using some of the concepts defined earlier in the blog or styled after Reich’s It’s Gonna Rain. I did this about a year and a half ago, the resulting Noon a portion of a presentation on Avante Garde Music.  The title, palindromic in nature, is for piano and marimba and explores minimalist components in a palindromic form.  I found the composition process exciting, but difficult at times.  Credit was immediately dished over to Reich and other composers who have made careers in such areas of composition.  Perhaps it is the simple act of doing that helps us appreciate the complexity of the process.  And to his credit, Reich has made the process a simple act of listening.

I hope to have one more post about Mr. Reich, though I haven’t determined of what nature. Perhaps a day in the city will bring uncover one last topic for the native New Yorker in the blog.

-Vinnie

Known primarily for his art songs (which number over 500), he has been the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for his Air Music for orchestra, as well both a Fulbright (1951) and Guggenhiem (1957) Fellowship. He is a three-time recipient of the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award, was named Composer of the Year in 1998 by Musical America, and in 2003 was the recipient of ASCAP’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Rorem spent two years at Northwestern University before attending The Curtis Institute on scholarship. He later studied with Bernard Wagenaar at Juilliard, earning his B.A. in 1946 and his M.A. in 1948.
Stylistically, Rorem has rarely strayed far from diatonicism, though several of his works do employ other techniques, including altered chords, polytonality, and modified forms of serialism. His works have been commissioned by the Ford Foundation, the Lincoln Center Foundation, the Koussevitsky Foundation, the Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Chicago Symphonies, and the New York Philharmonic. Artists for whom these works were commissioned include Jeffery Khaner (principal flute, Philadelphia Orchestra), David Geringas (solo cellist), and Dame Evelyn Glennie (solo percussionist).

In 2003, on the occasion of his 80th birthday, the international music community joined in celebrating Rorem’s music with various festivals and performances. Highlighting this celebration was “Roremania,” sponsored by The Curtis Institute, which featured many different genres of the composer’s work.
Having enjoyed a career of more than 60 years as a composer, Rorem continues to write and compose, with his most recent diary Facing the Night having hit shelves in 2005 and the world premiere of his opera Our Town in 2006. Currently, Mr. Rorem resides in New York.

Look Down, Fair Moon, by Ned Rorem

Other Notable Works:

Evidence of Things Not Seen (1997), for four solo voices and piano, commissioned by the New York Festival of Song

Our Town (2006), an opera in two acts, commissioned by the Indiana University Opera Theater, and five co-commissioners

String Symphony (1985), for string orchestra, commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony

Enjoy!

Vinnie

No cause for alarm! There was a reason it changed all of the sudden, and I hope you like it

-Vinnie

I added a “Suggested listening” section in the posts.  They require iTunes, as the link takes you to the iTunes music store where you can play short samples, download the pieces, and discover new pieces.  You can download iTunes here.

In the interest of getting this up and running, I have decided to forgo the additional posts to accompany the back-issues, but will gladly do so if there should be any requests for additional information.

-Vinnie