By My Side

Andrew Boysen Jr.

General Info

Year: 2018
Duration: c. 6:20
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Neil A. Kjos
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $80.00 | Score Only (print) - $8.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute I-II
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II
Trombone I-II
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V, including:

Bodhrán
Chimes
Finger Cymbals
Guiro
Marimba
Mark Tree
Orchestra Bells
Sandpaper Blocks
Sizzle Cymbal
Suspended Cymbal
Tambourine
Tam-Tam
Triangle
Vibraphone
Wooden Board
Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Written in memory of an eighth-grade percussionist and cross-country runner named Ian, this creative commissioned work makes use of a musical cryptogram as a compositional technique, assigning musical pitches to notes of the alphabet which allows the composer to spell words. Thus, the notes B-A-G spell I-A-N, and these notes serve as the melodic basis for the piece. The title and structure of the three-section composition are inspired by The Runner's Prayer, which begins with the words "Run by my side."

The piece begins quietly with marimba and vibraphone, later joined by solo flute. (Ian and one of his sisters were percussionists, and his other sister played flute.) Other instruments are added as the piece moves to a full ensemble statement of Ian's Chorale. A Celtic quality is apparent during the opening section, acknowledging Ian's heritage and love for Irish music, but the Celtic flair is even more pronounced during the second section, which features the Runner's Theme, a vibrant, forward-moving melody derived from the opening chorale. The final section ultimately joins the chorale and the running theme, in effect running side by side as the piece builds to a dramatic final section before fading and disappearing into the distance.

- Program Note from The Instrumentalist

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown

State Ratings

Alabama: Class BB

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Franklin (Mass.) High School Wind Ensemble (Diane Plouffe, conductor) – 10 December 2019

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)
- Winter of the World
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 31 August 2019
Boysen, Jr., A. (2018). By My Side [score]. Neil A. Kjos: San Diego, Calif.
"New Music Reviews." The Instrumentalist, 74/2 (September 2019), p. 24-25.
Perusal score