By Virtue of the Skies
Subtitle: The Barnstormer's Flight
This work bears the designation Opus 78.
General Info
Year: 2016
Duration: c. 5:15
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Wingert-Jones
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $70.00; (digital) - $70.00 | Score Only (print) - $10.00;
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
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
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V, including:
- Agogo Bells
- Bass Drum
- Bells (or Crotales)
- Chimes
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Triangle
- Vibraphone
- Vibraslap
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
My father, Jack Prescott, was born in 1922 and at the age of 17 became the youngest pilot in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. As he later told me, he was something of a daredevil back then -- flying under drawbridges and doing snap rolls down the deserted beach at 50 feet. During World War II, he was a member of the Army Air Corps and flew C-47 transport planes from India to China over the Himalaya mountains. He flew 83 missions over "the hump" and was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by President Harry Truman.
In By Virtue of the Skies, this heroism in the face of severe adversity is depicted by the dignified thematic material of the opening, which is tested by the somewhat dissonant fanfare figures appearing later. The ultimate triumph of the hero becomes apparent at the end of the piece.
This work also honors the career of my friend and teacher, James Barnes, who has always been something of a barnstormer in his own fashion.
- Program Note by composer
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
Works for Winds by This Composer
Adaptable Music
- The Legend of Greensleeves (Flex instrumentation) (2011/2020)
All Wind Works
- Alien Marching Machine (2016)
- The Aliens' Revenge (2019)
- Aliens Landing (In Your Back Yard) (2008)
- The Aliens Return (2020)
- American Hymn Tune Sketches (2007)
- Ancient Apparitions (2019)
- Ancient Hymn Tune Variants (2014)
- Boats Against the Current (2020)
- Book of Secrets (2020)
- Bright Shining as the Sun (2013)
- By Virtue of the Skies (2016)
- Chinese Dragon Dance (2010)
- Christmas on the Town Square (2010)
- Circles of Light (2009)
- Close Encounter at Loch Ness (2013)
- Cresting Calloway Peak (2005)
- Dreams of Flight (2010)
- East of the Sun (2005)
- Echoes of the Morning Trumpet (2016)
- Flight of the Vampire (2011)
- The Garden of Magical Sounds (2018)
- The Ghost Lights of Newton County (2016)
- Haunted House (2009)
- The Headless Horseman (2014)
- Heroes and Quests (2020)
- Highlander Fanfare (2005)
- Impulse From a Vernal Wood (1995)
- Infinity Fanfare (2019)
- Jammin' Old St. Nicholas (as arranger) (2017)
- Kickstart (2021)
- Leaves That Descend to No Drum (1993/2020)
- The Legend of Greensleeves (2011)
- The Legend of Greensleeves (Flex instrumentation) (2011/2020)
- Monster at the Drive-Thru Window (2018)
- Nova Stella (2017)
- Phoenix and Dragon (2011)
- Poltergeist (2011)
- Portals of Time (2016)
- Prelude and Dance (2019)
- Prelude and Toccata (2019)
- Secrets of Area 51 (2017)
- The Soaring Falcon (2011)
- Table Rock Festival (2020)
- Time Circles (2015)
- To the Colors (2018)
- Triumphant Celebration (2013)
- The Troll Bridge (2015)
- Tropes: Variants on an Ancient Kyrie (2015)
- Turbocharge (2021)
- A Vision Through the Pines (2001)
- Wide Horizon (2008)
- Wide Missouri (2019)
- Winterfest (2008)
- Zombies Knocking On Your Door (2013)
Resources
- John Prescott website Accessed 5 May 2021
- Perusal score