April 10, 200817 yr Hey, I'm working on scoring a Wind Philharmonic piece for a reading next semester, and I was wondering some good scores to study. I have Blue Shads by Ticheli, and Jim Barnes' Third Symphony. I might get a few more Ticheli scores, and maybe Lincolshire Posey. But what other pieces would you guess suggest?
April 10, 200817 yr There really aren't that many well written "band" pieces, so I would suggest looking at works for orchestral winds written by composers that are generally considered "orchestral" composers. One good set to look at that are neither are Joseph Schwantner's works for wind ensemble and piano. And the mountains rising nowhere, In Evening's Stillness, and From A Dark Millenium. If you can get a hold of those scores, please do it. Ticheli's 2nd Symphony is VERY good, especially the second movement. I also personally like some of Clifton Williams' writing in Fanfare and Allegro, and Symphonic Dance No. 3. Very well written pieces of "lower difficulty". And also, not "maybe Lincolnshire Posy", DEFINITELY get it, that is some of the best orchestrating you're going to find in most any band piece of that era.
April 10, 200817 yr One thing you might want to look at is the Sinfonietta by Ingolf Dahl. The scoring and construction of the piece is very clear and fresh, and it's definitely not a typical "band" work, at least for most of the piece.
April 12, 200817 yr Hey, I would suggest Psalm for Band by Vincent Persichetti which was, obviously, written just for winds. We just played this for UIL and it was such an emotional piece. Don't let the name fool you, this is a great piece of writting. Also, take a look at Divertimento for Winds and Percussion by Roger Cichy. Although this piece was originally composed for orchestra, it was beautifully arranged for band and to tell you the truth I like this piece more than Psalm for Band but I think Psalm has more of the style that you are looking for given your description above. Well good luck to you and I hope you get the chance to take a look at one of these pieces... believe me you wont regret it!
April 13, 200817 yr Gustav Holst has a few good Wind Symphony pieces. Suite in E flat and F are really good.
May 2, 200817 yr Ok. First of all, there are many good band pieces, they're just hidden under masses of crappy middle school arrangements and dumbed-down lameo pieces made for making money for publishers. Here's a good list to follow. Generally, anything on this list will be good: List of concert band literature - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia That said, these are the scores I recomend: John Barnes Chance: Incantation and Dance Percy Grainger: Irish Tune from County Derry, Lincolnshire Posy, Shepherd's Hey, The "Gumsuckers" March Gustav Holst: First Suite in E-flat, Second Suite in F, Hammersmith Robert Jager: Esprit De Corps Joseph Wilcox Jenkins: American Overture for Band Peter Mennin: Canzona Darius Milhaud: Suite Francaise Vaclav Nelhybel: Trittico, Festivo Ron Nelson: Rocky Point Holiday Alfred Reed: Armenian Dances (Parts I+II), Russian Christmas Music William Schuman: George Washington Bridge, New England Triptych Fisher Tull: Sketches on a Tudor Psalm Clifton Williams: Symphonic Dances, Fanfare and Allegro Ralph Vaughan Williams: English Folk Song Suite, Toccata Marziale Good luck!
May 2, 200817 yr Good list! I think I've played just about everything on it. Be warned that Reed does the ultra-thick dumbed-down "double every freakin' musical line" in a lot of his works, though. Not saying he's bad or anything, but there are pieces where he's brilliant, and pieces where you can tell he needed rent or food money one month...
May 2, 200817 yr Good list! I think I've played just about everything on it.Be warned that Reed does the ultra-thick dumbed-down "double every freakin' musical line" in a lot of his works, though. Not saying he's bad or anything, but there are pieces where he's brilliant, and pieces where you can tell he needed rent or food money one month... Lol. Very true!
May 19, 200817 yr Don't forget Children's March by Grainger; wonderful variation writing that explores the color's of the wind symphony.
May 19, 200817 yr Honestly, 90% of wind band music is pretty awful. Most of the composers who write for it are mediocre, bands play with terrible intonation, and composers don't compensate for that in their orchestration and create some of the worst orchestration I've ever seen/heard. Basically, if you're going to write for band you better write something good. And some Grainger march does NOT qualify as good.I'd rather write something that a band might butcher than write something an orchestra will never play. :cool:
May 19, 200817 yr And some Grainger march does NOT qualify as good. Very substantial evidence you have backing up that claim. bands play with terrible intonation Strings cover up their terrible intonation with vibrato.
May 22, 200817 yr By ClassicalSax:Strings cover up their terrible intonation with vibrato. Right on! I have a recording of Luther College playing Brahms that I can't listen to for more than 90 seconds. Granted, the strings are on the correct pitch for brief moments in their out-of-tune vibrato, but...
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