Categories: SLOW TUNES - Grade 3.0, Eric Whitacre Concert Band Composer: Jonathan Newman
Grade 3.0
1861 is a lyric hymn/fantasia for young concert bands, based on the beautiful 19th century Anglican hymn “Lead Me, Lord” (written in 1861 by Charles Sebastian Wesley). The hymn itself features a gorgeous melodic line over biting harmonies and striking counterpoint, and provides the pillars for this work. First is a soloistic treatment, followed with a dramatic full band tutti, and finally a section of evocative humming. Throughout are unique textures and colorful improvisitory accompaniments.
Category: Eric Whitacre Concert Band Composer: Steven Bryant
Grade 5.0
This large-scale three-movement work, commissioned by Ray Cramer and the Indiana University Wind Ensemble, embodies the transformation of silence into sound. The opening movement is sparse, utilizing mallet percussion, harp, and piano to create a floating sense of timelessness. Featuring extensive solo flute, this floating texture gradually builds over several minutes, ultimately launching itself into a grandiose, warm, harmonically consonant blanket of sound. The second movement continues the focus on solo flute, and again opens slowly, gradually gaining momentum, but at a faster pace than in the first movement. The music spirals upward and outward, but instead of reaching a plateau, winds itself out and comes to a grinding halt in the upper range of the ensemble. Five brief, solemn chords conclude the movement, which immediately erupts into Movement III, music of unceasing, unsettling, motion, propelled by a driving ostinato which is repeatedly interrupted by bittersweet moments of lyricism, all the while pushing toward an unforgiving climax. The movements may also be performed separately. There is no explicit narrative to the piece, though many particular elements do have personal quasi-biographical significance. Ultimately, this is music of both personal and musical transformation.
NOTE: This work is available as a rental item directly from the composer. For details, e-mail rental@stevenbryant.com.
Category: Eric Whitacre Concert Band Composer: Eric Whitacre
Chester Leaps In is a cartoonish romp featuring chromatic, bouncy lines with sudden intrusions of William Billings' familiar tune, Chester, popularized by the composer William Schuman.
Categories: SLOW TUNES - Grade 4.0, Eric Whitacre Concert Band Composer: Steve Bryant
Grade 4.0 Duration 4.16
This simple, chorale-like work captures the reflective calm of dusk, paradoxically illuminated by the fiery hues of sunset. The dual nature of this experience is impressive, as if witnessing an event of epic proportions silently occurring in slow motion. Dusk is intended as a short, passionate evocation of this moment of dramatic stillness.
Categories: BIGGIES - Grade 5.0, Eric Whitacre Concert Band Composer: Eric Whitacre
Grade 5.00
Duration 10:00
A wild ride from the composer of October and Ghost Train! Equus is the Latin word for horse, and this moto perpetuo perfectly captures the fury and majesty of this magnificent animial. Commissioned by Gary Green and the University of Miami, Equus is not for the faint of heart!
Categories: BIGGIES - Grade 5.0, Eric Whitacre Concert Band Composer: Eric Whitacre
Grade 5.0 Duration 10:00
A wild ride from the composer of October and Ghost Train! Equus is the Latin word for horse, and this moto perpetuo perfectly captures the fury and majesty of this magnificent animial. Commissioned by Gary Green and the University of Miami, Equus is not for the faint of heart !
Categories: BIGGIES - Grade 5.0, Eric Whitacre Concert Band Composer: Steven Bryant
Grade 5.0
Duration 8.30
The title First Light refers to the arrival of dawn – specifically the composer's experience of dawn in the mountains surrounding Lake Garda in northern Italy. There, the light of the sun arrives in distinct stages: the night sky begins to brighten quite early, though the sun remains hidden behind the mountains for several hours. Abruptly, the first direct ray of sunlight crests the mountaintop, bringing with it intense, palpable heat. The town below, nestled in the narrow space between the water's edge and the steep mountain slope, remains in darkness for a while longer, until the sun ultimately sends light cascading down the mountainside, illuminating everything.
Categories: Eric Whitacre Concert Band, BIGGIES - Grade 4.0 Composer: Eric Whitacre
Grade 4.0 Duration 5.06
from GHOST TRAIN TRILOGY The piece that helped launch Eric Whitacre's career in wind band composing! In this highly programmatic work, Eric transforms a story from American folklore of a supernatural locomotive that roars throughout the Western U.S. Rich in special effects and unique compositional techniques, this dynamic piece creates vivid aural images as the train leaves the station and passes through a varied landscape.
Categories: BIGGIES - Grade 4.5, Eric Whitacre Concert Band Composer: Eric Whitacre
Grade 4.5 Duration 19.20
The piece that helped launch Eric Whitacre's career in wind band composing! In this highly programmatic work, Eric transforms a story from American folklore of a supernatural locomotive that roars throughout the Western U.S. Rich in special effects and unique compositional techniques, this dynamic piece creates vivid aural images as the train leaves the station and passes through a varied landscape.
Available
£103.95 
