Ghost Train

From Wind Repertory Project

Eric Whitacre

1 General Info
2 Instrumentation
3 Errata
4 Program Notes
5 Commercial Discography
6 State Ratings
7 Recent Performances
8 Additional Works for Winds by this Composer
9 Additional Resources

General Info

Year: 1995
Duration: c. 15:00
Movements: Three Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Carpe Ranam, distributed by Hal Leonard
Cost: Score and Parts - $325.00 | Score - $60.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute I-II
Oboe
Bb Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
Bass Clarinet I-II
Bassoon I-II
Alto Saxophone I-II
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone
Trumpet (in Bb) I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
Piano
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V, including:

Anvil
Bass Drum
Chinese Cymbal
Crickets
Cymbals (crash, splash, and suspended)
Glockenspiel
Gong (Tam-tam)
Hi-Hat
Sleigh Bells
Snare Drum
Surdo
Tambourine
Tom-Toms
Triangle
Tubular Bells
Vibraphone
Waterphone
Wind Chimes
Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

The legend of the Ghost Train, a supernatural machine that roars out of the night through forgotten towns and empty canyons, is deeply rooted in American folklore, and it was this spirit i worked to capture.

The compositional challenge came in creating a larger three movement work from the first movement which was originally conceived and performed as a single event. I felt that the use of trains as a source of sounds and inspirations was virtually inexhaustible, but I wanted to save the integrity of the original while using it as the architectural foundation. At the Station is just that: the train comes to a roaring halt and the passengers depart. In this movement I see countless images: friends and family reunited, the soaring architecture of the station itself, and the genuine sincerity and innocence of the era. After a reflective pastiche the locomotive builds up steam and slowly departs, grand and graceful. The Motive Revolution is twofold in its implication. The name refers to the period between 1850 and 1870 when steam engines revolutionized transportation, and also describes the cyclical treatment of musical motive throughout the movement. The train blazes across the country side, moonlight glistening off it's dark steel, and ends with a final, heroic tribute to these machines and the people who worked them.

The first movement was written in the winter of 1993-1994 and received its premiere March 7th, 1994. Movements II and III were written in the winter of 1994-1995, and the entire triptych received its premiere on March 14th, 1995. Ghost Train was written for and is dedicated to Thomas G. Leslie and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Wind Symphony.

Program Note by Eric Whitacre