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Ancient Runes
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General Info
Year: 2017
Duration: c. 7:20
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Manuscript
Cost: Score and Parts - Unknown
Instrumentation
(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
The concept for the piece actually began when I was speaking to my friend, Amy Kotsonis (one of the choral directors at the University of Northern Iowa), and she showed me some large bamboo poles that she was using on a piece with her choirs. I loved the concept of both the visual and aural drama associated with using several of these poles as part of a work for band, imagining something dramatic and ritualistic. When I received the commission from Greg Conway, I felt as though it was the perfect opportunity to explore my idea, since Greg and his students have a wonderful program that isn't afraid to experiment with concepts that are "outside the box."
Ancient Runes is divided into three large and distinct sections: Introduction, Invocation, and Ritual. All of the pitch material for the work comes from the following octatonic scale: C, Db, Eb, E, F#, G, A, Bb. The musical material for the Introduction is fast and aggressive, featuring melodic elements that focus on a descending whole step. The Invocation introduces a new lyrical element, initially presented by a bassoon soloist and continuing with solos for tuba and alto saxophone. This gradually builds into the final section, Ritual, in which the bamboo poles finally appear. The melodic material from both the Introduction and the Invocation return over pulsating rhythmic percussion, before accelerating into a final frenzied conclusion.
Of course, any piece that explores this territory owes a great deal to Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, one of my favorite pieces, and I have intentionally paid homage in two obvious ways. The first is in the Invocation, in which the lyrical bassoon solo references the opening of Stravinsky's work, and the second is in the climactic arrival of the Ritual, in which the ensemble unites on repeated chords comprised of the complete octatonic set, mimicking Stravinsky's famous "Augurs of Spring" chords.
Ancient Runes was commissioned by Gregory Conway and the Hopkins Junior High School Bands (Fremont, Calif.) and premiered by their Wind Ensemble in May 2017.
- Program Note by composer
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Hopkins Junior High School (Fremont, Calif.) Wind Ensemble (Gregory Conway, conductor) – May 2017 *Premiere Performance*
- Hopkins Junior High School (Fremont, Calif.) Music Summer Camp Advanced Band (Greogry Conway, conductor) - 23 July 2016
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Alchemy (2008/2013)
- All the Pretty Little Horses. See: Three Folk Song Settings for Band
- Ancient Runes (2017)
- Apples (2018)
- Branden's Rainbow (1997/2002)
- Bright Sunny Days (2013)
- By My Side (2018)
- Casus Belli (2018)
- Celebration In Brass (1995)
- Concerto for Percussion (as transcriber) (1994/1997)
- Conversations with the Night (1994)
- Dance, from All Hail the Power
- December Dance (2005)
- Diamond Jubilee Suite (2018)
- Distorted Images: A Jazzman's Nightmare (1989)
- A Fallen Leaf (2004)
- Fanfare: In Memoriam (2015)
- Fantasy on a Theme by Sousa (2003)
- Frenzy (2010)
- The Four Horsemen (1989)
- A Glimpse through the Trees (2014)
- Grant Them Eternal Rest (2003)
- Havener Fanfare (2012)
- Heirloom (2009)
- I Am (1990)
- John Henry (1990)
- Joyride (2003/2008)
- Kinetic Energy (1994)
- Kirkpatrick Fanfare (1999)
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (2006)
- Metamorphosis (2013)
- Old Ben's Farm (2016/2019)
- On the Merrimack (2010)
- Ovations (1995)
- Phoenix (2020)
- Poor Wayfaring Stranger. See: Three Folk Song Settings for Band
- Relentless (2000)
- Scarborough Fair. See: Three Folk Song Settings for Band
- Scherzo (1995)
- Scherzo No 2 (2013)
- Shades of Ivory (1996)
- Simple Song (1995)
- Snowflakes Dancing (2012/2016)
- Song for Lyndsay (2005)
- Song for My Children (2013)
- Song for My Parents (2020)
- Song of Loudest Praise, A (2010)
- Song of the Sea Maidens (1994)
- Stamp, from A Jack Stamp Suite (2017)
- Star-Crossed (2013)
- Symphony No. 1 for Winds and Percussion (1997)
- Symphony No. 3 (1999)
- Symphony No. 4 (2006)
- Symphony No. 6 (2012)
- Symphony No. 8 (2015-2016)
- Symphony No. 10 (2019)
- This Is the Drum (2013)
- Thoughts of You (1998)
- Three Folk Song Settings for Band
- Poor Wayfaring Stranger (2007/2012)
- All the Pretty Little Horses (as arranger) (2014)
- Scarborough Fair (as arranger) (2013)
- Time Streams (After Tricycle) (2011)
- To Break Earth's Sleep (2015)
- Tricycle (1997)
- Twilight of the Gods (2010)
- An Uncommon Man (1993)
- Unraveling (2006)
- Urban Scenes (1993)
- The Vikings (2015)
Resources
- Andrew Boysen Jr. website Accessed 15 August 2020