Our Spring, 2016 concerts invoke a Spanish theme and feature the Symphony No. 3 "Don Quixote" by Robert W. Smith as well as the ever-popular Ritual Fire Dance by Manuel De Falla.
La Virgen de la Macarena
B flat trumpet solo with band
Traditional Spanish, Arr. Charles Koff
- Robert Laguna, trumpet
- Thomas Stowers, guest conductor
La Virgen de la Macarena is a traditional bullfighting song made famous by the great trumpet virtuoso Rafael Mendez. Many great players have performed this standard trumpet solo including Doc Severinson and The Canadian Brass.
La Procession du Rocio
Joaquin Turina, arr. Alfred Reed
Although a native of Spain, while studying in Paris early in his career, composer Joaquin Turina was influenced by the impressionistic harmonies of Debussy and Ravel. Once he returned to Spain, Turina also drew inspiration from Spanish folk music with La Procession du Rocio, which became one of his best-known works. The music portrays a festival and procession that takes place in the Triana neighborhood of Seville, and is filled with wonderful idiomatic Spanish elements. Alfred Reed's marvelous 1962 transcription remains an enduring keystone in the wind band repertoire.
Don Quixote - Symphony No. 3
Robert W. Smith
Robert W. Smith brings us another epic work based upon classic literature. Symphony No. 3 Don Quixote musically portrays the classic tale of the errant knight, his trusty yet bumbling squire and their adventures in the name of chivalry. This work is captivating, musical and full of vivid imagery,
The Quest, the first of four movements, is distinctly Spanish in flavor. Using a blend of classic and contemporary techniques, the composer weaves together a sonic tale of the gentleman of La Mancha who takes up his lance and sword to defend those that are helpless and destroy those that are evil.
Dulcinea, the second movement, tells the tale of Don Quixote's adoration of the ideal woman. Written in a sultry 5/4 tango, the audience will hear the haunting melody and feel the passion of Cervantes' knight-errant.
Sancho and the Windmills is the third movement. In it, the listener is treated to the comic relief that permeates the entire story. The movement begins with a bassoon solo representing Sancho Panza and progresses to the sounds of Don Quixote's battle with the windmills.
In The Illumination, the fourth and final movement, uses a man's reflection at the end of his life for its creative direction. Emotionally powerful, quotes from the previous movements tie the creative work together while leading towards man's glorious ascension into the light.
Ritual Fire Dance (from El Amor Brujo)
Manuel de Falla, Arr. Jay Bocook
- Thomas Stowers, conductor
Danza ritual del fuego (Ritual Fire Dance) is a movement of the ballet El amor brujo (The Bewitched Love), written by the Spanish composer Manuel de Falla in 1915. It was made popular by the composer's own piano arrangement.
The work was influenced by Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee due to its fast, repetitive trills and ornaments. The piece was also influenced by the traditional, religious ceremony of a fire dance. This is a dance which was used to worship the fire-god, and in which people would often jump through or leap around the fire.
Adagio para Orquestra de Instrumentos de Viento
Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquis of the Gardens of Aranjuez
Composed on a commission by Robert Boudreau and the American Wind Symphony, Adagio para Orquestra de Instrumentos de Viento (roughly translated as "Adagio for Orchestral Winds") is the composer's first work for winds. Two major moods are presented in a series of contrasting and alternating sections, A-B-A-B-A. During the opening, middle, and closing sections, the mood is quiet and tranquil, with a flowing melody that is woven through the upper woodwinds. The second and fourth section are more angular and fanfare-like, with the brass and percussion supplying the drive. The work concludes with a soft sigh from the lower voices and the timpani. - Program Note by Nikk Pilato
Adagio for Wind Orchestra, a monumental work for winds by a master composer, was commissioned by Robert Boudreau and the American Wind Symphony. Far from confined to one affect or tempo, this work moves in and out of expressive, tranquil adagio lines, fanfare figures, and exciting ostinati. The plaintive solo and duo woodwind melodies are supported by piquant brass harmonies. Fanfare figurations finally give way to a somber return of the opening material—this time, with a soulful, final chord and the resting heartbeat of the timpani. - Program Note by Brian Casey
A contemplative work, Adagio para Orquestra de Instrumentos de Viento shifts between slow, soloistic segments and fast, aggressive sections. The Spanish modality of the melodic lines elicits a sense of folk-inspired melancholy throughout. The American Wind Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Robert Austin Boudreau, first performed the Adagio in June 1966, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Flashing Eyes Of Andalusia
from the Camera Studies Suite
John Philip Sousa/arr. Keith Brion
Sousa's brilliant, fiery and tuneful Spanish dance is enhanced by multiple percussion, including colorful castanets and tambourines. The composer's natural affinity for creating great melodies, and his love for the music of the Iberian Peninsula are beautifully joined together.
Adagio from Concierto de Aranjuez
Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre, Arr. Andrew Houston
- Robert Laguna, flugelhorn
- Gary Sapp, conductor
The Concierto de Aranjuez is a composition for classical guitar and orchestra by the Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. Written in 1939, it is far and away Rodrigo's best-known work, and its success established his reputation as one of the most significant Spanish composers of the twentieth century.
According to the composer, the second movement, Adagio, "represents a dialogue between guitar and solo instruments (cor anglais, bassoon, oboe, horn etc.)" He described the concerto itself as capturing "the fragrance of magnolias, the singing of birds, and the gushing of fountains" in the gardens of Aranjuez.
A number of musicians have since reinterpreted the work, usually the second movement, perhaps most famously jazz musician Miles Davis in the company of arranger Gil Evans.
- On the album Sketches of Spain (1960), Davis says: "That melody is so strong that the softer you play it, the stronger it gets, and the stronger you play it, the weaker it gets."
- Deep Purple played "The orange juice song" (David Coverdale and Jon Lord) on the sessions of the 1975 "Come taste the band" album, which is based around the famous second movement. It appears on the collection "Days may come..."
- Led Zeppelin's keyboardist/bassist John Paul Jones incorporated parts of the music during an improvisation section of their song "No Quarter" on their 1977 tour.
