Program for April 13, 2014 First Baptist Church
Ceremony for Winds
(1960), John
Cacavas (1930–2014)
When John Cacavas, most notable today as a composer for television, wrote Ceremony for Winds, he was living in New York with his bride, and he was working for Bourne, Inc., a music publisher. He had not yet met Telly Savalas, and he had not yet written the theme for Kojak or any of numerous other music selections for the screen. This composition, an extended fanfare, demonstrates the craftsmanship that subsequently carried him through a long and successful career.
The Circus Bee (1908), Henry Fillmore (1881–1956)
Henry Fillmore ran away from home three times to play trombone in circus bands. He wrote The Circus Bee, which was (oddly) named after an imaginary circus trade paper. Speculation is he was paying homage to (or poking good-natured fun at) John Klohr’s march The Billboard.
Air for Band (1956), Frank Erickson (1923–1996)
The Italian aria, or air, is an expressive melody. In an opera for example, a recitative carries the story line, while an aria bears emotional content. Through carefully crafted polyphony and harmony, Erickson has created a vehicle for interpretive expression by bands.
Shepherd’s Hey (1918), Percy Aldridge Grainger (1882–1961)
Based on a fiddle tune meant for dancing, Shepherd’s Hey is a rollicking celebration by this Australian-born, world-traveling, free-thinking pianist.
Lux Aurumque (2005), Eric Whitacre (1970)
The composer writes of the work, “Lux Aurumque began its life as an a cappella choral work that I wrote in the fall of 2000. When the Texas Music Educators Association and a consortium of bands commissioned me to adapt it for symphonic winds, I rewrote the climax and included the grand ‘Bliss’ theme from my opera Paradise Lost.”
El Capitan (1896), John Philip Sousa (1854–1932)
John Philip Sousa was more than “the march king,” a designation we commonly use to identify him today. He was also a violinist, a bandmaster in the military and professionally, and a composer of various types of music, not only marches. El Capitan was his first successful operetta, and his march of the same name contains themes from the production. Like several other marches based on the music from operettas, it uses 6/8 time and 2/4 time.
The Rakes of Mallow (1953), Leroy Anderson (1908–1975)
The Eire Society of Boston was established in 1937 to “promote the knowledge of Irish culture through the encouragement of study in the arts, sciences, literature, language, and history of Ireland.” In 1947, the Society commissioned Leroy Anderson to write an Irish Suite based on traditional Irish folk tunes. The Rakes of Mallow is the third of six movements, a song about wealthy but promiscuous young men in a town in County Cork. (“Rake” is the root of “rakish,” a term still used, though infrequently.)
When John Cacavas, most notable today as a composer for television, wrote Ceremony for Winds, he was living in New York with his bride, and he was working for Bourne, Inc., a music publisher. He had not yet met Telly Savalas, and he had not yet written the theme for Kojak or any of numerous other music selections for the screen. This composition, an extended fanfare, demonstrates the craftsmanship that subsequently carried him through a long and successful career.
The Circus Bee (1908), Henry Fillmore (1881–1956)
Henry Fillmore ran away from home three times to play trombone in circus bands. He wrote The Circus Bee, which was (oddly) named after an imaginary circus trade paper. Speculation is he was paying homage to (or poking good-natured fun at) John Klohr’s march The Billboard.
Air for Band (1956), Frank Erickson (1923–1996)
The Italian aria, or air, is an expressive melody. In an opera for example, a recitative carries the story line, while an aria bears emotional content. Through carefully crafted polyphony and harmony, Erickson has created a vehicle for interpretive expression by bands.
Shepherd’s Hey (1918), Percy Aldridge Grainger (1882–1961)
Based on a fiddle tune meant for dancing, Shepherd’s Hey is a rollicking celebration by this Australian-born, world-traveling, free-thinking pianist.
Lux Aurumque (2005), Eric Whitacre (1970)
The composer writes of the work, “Lux Aurumque began its life as an a cappella choral work that I wrote in the fall of 2000. When the Texas Music Educators Association and a consortium of bands commissioned me to adapt it for symphonic winds, I rewrote the climax and included the grand ‘Bliss’ theme from my opera Paradise Lost.”
El Capitan (1896), John Philip Sousa (1854–1932)
John Philip Sousa was more than “the march king,” a designation we commonly use to identify him today. He was also a violinist, a bandmaster in the military and professionally, and a composer of various types of music, not only marches. El Capitan was his first successful operetta, and his march of the same name contains themes from the production. Like several other marches based on the music from operettas, it uses 6/8 time and 2/4 time.
The Rakes of Mallow (1953), Leroy Anderson (1908–1975)
The Eire Society of Boston was established in 1937 to “promote the knowledge of Irish culture through the encouragement of study in the arts, sciences, literature, language, and history of Ireland.” In 1947, the Society commissioned Leroy Anderson to write an Irish Suite based on traditional Irish folk tunes. The Rakes of Mallow is the third of six movements, a song about wealthy but promiscuous young men in a town in County Cork. (“Rake” is the root of “rakish,” a term still used, though infrequently.)