Hacksaw

Arthur Gottschalk

Subtitle: For Concert Band and Solo Bass Clarinet

General Info

Year: 2018
Duration: c. 9:20
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Manuscript
Cost: Score and Parts - Available after July 2019

Instrumentation

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

Bass Drum
Crash Cymbals
Side Drum
Snare Drum
Suspended Cymbal
Tambourine
Tam-Tam
Tom-Tom, small, medium and large
Triangle
Vibraphone
Wood Block

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Hacksaw, for solo bass clarinet and symphonic wind ensemble, was commissioned by legendary clarinet virtuoso Richard Nunemaker, whose career was largely spent as a member of the Houston Symphony Orchestra. An alumnus of SUNY-Fredonia, he requested a work to premiere in collaboration with that institution, and in particular Paula Holcomb, its illustrious Director of Bands. The work is dedicated to Nunemaker, Holcomb, and the SUNY-Fredonia Wind Ensemble, who gave the work its premiere on October 6, 2018. The title came about while ruminating upon Mr. Nunemaker’s character and personality; as Aaron Copland once told me, years ago, “You don’t write for an instrument; you write for the person who plays that instrument”. Mr. Nunemaker is a wide-ranging musician of catholic tastes and abilities, but the characteristic that first came to my mind was toughness. A colleague of his mentioned that it was rare, indeed, for any conductor to work with the Houston Symphony and emerge unscathed by Richard Nunemaker. He brooked no nonsense from coddled and arbitrary conductors, whatsoever. Many synonyms for toughness rolled through my mind, but I finally settled upon the hacksaw, as a riddle popped into my head: “What do a bass clarinet and a hacksaw have in common? In the hands of an expert, they can both cut through a chain link fence!”

- Program Note by composer

Media

(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

State University of New York, Fredonia, Wind Ensemble (Paula Holcomb, conductor; Richard Nunemaker, bass clarinet) – 6 October 2018 *Premiere Performance*

Works for Winds by This Composer

Resources

Arthur Gottschalk website Accessed 6 October 2018