In the World of Spirits

From Wind Repertory Project
Bruce Broughton

Bruce Broughton


General Info

Year: 2011
Duration: c. 10:15
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Brubel Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $200.00; (digital) - $200.00   |   Score Only (print) - $40.00


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
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
String Bass
Piano
Harp
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V, including:

  • Anvil
  • Bass Drum
  • Bongos
  • Castanets
  • Chimes
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Crotales
  • Field Drum
  • Glockenspiel
  • Gong (3)
  • Maracas
  • Marimba
  • Mark Tree
  • Piccolo Snare Drum
  • Ratchet
  • Shakers
  • Snare Drum
  • Tam-Tam
  • Thunder Sheet
  • Tom-Tom (3)
  • Triangle
  • Vibraphone
  • Whip
  • Wind Chimes
  • Xylophone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

In the World of Spirits was inspired by a paragraph found in Empire of the Summer Moon, a book by S.C. Gwynne about the rise and fall of the Comanches. In it, the author describes the life of the Plains Indian as “a world ... of pure magic, of beaver ceremonies and eagle dances, of spirits that inhabited springs, trees, rock, turtles, and crows; a place where people danced all night and sang bear medicine songs, where wolf medicine made a person invulnerable to bullets, dream visions dictated tribal policy, and ghosts were alive in the wind…in the mystical cycles of the seasons, living in that random, terrifying, bloody, and intensely alive place where nature and divinity became one.”

In the World of Spirits is not a depiction of a specific spirit world, but instead a representation to some degree of the energy in the world of the spirit. It is the world of motion, of action, of feeling, of terror, of excitement. In short, it is the engine that drives the physical world and in which all things move and live.

Musically, the piece relies upon two main themes. The first one, which features a short burst of repeated notes followed by many leaping phrases, is initially hinted at in the flutes after a short introduction, and then presented in its entirety soon afterwards with the flutes and oboes. The second theme is much more declamatory and pompous, stated often with brass, chimes, and trilling woodwinds. These two themes interact to create the basic fast–slow–fast rhapsodic structure of the piece.

Although there is no story or program to the piece, In the World of Spirits is an attempt at a sort of “visual music,” music that stimulates by its musical associations various visual and dramatic images for the listener, i.e., ballet without the dancers or a movie without the screen.

In the World of Spirits was commissioned by and is dedicated to Scott A. Stewart and the Emory Wind Ensemble.

- Program Note from liner notes for the Naxos CD In the World of Spirits


Awards


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

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Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources

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