The one-hundredth anniversary of Armistice Day, celebrating the cessation of hostilities at "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of World War I, is upon us. This anniversary is a time for reflection of that war (and many others) as well as a remembrance of those fallen on the field, in the air, in the cities, and small town. The next concert of the Quad City Wind Ensemble, War and Remembrance, is dedicated to the nearly countless lives lost here and abroad.
Robert Jager was born in Binghamton, New York (1939), and is a graduate of The University of Michigan. Jager taught for thirty years at Tennessee Tech University and is now a professor emeritus from that institution. Esprit de Corps, composed for the U.S. Marine Band in 1984, is best described as a fantasy-march and Jager’s salute to this outstanding ensemble and the Corps in general. In total, it is a display piece for “any fine group of musicians.” The composer intends Esprit des Corps to be full of energy and drama. There are moments of levity (listen for the quasi-waltz in the middle) and times for solemnity, especially with all the references to The Marine Hymn. It ends in a magnificent flourish, reminiscent of some of the more evocative contemporary film music.
Frederick Joseph Ricketts (February 21, 1881—May 15, 1945) was an English composer of marches for band. Under the pen name Kenneth J. Alford, he composed marches that are considered to be excellent examples of the art. He was a Bandmaster in the British Army and Royal Marines Director of Music. Conductor Sir Vivian Dunn called Ricketts "The British March King." From his early days as a military bandsman, Ricketts/Alford had a desire to compose music. The problem was that it was frowned upon for commissioned officers and warrant officers class 1 to be engaged in commercial activities in the civilian world. So of course, he adopted his now-famous pseudonym. A “poetic march,” The Vanished Army, composed in 1918 was dedicated to the memory of the first 100,000 soldiers who perished in World War I and subtitled "They Never Die." Muted trumpet solos and poignant use of “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” evoke the legacy and memory of that vanished army.
World War I, later referred to in America as “The Great War,” was an international involvement until April 1917. The great patriotic sentiment which swept America during this time identified in part by popular music of the day, much of it written with the war in mind. Talented arranger Andrew Glover, a member of the C. L. Barnhouse staff since 1998, included in this medley, “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary,” “Roses of Picardy,” “Over There,” and several others in this set of Songs from the Great War.
Australian Composer Ralph Hultgren calls Bright Sunlit Morning “a personal reflection on the events in the United States of America on the morning of September 11, 2001. This piece takes on a deeper meaning for Hultgren wrote to conductor Brian Hughes about his religious epiphany that harkened an entirely new style of composition.
World War I, later referred to in America as “The Great War,” was an international involvement until April 1917. The great patriotic sentiment which swept America during this time identified in part by popular music of the day, much of it written with the war in mind. Talented arranger Andrew Glover, a member of the C. L. Barnhouse staff since 1998, included in this medley, “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary,” “Roses of Picardy,” “Over There,” and several others in this set of Songs from the Great War.
Australian Composer Ralph Hultgren calls Bright Sunlit Morning “a personal reflection on the events in the United States of America on the morning of September 11, 2001. This piece takes on a deeper meaning for Hultgren wrote to conductor Brian Hughes about his religious epiphany that harkened an entirely new style of composition.
A “cynical agnostic,” Hultgren wrote, “I found verses that came to life for me and penetrated the hardness of my mind and my heart….Bright Sunlit Morning was different in many ways because the composer was different in many ways.” “Brian, as we listened to the radio that morning, Julie and I sat in our bed and wept for your country. We ached for you and for the troubles that would come, but we knew a reason for peace and hope, and that is the precipitate of the work.”
To the audience, Hultgren notes, “I would not wish to represent the events of that day in musical terms. My effort has been to represent my reactions to that dreadful day. How one comes to terms with such an occurrence is very personal indeed….Faced with such calamitous events I cannot but say that ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1), and I am assured that ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?’ (Psalm 27:1). Through this tragic time and the frenzied panic that grips us God calls and says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10).”
From the University of Kansas School of Music website: “Professor Emeritus James Barnes taught music composition, orchestration, arranging and wind band history/repertoire courses at The University of Kansas. At KU, he served as Staff Arranger, Assistant, and later, Associate Director of Bands for twenty-seven years. Barnes served as Division Director for Music Theory and Composition for ten years. In spring 2015, he completed his fortieth year of teaching at KU.
Composed for the U.S. Army Band in 1992, Lonely Beach is a tone poem about some isolated and not particularly attractive beaches on the northern coast of France, which, for a few hours on a late spring day in 1944, were transformed into the most critical location in the violent history of the 20th Century. It is important to note that Operation Overlord included nearly 5,000 ships, 175,000 assault troops, and 20,000 paratroopers, along with thousands of aircraft. The battle began at dawn and by 10:00, casualties already numbered over 2,000. At the end of the day, the Allies were again standing on the soil of France, and Hitler’s Third Reich was ultimately doomed by this second front.
Today, so many years later, the ageless constancy of the wind and the waves reminds us of man’s comparative insignificance in relation to the world around him, and it reinforces our realization of the waste, the horror, and the tragedy of war.
Of Epilogue: “Lest We Forget,” the composer (again, Robert Jager) writes, “This is not a work of celebration. It is, rather, music to commemorate the decent people who suffered through the agony of World War II, and those who gave their lives for peace and freedom. It is not funeral music, but a solemn hymn to the indomitable spirit of those who were touched by tyranny, and who were able to rise above it—both in life and in death. It is these people that we remember.”
In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Date: October 21, 2018
Time: 3:00 PM
Place: Allaert Hall, Galvin Fine Arts Center, St. Ambrose University, Davenport, IA.
For more information: www.qcwindensemble.org. The QCWE can also be found on Facebook.
Brian Hughes, D.M.A.
Winner: American Prize, Wind Conducting 2015-2016, 2016-17, 2017-18
Founder and Music Director: Tri-State Wind Symphony
Music Director: Quad City Wind Ensemble
Conductor: Bettendorf Park Band
(563) 599-7730
maestroblh1@gmail.com
www.brianlhughes.com
“This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” Leonard Bernstein
#quadcitywindensemble , #2018 , #fallconcert , #stambroseuniversity , #davenportia , #bandconcert , #concertband , #iowaband , #iowa-illinois , #quadcities , #musiceducation , #concertforkids , #concertforadults , #musicentertainment , #musicalentertainment , #quadcitiesmusic , #quadcitymusic , #musicconcert
maestroblh1@gmail.com
www.brianlhughes.com
“This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” Leonard Bernstein
#quadcitywindensemble , #2018 , #fallconcert , #stambroseuniversity , #davenportia , #bandconcert , #concertband , #iowaband , #iowa-illinois , #quadcities , #musiceducation , #concertforkids , #concertforadults , #musicentertainment , #musicalentertainment , #quadcitiesmusic , #quadcitymusic , #musicconcert
