Bagatelles for Band

From Wind Repertory Project
Vincent Persichetti

Vincent Persichetti


This work bears the designation Opus 87.


General Info

Year: 1962
Duration: c. 6:40
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Masters Music
Cost: Score and Parts - $80.00   |   Score Only - $15.00


Movements

1. Vivace - 1:05
2. Allegretto - 1:17
3. Andante Sostenuto - 2:20
4. Allegretto con Spirito - 1:15


Instrumentation

Full Score
Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Eb Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
Eb Contrabass Clarinet (ad lib.)
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II-III
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Euphonium
Trombone I-II-III
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III, including:

  • Bass Drum (head up)
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Tambourine
  • Tenor Drum
  • Triangle
  • Wood Block
  • Xylophone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Commissioned by Dartmouth College

- Program Note from score


The four movements of this work vary in tempo, but they fit one definition of a bagatelle as a short literary or musical piece in a light style. The composer would not have agreed with another definition that called it an unimportant or insignificant thing; a trifle. In a 1963 interview, when asked why many of his band pieces were so short, Vincent Persichetti replied:

Length has nothing to do with quality. I feel that each movement of the Bagatelles, for example, is as carefully a worked out musical idea as is a movement from one of my symphonies, and it stands as high in my esteem. I certainly will not add padding to a movement in order to prove its performance.

Bagatelles for Band (Op. 87) was commissioned by Dartmouth College and premiered in May 1961. Vincent Persichetti had commented that he did not accept commissions unless he had ideas at the time for that ensemble. He said, “If I hear an idea, I don’t just hear a tune or a harmony; I hear it in a medium.”

- Program note from www.windband.org


Many educators hold Persichetti's compositions in high esteem for their suitability in a classroom environment. This is not only because the pieces are rhythmically achievable, but also because of the musical concepts and nuance that can be taught while rehearsing. Moreover, the harmonic palette Persichetti uses is very unique among works considered playable by secondary school ensembles.

- Program note by Michael R. Pond-Jones


Media

(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)

State Ratings

  • Alabama: AA
  • Arkansas: IV
  • Florida: V
  • Georgia: V
  • Kansas: V
  • Louisiana: IV
  • Massachusetts: IV
  • Maryland: V
  • Michigan: AA
  • North Carolina: V
  • Oklahoma: IV
  • South Carolina: V
  • Tennessee: V
  • Texas: IV
  • Virginia: VI


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • State University of New York, Fredonia, Wind Symphony (Daryl Warren, conductor) – 14 November 2019
  • University of California, Santa Barbara, Wind Ensemble (Enoch Matsumura, conductor) – 30 May 2019
  • University of Georgia (Athens) Symphonic Band (Michael Robinson, conductor) - 27 September 2017
  • Penn State University (University Park) Symphonic Band (Dennis Glocke, conductor) – 10 October 2016
  • Foothill Symphonic Winds (Palo Alto, Calif.) (David Bruce Adams, conductor) – 5 June 2016


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

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