King Across the Water, The
General Info
Year: 1995
Duration: c. 6:15
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: G & M Brand
Cost: Score & Parts - $75.00 | Score Only - $10.00
Movements
1. Battle
2. Lament
3. Dancing
Instrumentation
Full Score
Flute I-II (I optional C Piccolo)
Oboe
Bassoon
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
Horn in F I-II
Trombone I-II
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion I-II, including:
- Bass Drum
- Glockenspiel
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tambour (various for woodwinds to use)
- Tom-Toms
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
This work is based on an event in the life of Bonnie Prince Charlie. He had returned to Scotland and was gathering about him an army heading south towards England, which had sent Sir John Cope to fight with him. The traditional folk-song Johnnie Cope is the basis of all the themes in the work.
Charlie attacked the English at Prestonpans outside Edinburgh -- this is represented by Battle -- where the theme appears as fanfares and battle shrieks. There followed a period of mourning as the English had been massacred -- Lament -- in which the theme is fragmented into long sustained phrases. The Scots rejoiced and celebrated in Edinburgh -- Dancing -- where the theme is the original used as a reel.
- Program Note by composer
Fraser treats the folk song three different ways in the three movements of the piece. In the first movement, Battle, we hear marching and gunfire in the sounds of tambours (hand drums) played by many of the wind players in the band. The melody is introduced as a brilliant fanfare led by the trumpets, then all the brass.
The battle ensues, then we are led into the plaintive second movement, the Lament, during which a solo clarinet plays the same melody, but this time as a mournful cry. Flutes and other high winds follow, singing the sad melody in a slow round, like wails of the grief-stricken. The battle has been successful, but injuries were suffered and lives were lost. Percussion adds sparse reminders of gunfire and marching sounds, perhaps to reflect loss and injury of members of the batterie.
In the third movement, we hear the folk tune in its original form, a Scottish reel. A festive mood is evident. The Scottish have defeated their enemy, and now it’s time to dance and make merry! After a rousing intro, an elegant trumpet solo presents the jaunty dance melody. Next, the tune is played by clarinets in the lovely chalumeau register, then a lively piccolo solo follows. A tenor sax and euphonium join the piccolo on the repeat, and finally the whole band shares the melody in hocket style, one or two notes at a time. As the warriors dance and make their way home, they realize they have gleaned life experience, much like the deeper understanding that the listener and musician have acquired from the transformation of the Scottish folk song Johnnie Cope.
- Program Note by Nancy Moser for the Joaquin Miller Middle School Advanced Band concert program, 21 February 2015
Media
- Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown
- Audio CD: South Central Middle School 7th & 8th Grade Honor Band (Sheila Paulette Smith, conductor) – 2001
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Portsmouth (Ohio) Wind Symphony (John Christian, conductor) - 13 October 2022
- Kentucky Virginia (Whitesburg, Ky.) Summer Winds (Richard Suk, conductor) - 14 June 2022
- Eastern Michigan University (Ypsilanti) Green Band (J. Nick Smith, conductor) - 21 November 2021
- Sacramento (Calif.) State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Matthew Morse, conductor) – 6 March 2019
- Joaquin Miller Middle School (San Jose, Calif.) Advanced Band (Mike Pakaluk, conductor) - 21 February 2015 (2015 CMEC Conference, Fresno)
- Caledonian Winds (Perth, Australia) - 5 April 2014
- South Central Middle School (Emerson, Ga.) 7th & 8th Grade Honor Band (Sheila Paulette Smith, conductor) – 19 December 2001 (2001 Midwest Clinic)
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Bannockburn
- Carnival of the Insects
- Clarinetango
- The Crown Jewels
- Dreamscape
- Firepower
- Freedom's Sword
- Highland Fantasy
- The King Across the Water (1995)
- Now Is the Day
- Panache
- Portraits of a Landscape
- Resonance
- Roman Times
- Robert the Bruce and the Spider
- Variations on a Scottish Folk Song
- War, Women and Witchcraft
- www.winds.com
- Young Wizards
Resources
None discovered thus far.