Groundhog's Lament, The
General Info
Year: 2004
Duration: c. 3:05
Difficulty: II (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $55.00 | Score Only (print) - $7.95
Instrumentation
Full Score
Flute I-II
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F
Trombone I-II
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV. Including:
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Triangle
- Wind Chimes
- Woodblock
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Nestled down deep underground in its burrow, a groundhog slumbers on well into the third month of a long winter’s nap, dreaming cozy dreams about the coming of a warm spring. Suddenly it stirs, sensing a primal need to awaken. It yawns … stretches … then remembers why it has woken up. It is February 2, a day set aside specifically for the creature to perform an important task. Slowly, still half asleep, it begins to make its way up from the burrow. As it ascends, the anticipation of the coming moment gradually awakens and excites the groundhog. Faster and faster it ascends until, finally — ah, fresh air! After a couple of magnificent gulps, the animal remembers its purpose. It looks to the ground and sees, alas, its own shadow! Disappointed (as will be so many of the rest of us), the groundhog descends once again, finally settling back down in the corner of its dark, cool underground home. It resumes the long nap, hopeful that it still has a six-week supply of spring dreams to help it through the remainder of winter hibernation.
- Program Note from score
Media
- Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown
- Audio CD: William Mason High School Wind Symphony (Micah Ewing, conductor) - 2004
State Ratings
- Tennessee: II
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- William Mason (Mason, Ohio) High School Wind Symphony (Micah Ewing, conductor) – 17 December 2004 (2004 Midwest Clinic)
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Alyeska: The Great Land
- An American Jubilee
- An American Tapestry (2003)
- Fantasia Variations on "Eternal Alleluias" (1995)
- Galop (2015)
- The Groundhog's Lament (2004)
- A Halama Christmas (2004)
- The Jig Is Up (2003)
- March Emeritus
- Metamorphosis (1986/2005)
- Overture from "Yankee Doodling"
- Promenade and Galop
- Sea Creatures
- Streets of Honor
- There Was a Composer of Genius
- The Vanishing Snows of Kilimanjaro
- A Visit With Old Joe
- Yankee Doodling (1997)
Resources
- Daniel Kallman website Accessed 4 February 2022
- Kallman, D. (2004). The Groundhog's Lament [score]. Boosey & Hawkes:[New York].
- Perusal score