Icarus

Richard Prior

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General Info

Year: 2001
Duration: c. 11:55
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Flute and piano
Publisher: Theodore Presser
Cost: Score and Parts - Rental

Movements

1. Tableaux I – 3:30
2. Tableaux II – 5:10
3. Tableaux III – 3:10

Instrumentation

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

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

This sparkling overture draws its inspiration from the mythological story of the ill-fated flight of youthful Icarus, who was warned by his father Daedalus to maintain a steady course (not too high, not too low) during their escape from Crete and he evil King Minos. Exhilarated by the thrill of flying, Icarus flew too close to the sun and the sun god Helios (melting the wax which secured the features on the wings his father had fashioned), fell to the seam and drowned. (This parable is useful to all teenagers who question the wisdom of their parents.)

A three-pitch motif dominates the mysterious opening, punctuated by low percussion, tentative saxophone, an echo of brass, and a woodwind flurry. The ensuring section, a virtuosic tour de force for the woodwinds, is a frenetic whirlwind of passagework. Intensity increases with the addition of syncopated figures in the saxophone, trumpets and trombones, eventually leading to a dissonant climax. A lyrical transition follows, broken by ominous rushing figures in the brass section. The opening motif returns in stretto, now over the chaotic sweeps of the mallet instruments. A quicker, more violent section is next, with the motif heard in the horns, interrupted by angry marcato figures. Syncopated patterns in the brass are heard under the swirling woodwinds which build to a prolonged dominant transition that leads to the exciting finale.

- Program Note from Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony concert program, 15 December 2005

For Scott Stewart and the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony

- Program Note from score

Media

Audio: Reference recording (flute and piano edition).
Audio CD: Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony (Scott A. Stewart, conductor) - 2005

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Indiana University (Bloomington) Wind Ensemble (David Woodley, conductor) – 28 March 2007 (CBDNA 2007 National Conference, Ann Arbor, Mich.)
Atlanta (Ga.) Youth Wind Symphony (Scott A. Stewart, conductor) – 15 December 2005 (2005 Midwest Clinic)

Works for Winds by This Composer

Resources

Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Richard Prior." Accessed 5 September 2021
Richard Prior website Accessed 5 September 2021