Court Music (Grantham)
General Info
Year: 2005
Duration: c. 8:45
Difficulty: VII (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Piquant Press
Cost:Score and Parts $300.00 (Rental) / Score (Purchase) - $50.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
Piccolo (doubling Flute III)
Flute I-II-III (at least four players required)
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II-III (Bassoon III doubling Contrabassoon)
Contrabassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III (at least three on each part)
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Saxophone
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium (two players)
Tuba (two players)
String Bass
Harp
Timpani
Percussion I–II-III-IV, including:
- Bass Drums
- Bell Tree
- Bongos
- Glockenspiel
- Gongs (2: pitched C, D)
- Ratchet
- Roto-Tom (small)
- Sleigh Bells
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tambourine
- Tam-Tam
- Timbales
- Tom-Toms
- Tubular Bells
- Vibraphone (2)
- Wind Chimes (brass)
- Xylophone (2)
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Court Music was commissioned by the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra with the request that the work somehow reflect an "East meets West" theme. Naturally, I began to listen to a good deal of Japanese folk and ceremonial music, and I was particularly impressed with the literature of the Gagaku orchestra. This ancient orchestral tradition features music of great intricacy and timbral beauty. It would have been impossible for me to even begin to absorb the complexities of this music, but I have incorporated some of its most striking and characteristic sounds, particularly those of the Hichiriki (double reed instruments), the Ryuteki (flutes), and the sho (a bundled reed instrument capable of sustaining several pitches as a drone). I have also employed Japan's most famous folk song, Sakura Sakura, in three highly contrasting settings at the beginning, middle, and end of the work.
- Program Note by composer
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- The Hartt Omni-Ensemble (West Hartford, Conn.) (Glen Adsit, conductor) – 5 May 2018
- Florida State University (Tallahassee) Wind Orchestra (Richard Cleary, conductor) – 31 March 2007 (CBDNA 2007 National Conference, Ann Arbor, Mich.)
Works for Winds by This Composer
- After Hafiz (2016)
- Amber Sky
- Baron Cimetiere's Mambo (2004)
- Baron Piquant on Pointe (2011)
- Baron La Croix's Shuffle (2007)
- Baron Samedi's Sarabande (and Soft Shoe) (2005)
- Bum's Rush (1994)
- Chant and Hymn for Our Lady
- Circa 1600 (2018)
- Cloudless Day, Bitter Sky (2002)
- "Come Memory..." (2002)
- Concerto in One Movement for Bass Trombone (1979)
- Court Music (2005)
- Don't You See? (2001)
- Effulgent Light (2017)
- Exhilaration and Cry (2008)
- Fantasy on "In Dulci Jubilo" (2015)
- Fantasy on "La Golondrina" (2003)
- Fantasy on Mr. Hyde's Song (1998)
- Fantasy Variations (1927/1998)
- Farewell to Gray (2001)
- Fayetteville Bop (2002)
- From "An Alabama Songbook" (2007)
- Honey in the Rock (2008)
- JS Dances (2003)
- J'ai été au bal (1999)
- Kentucky Harmony (2000)
- Let Evening Come (Grantham) (2014)
- Lone Star Twister (2008)
- Music for the Blanton (2006)
- Northern Celebration (2001)
- Phantasticke Spirites (2002)
- Shenandoah (2017)
- Southern Harmony (1998)
- Wondrous Love (2008)
- Sol y Sombra (2014)
- Spangled Heavens (2010)
- Starry Crown (2007)
- Symphony for Winds and Percussion (2009)
- Stomp (Grantham) (2009)
- Summer of 2008 (2008)
- Thunderbird
- Trumpet Gloria (2006)
- Tuba Concerto (Grantham) (2012)
- An Uneasy Mrch
- Variations on an American Cavalry Song (2001)
- What Comes Around... (2017)
- A Winter Sky (2022)
Resources
- Donald Grantham website
- Popejoy, James. "Court Music." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 6, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 775-782. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2007.