Café 512 (flex)

Ryan George

Subtitle: For FLEX Ensemble

General Info

Year: 2010 / 2020
Duration: c. 4:30
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Fornine Music
Cost: Score and Parts (digital) - $70.00

Instrumentation (Flexible)

Full Score
Part 1

Flute
Oboe
B-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet
Violin

Part 2

B-flat Soprano Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet
Violin

Part 3

B-flat Soprano Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone
Horn in F
B-flat Trumpet
Viola

Part 4

Bassoon
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
Horn in F
Low Brass
Cello

Part 5

Bassoon
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
Low Brass
Tuba
String Bass

Piano
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V including:

Cabasa
Claves
Crash Cymbals, suspended
Glockenspiel
Hi-Hat
Kick Bass Drum
Splash Cymbal
Suspended Cymbal
Tambourine
Tom-Toms (3)
Triangle
Vibraphone
Vibra-slap
Wood Block

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

As I was beginning to brainstorm ideas for this piece, I stumbled across the title of a piece by famed Argentinean composer Astor Piazzolla called Café 1930. I found the title immediately intriguing, and in wanting to write a piece that tipped the hat heavily towards a specific style, the mood and intensity found within tango seemed to be the right fit. The similarities between Piazzolla's work and the one I was looking to write pretty much end at the title. Whereas Piazzolla's work is intimate, slow, and melancholy (as well as being a true tango), I wanted to write something more dance-like and energetic. So I changed the "1930" to "512", the area code of Austin, Texas, and used a 5+1+2 note grouping to construct the main motif throughout the work.

- Program Note by composer

Performance Notes

Instrument choices for each part are selected to give you as many options as possible while making idiomatic sense. This piece works really well as a brass, woodwind or string quintet, as well as with mixed instrumentation. You'll find multiple octaves are given in certain parts to best fit with that particular instrument's range and/or player's ability.

My hope is that you will take this piece and run with it. Mix and match instrumentation to demonstrate how orchestration can change the color and feel of the piece. Use one-on-a-part, double up, triple up. Do anything to make this a musically rewarding experience for all involved.

Instrumentation considerations:

Piccolo – should play the flute line for Part 1
Treble Clef Baritone – should play the b-flat Tenor Saxophone line for Part 4
Low Brass – this implies either Trombone or Euphonium
Part 2 – B-flat Clarinet should lay the upper octave during octave splits if possible. Soprano Saxophone and Trumpet should play lower octave during octave splits.
Part 5 Bassoon/Low Brass – tenor Trombone and Euphonium players should play the upper octave. Bassoon and Bass Trombone players can play either the top or bottom octave depending on player ability.
Piano – there are optional Mallet parts for two players if preferred or pianist not available.

Media

Audio: Reference recording. MIDI realization

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

San Jose (Calif.) State University Symphonic Band (Arquin Abaya, conductor) - 6 May 2021
Ball State University (Muncie, Ind.) Symphony Band (Adam Friedrich, conductor) - 23 April 2021
Illinois State University (Normal) Livingston Band (Anthony C. Marinello, conductor) - 21 April 2021

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Autobahn (Flex instrumentation) (2008/2020)
Café 512 (Flex instrumentation) (2010/2020)
Jinx (Flex instrumentation) (2017/2020)

All Wind Works

Resources

Creative Repertoire Initiative
George, R. (2010). Café 512: For Winds & Percussion [score]. Fornine Music: [Cedar Park, TX].
Herb, Thomas. "Café 512." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 9, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 308-314. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2013.
Perusal score
Ryan George website - Accessed 8 December 2019