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Dance Movements

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Philip Sparke

Philip Sparke


General Info

Year: 1996
Duration: 20:25
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Studio Music
Cost: Score and Parts - $295.00   |   Score Only - $60.00


Movements (played without pause)

1. Ritmico – 3:20
2. Molto Vivo (for the Woodwinds) – 5:10
3. Lento (for the Brass) – 4:35
4. Molto Ritmico – 7:10


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass 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
Tuba
Cello
String Bass
Harp
Piano
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Bongos
  • Cabasa
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Glockenspiel
  • Sleigh Bells
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Tam-tam
  • Tambourine
  • Temple Blocks
  • Tom-Toms (3: small, medium and large)
  • Triangle
  • Tubular Bells
  • Vibraphone
  • Whip
  • Wood Block
  • Xylophone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Dance Movements was commissioned by the United States Air Force Band and first performed by them at the Florida Music Educators’ Association Convention in January 1996. It is cast in four movements which are played without a break; the second and third feature woodwinds and brass, respectively.

In many respects, the circumstances of the commission itself were the musical inspiration for the piece: I had been asked to write for a very large band, which included piano and harp. It was the first time I had used these instruments in a concert band score and (as in Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements) their presence coloured the score and, indeed, the type of music I wrote.

The four movements are all dance-inspired, although no specific dance rhythms are used. The first has a Latin American feel and uses xylophone, cabasa, tambourine and wood block to give local colour. The second woodwind movement uses a tune that had been plaguing me for some time and is, I suppose, in the style of an English country dance. The brass movement was composed without a specific dance analogy, but I think it can been seen as a love duet in classical ballet. The fourth and longest movement has, I hope, cured me of a ten-year fascination, almost obsession, with the music of Leonard Bernstein, and I will readily admit that it owes its existence to the fantastic dance music in West Side Story.

I. Ritmico. The opening theme on horns and saxophones is played amidst stabbing chords from the top and bottom of the band. A gentler theme follows on piccolo and clarinet, followed by the flute, oboe, trumpet, harp and glockenspiel. The main motif of the movement then arrives, which includes a dotted rhythm, which is to recur at all significant moments. A climax is reached and an angular figure follows on oboes, saxophones and clarinets. Previous material then reappears to bring the movement to a close.

II. Molto Vivo (for the Woodwinds). The second movement starts with a rustic dance tune, which is continually interrupted. It passes through various keys and stages of development until a bubbling ostinato arrives on piano, harp, glockenspiel and cello. Over this, the oboe lays a languid tune, which is then taken up by soprano and alto saxophones. Clarinets and lower winds introduce a new idea; it is built on 9th and 11th chords, highly syncopated and interspersed by snatches of the ostinato. Eventually the oboe theme reappears, accompanied by the lower wind chords. The dance tune then establishes itself once more and reaches a climax before winding down to a close.

III. Lento (for the Brass). The third movement opens with whispering muted trumpets, harp and vibraphone. Declamatory statements from horn and trombone answer each other and a slow and majestic chorale gets underway. Trumpets join to reach a climax where the original trombone statement reappears, bringing back the opening trumpets figures.

IV. Molto ritmico. The final movement bursts into life with a passage featuring the percussion section. The whole band then joins in until a driving bass ostinato establishes itself. Melodic snatches are thrown around the band until a gradual crescendo leads to a unison passage for the entire band. A robust theme appears on horns and saxophones but eventually the earlier sinister music returns. After a short pause a plaintive tune on the woodwinds leads to a more rhythmic one on the brass, but it is not long before the percussion remind us of the opening of the movement, and the ostinato reappears. The robust horn tune is this time played by the full band but the moment of triumph is short and a running passage appears that starts in the bottom of the band but works its way to the upper woodwinds. Eventually the brass plays a noble fanfare that dispels the darker mood and ends the movement in a blaze of colour.

- Program Note by Philip Sparke


Awards


Media


State Ratings

  • Georgia: VI
  • Indiana: Group I (Movement IV)
  • Iowa: VI
  • North Carolina:
    • Grade VI: play Movement 4 and one additional movement
    • Masterworks: play all
  • Virginia: VI (complete performance counts as two works)
  • Texas:
    • Grade IV: Perform at least one movement
    • Grade V: Perform at least Movement 4


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • United States Coast Guard Band (New London, Conn.) (Jeffrey Spenner, conductor) - 12 February 2023
  • Colorado Wind Ensemble (Denver) (David Kish, conductor) - 11 February 2023
  • Western Illinois University (Macomb) Wind Ensemble (Mike Fansler, conductor) - 8 December 2022
  • Western Illinois University (Macomb) Wind Ensemble (Benjamin Scholz, conductor) - 12 November 2022
  • University of Oklahoma (Norman) Symphony Band (Michael Hancock, conductor) - 3 May 2021
  • Shenandoah Conservatory (Winchester, Va.) Wind Ensemble (Timothy Roblee, conductor) - 14 April 2021
  • Central Washington University (Ellensburg) Wind Ensemble (Paul Bain, conductor) - 11 March 2021
  • West Chester (Penn.) University Wind Ensemble (Andrew Yozviak, conductor) – 1 November 2020
  • Oregon State University (Corvallis) Wind Ensemble Woodwinds and Percussion (Erik Kar Jun, conductor) – 24 October 2020
  • University of Kansas (Manhattan) Wind Ensemble (John Leonard, conductor) – 6 October 2020
  • Western Illinois University (Macomb) Wind Ensemble (Mike Fansler, conductor) – 26 September 2020
  • University of South Alabama (Mobile) Wind Ensemble (William Petersen, conductor) – 27 February 2020
  • University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA) Wind Ensemble (Travis J. Cross, conductor) – 6 December 2019
  • Duke University (Durham, N.C.) Wind Symphony (Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant, conductor) – 14 November 2019
  • University of Georgia (Athens) Hodgson Wind Symphony (Jaclyn Hartenberger, conductor) – 15 April 2019
  • University of North Texas (Denton) Symphonic Band (Dennis Fisher, conductor) – 21 March 2019
  • University of Cincinnati (Ohio) College-Conservatory of Music Wind Ensemble (Thomas Gamboa, conductor) – 5 March 2019
  • Dartmouth College (Hanover, N.H.) Wind Ensemble (Matthew Marsit, conductor) – 20 October 2018
  • Elmhurst (Ill.) College Wind Ensemble (John Heath, conductor) – 14 October 2018


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

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