Earth Song

From Wind Repertory Project
Frank Ticheli

Frank Ticheli


General Info

Year: 2012
Duration: c. 3:25
Difficulty: II-1/2 (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Unaccompanied voice
Publisher: Manhattan Beach
Cost: Score and Parts - $95.00  |   Score Only - $15.00


Instrumentation

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

  • Glockenspiel
  • Triangle
  • Vibraphone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

With sweeping melodic lines and intense dynamic contrast, Frank Ticheli captures the gamut of emotion with this beautiful transcription for band. Originally composed for unaccompanied voices with his own text as inspiration and sampled works such as Sanctuary, Earth Song unites the power of words and images with melody, harmony, and dynamics to blend this work into a tonal analogue of emotive life. The following is an excerpt from Ticheli’s original text:

But music and singing have been my refuge,
And music and singing shall be my light.
A light of song, shining strong.
Through darkness and pain and strife, I’ll sing, I'll be . . . Live . . .See.

Commissioned by and dedicated to the Faubion Middle School Band for its performance at the 2012 Midwest Clinic.

- Program note from publisher


Earth Song for concert band is the grandchild of Sanctuary for concert band. Almost as soon as I completed Sanctuary I became intrigued by the idea of making a choral version of at least part of the work. Within the same year, I realized this goal, inventing a poem that reflected the music's poignant lyricism, fitting the rhythmic stresses and melodic contour of Sanctuary’s melody. Thus, Earth Song for chorus came to be.

Six years after composing Sanctuary, in 2012, I received an email from Frank Troyka, director of bands at Berkner High School in Richardson, Texas, inquiring if I might consider making a concert band version of Earth Song for one of his colleagues. The irony of his request was not lost on either of us, but we both agreed that, in a sense, this full circle back to the music's concert band origins would allow me to create a grandchild possessing the genetic strengths of both its ancestors: the rich textured lyricism and more concise nature of its choral forebear, combined with the wider color palette and expressive power of its concert band forebear.

Thus, Earth Song for concert band was born: a more concise (and less technically demanding) descendant of Sanctuary.

- Program note from composer


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Washtenaw International High School (Ypsilanti, Mich.) Concert Winds (Brooke Pierson, conductor) - 14 November 2023
  • Texas Tech University (Lubbock) Concert Band (Joel Pagán, conductor) - 6 February 2023
  • Cherokee High School (Marlton, NJ) Wind Ensemble (D. Michael Lynch, conductor) - 5 May 2022
  • West Virginia University (Morgantown) Symphonic Band (Cheldon Williams, conductor) - 26 April 2022
  • Corinth (Miss.) High School Symphonic Band (Ben Ratliff, conductor) - 30 March 2022
  • Wilson County (Tenn.) High School Honor Band (Denny Hawkins, conductor) - 21 February 2020
  • University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) Maroon Campus Band (Preston Weber, conductor) – 2 December 2019
  • Washington and Lee University (Lexington, Va.) Wind Ensemble (Christopher Dobbins, conductor) – 4 November 2019
  • University of Colorado Boulder Concert Band (Matthew Dockendorf, conductor) – 21 October 2019
  • Indiana State University (Terre Haute) Wind Symphony (Nikk Pilato, conductor) - 17 October 2019
  • Michigan State University (East Lansing) Campus Band (Arris Golden, conductor) – 8 October 2019
  • University of Missouri, Kansas City, Wind Ensemble (Joseph Parisi, conductor) – 18 September 2019
  • Illinois State University (Normal) University Band (Marykatheryne E. Kuhne, conductor) – 25 April 2019
  • Sanger (Calif.) High School Symphonic Band (Alan Moffett, conductor) - 16 March 2019 (2019 Sutherland Wind Festival (Fresno, Calif.)
  • University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire Symphony Band (Phillip A. Ostrander, conductor) - 9 March 2019
  • Oklahoma State University (Stillwater) Concert Band (Kevin Barga, conductor) – 4 March 2019
  • The Ohio State University (Columbus) University Band (Alexander Gonzalez, conductor) – 28 February 2019
  • California All-State Junior High School Concert Band (Reed Chamberlin, conductor) - 17 February 2019 (2019 CASMEC Conference, Fresno)
  • Northshore Concert Band (Evanston, Ill.) (Mallory Thompson, conductor) - 10 February 2019
  • Faubion Middle School Symphonic I Band (Brian Beck, conductor) - 20 December 2012 (2012 Midwest Clinic) *Premiere Performance*


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources

  • Ticheli, F. (2012). Earth Song: For Concert Band [score]. Manhattan Beach Music: Brooklyn, N.Y.
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