Program for October 10, 2010 Madison Central High School Auditorium
Overture for Winds (1959) Charles Carter (1926)
Carter served in the U. S. Army during World War II and later graduated from Ohio State, Eastman, and Florida State. He subsequently served on the theory and composition faculty at Florida State and now is retired, although he continues to write for concert band. His Overture for Winds is bright and energetic (marked Allegro con Moto) and is in ABA form.
Australian Up-Country Tune (1928) Percy Aldridge Grainger (1882–1961)
arr. (1967) Glenn Cliffe Bainum
This work was inspired, to some extent, by the melodies of Stephen Foster. The original version of this gentle piece was a wordless song for chorus, and it was first sung at Grainger’s wedding. This band version presents the tune three times, each scored more richly than the previous.
The Fairest of the Fair March (1908) John Philip Sousa (1854–1932)
Sousa wrote 136 marches, each with a title that signified an event, a place, a person, or another entity. He wrote Fairest of the Fair to be played at the Boston Food Fair; and the title, he said, referred to a pretty girl he had seen at an earlier fair.
An Original Suite (1928) Gordon Jacob (1895–1984)
I. March
II. Intermezzo
III. Finale
Gordon Jacob was a Londoner, was educated at the Royal College of music, and subsequently taught at his alma mater. An Original Suite is an early band work by Jacob, and he since has enriched the repertoire with numerous others. The word “original” in the title was to indicate that the themes were of his own creation rather than adaptations of folk music or other source material.
Toccata (1925) Gaspar Cassadó (1897–1966), originally attributed to Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583–1643)
arr. (1956) Earl Slocum
Spanish composer Gaspar Cassadó, a student of Pablo Casals, created a collection of six pieces for ’cello and piano, one of which was entitled “Girolamo Frescobaldi’s Toccata,” thus attributing the piece to the important Renaissance composer. However, scholars agree that in truth it is an original work by Cassadó, intended to mimic the style of Frescobaldi. Despite the misleading attribution, the work is dramatic, exciting, and a worthy contribution to a program.
A Bernstein Tribute Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990)
arr. (1991) Clare Grundman
Symphonic Dances from “West Side Story” (1957)
Prologue
Somewhere
Scherzo
Mambo
Three Dance Episodes from “On the Town” (1945)
The Great Lover
Times Square: 1944
Lonely Town
Excerpts from the Overture to “Candide” (1955)
Clare Grundman, an inveterate arranger of the music of Leonard Bernstein, has adapted for band three orchestral works, all of which are based on Bernstein’s own stage productions. “West Side Story” depicts racially segregated gangs and a modern day Romeo and Juliet story involving an Italian boy and a Puerto Rican girl. “On the Town” concerns three American sailors on 24-hour shore leave in New York City, during which time they fall in love with women and with the city, and eventually return to their ship and head off to war. “Candide” is a musical production based on a novella by French author Voltaire (1694–1778); a witty, insightful, but cynical look at the human condition; the overture being a concert favorite worldwide and Bernstein’s most commonly programmed work when he conducted.
Carter served in the U. S. Army during World War II and later graduated from Ohio State, Eastman, and Florida State. He subsequently served on the theory and composition faculty at Florida State and now is retired, although he continues to write for concert band. His Overture for Winds is bright and energetic (marked Allegro con Moto) and is in ABA form.
Australian Up-Country Tune (1928) Percy Aldridge Grainger (1882–1961)
arr. (1967) Glenn Cliffe Bainum
This work was inspired, to some extent, by the melodies of Stephen Foster. The original version of this gentle piece was a wordless song for chorus, and it was first sung at Grainger’s wedding. This band version presents the tune three times, each scored more richly than the previous.
The Fairest of the Fair March (1908) John Philip Sousa (1854–1932)
Sousa wrote 136 marches, each with a title that signified an event, a place, a person, or another entity. He wrote Fairest of the Fair to be played at the Boston Food Fair; and the title, he said, referred to a pretty girl he had seen at an earlier fair.
An Original Suite (1928) Gordon Jacob (1895–1984)
I. March
II. Intermezzo
III. Finale
Gordon Jacob was a Londoner, was educated at the Royal College of music, and subsequently taught at his alma mater. An Original Suite is an early band work by Jacob, and he since has enriched the repertoire with numerous others. The word “original” in the title was to indicate that the themes were of his own creation rather than adaptations of folk music or other source material.
Toccata (1925) Gaspar Cassadó (1897–1966), originally attributed to Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583–1643)
arr. (1956) Earl Slocum
Spanish composer Gaspar Cassadó, a student of Pablo Casals, created a collection of six pieces for ’cello and piano, one of which was entitled “Girolamo Frescobaldi’s Toccata,” thus attributing the piece to the important Renaissance composer. However, scholars agree that in truth it is an original work by Cassadó, intended to mimic the style of Frescobaldi. Despite the misleading attribution, the work is dramatic, exciting, and a worthy contribution to a program.
A Bernstein Tribute Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990)
arr. (1991) Clare Grundman
Symphonic Dances from “West Side Story” (1957)
Prologue
Somewhere
Scherzo
Mambo
Three Dance Episodes from “On the Town” (1945)
The Great Lover
Times Square: 1944
Lonely Town
Excerpts from the Overture to “Candide” (1955)
Clare Grundman, an inveterate arranger of the music of Leonard Bernstein, has adapted for band three orchestral works, all of which are based on Bernstein’s own stage productions. “West Side Story” depicts racially segregated gangs and a modern day Romeo and Juliet story involving an Italian boy and a Puerto Rican girl. “On the Town” concerns three American sailors on 24-hour shore leave in New York City, during which time they fall in love with women and with the city, and eventually return to their ship and head off to war. “Candide” is a musical production based on a novella by French author Voltaire (1694–1778); a witty, insightful, but cynical look at the human condition; the overture being a concert favorite worldwide and Bernstein’s most commonly programmed work when he conducted.