Program for October 18, 2015 First Baptist Church
Videorecording of this concert
Sea Songs (1924)........................................................................... Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958)
A march-style arrangement of three British folk songs with nautical references in ABA form, with “Princess Royal” and “Admiral Benbow” as the basis of the A section, and “Portsmouth” as the center portion. The work was originally written to be the second movement of Vaughan Williams’ popular English Folk Song Suite.
Schwanengesang D. 957 (1828).................................................................. Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
12. Am Meer
arr. (1986) F. Henri Greissinger
Matt Barnhill, trombone
Swan Song was Schubert’s final musical contribution, published shortly after his death. In #12, “At the Seashore,” with lyrics by poet Heinrich Heine, the singer tells of how he and his beloved met in silence beside the sea, and she wept; since then he has been consumed with longing — she has poisoned him with her tears. The performance of this arrangement for solo trombone with band accompaniment is dedicated to the memory of EKU trombone professor Ken Haddix.
Eternal Father, Strong to Save (1975)..................................................... Claude T. Smith (1932–1987)
Eternal Father Strong to Save was commissioned in 1975 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Navy Band, and it was premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
Motor Boat Rag (1919)........................................................................... Alberte Chiaffarelli (1884–1945)
ed. John Stroube
Alberte Chiaffarelli, an Italian born composer, conductor, clarinetist, and arranger was the principal clarinetist for the New York Philharmonic from 1914–1920. Among his publications was this delightful and complex ragtime in march form. Music aficionados will note that the Trio section is in the dominant key rather than the typical subdominant.
Chanteys of the Briny Deep................................................... arr. (1988) Leland Forsblad (1920–2006)
Leland Forsblad was born and raised near Fresno, California. He served as a combat pilot in World War II; and he was a POW for two years, writing music for the Stalag band, chorus, and orchestra. After his return to the states, he taught choral music in the Fresno schools for nearly thirty years and wrote hundreds of works for chorus, band, and orchestra. Songs in this nautical medley are “Blow, Ye Winds, In the Morning,” “High Barbaree,” and “A-Roving.”
Glory of the Yankee Navy (1909)............................................................ John Philip Sousa (1854–1932)
ed. (2004) Loras John Schissel
First composed as a song in Sousa’s 1909 musical, “The Yankee Girl,” the composer recast it as a march.
The Drunken Sailor (1901)................................................................ arr. (1973) Grant Hull (1928–2015)
Following his retirement, California junior high school band director Grant Hull continued to write and perform music into his eighty-sixth year. In 1996, upon receiving a Murray High School Band concert program from John Stroube that included “Drunken Sailor,” he wrote to say he had a 27-foot sloop that he sailed on the San Francisco Bay, so he was a sailor, but sober for the most part (his words).
A march-style arrangement of three British folk songs with nautical references in ABA form, with “Princess Royal” and “Admiral Benbow” as the basis of the A section, and “Portsmouth” as the center portion. The work was originally written to be the second movement of Vaughan Williams’ popular English Folk Song Suite.
Schwanengesang D. 957 (1828).................................................................. Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
12. Am Meer
arr. (1986) F. Henri Greissinger
Matt Barnhill, trombone
Swan Song was Schubert’s final musical contribution, published shortly after his death. In #12, “At the Seashore,” with lyrics by poet Heinrich Heine, the singer tells of how he and his beloved met in silence beside the sea, and she wept; since then he has been consumed with longing — she has poisoned him with her tears. The performance of this arrangement for solo trombone with band accompaniment is dedicated to the memory of EKU trombone professor Ken Haddix.
Eternal Father, Strong to Save (1975)..................................................... Claude T. Smith (1932–1987)
Eternal Father Strong to Save was commissioned in 1975 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Navy Band, and it was premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
Motor Boat Rag (1919)........................................................................... Alberte Chiaffarelli (1884–1945)
ed. John Stroube
Alberte Chiaffarelli, an Italian born composer, conductor, clarinetist, and arranger was the principal clarinetist for the New York Philharmonic from 1914–1920. Among his publications was this delightful and complex ragtime in march form. Music aficionados will note that the Trio section is in the dominant key rather than the typical subdominant.
Chanteys of the Briny Deep................................................... arr. (1988) Leland Forsblad (1920–2006)
Leland Forsblad was born and raised near Fresno, California. He served as a combat pilot in World War II; and he was a POW for two years, writing music for the Stalag band, chorus, and orchestra. After his return to the states, he taught choral music in the Fresno schools for nearly thirty years and wrote hundreds of works for chorus, band, and orchestra. Songs in this nautical medley are “Blow, Ye Winds, In the Morning,” “High Barbaree,” and “A-Roving.”
Glory of the Yankee Navy (1909)............................................................ John Philip Sousa (1854–1932)
ed. (2004) Loras John Schissel
First composed as a song in Sousa’s 1909 musical, “The Yankee Girl,” the composer recast it as a march.
The Drunken Sailor (1901)................................................................ arr. (1973) Grant Hull (1928–2015)
Following his retirement, California junior high school band director Grant Hull continued to write and perform music into his eighty-sixth year. In 1996, upon receiving a Murray High School Band concert program from John Stroube that included “Drunken Sailor,” he wrote to say he had a 27-foot sloop that he sailed on the San Francisco Bay, so he was a sailor, but sober for the most part (his words).
