|
Please DONATE to help with maintenance and upkeep of the Wind Repertory Project!
|
Lux Perpetua
Contents
General Info
Year: 2020
Duration: c. 10:50
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: In publication
Cost: Score and Parts – Available late 2020
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
B-flat Contrabass 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
Harp
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:
- Bass Drum, large
- Bongos
- China Cymbal, medium
- Crotales, bowed
- Glockenspiel
- Guiro, medium large
- Maracas
- Marimba
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal, medium small
- Tam-Tam, large
- Triangle, small and medium
- Vibraphone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Lux Perpetua was composed for the Baylor University Wind Ensemble in memory of two young clarinetist members of that ensemble, Laura Onwudinanti and Jack Stewart, whose lives were tragically cut short in an automobile accident in 2014. The work’s title is drawn from the last line of the Latin text, Lux aeterna: “et lux perpetua luceat eis” ("and let perpetual light shine upon them"). The idea of light as both protector and illuminator was constantly in my mind as I composed the piece. Two kinds of light comprise the work: one soft and meditative, the other more sparkling and effervescent. Also in mind were the respective personality traits of the two dedicatees, Jack being more thoughtful and introspective, Laura being more spontaneous and gregarious.
A simple call motive begins the piece, introduced by the clarinets. Its two main notes form a descending minor 3rd, a sound that is universally associated with a call or greeting (think “yoo-hoo”) but also widely associated with playground games and nursery rhymes. This idea is laced into the entire fabric of the piece, sometimes serving as transition material, other times appearing unexpectedly for purposes of contrast, still other times flowering into main melody.
The main melody is at once longing and noble in quality, and is constructed in a way that suggests the notion of infinity. Its accompanying harmony depicts a kind of bellows or the act of breathing, in and out perpetually. It never settles on a final chord, but instead moves to a built-in modulation, compelling the melody to repeat itself in a chain of new keys.
A faster, more energetic middle section serves as a dramatic contrast, but rather than give it a new theme, I chose to continue with a variant of the main melody. The accompanying harmony is still breathing, the lyrical line still permeating the entire section, but this time building to a tremendous climax. The final coda is a brief meditation. The main melody echoes itself tenderly as the harmony begins its slow and fragile ascent to the heavens.
Lux Perpetua received its world premiere by the Baylor University Wind Ensemble, Eric Wilson, conductor, at the centennial meeting of the Texas Music Educators Association on February 13, 2020.
- Program Note by composer
Commercial Discography
None discovered thus far.
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Baylor University (Waco, Tx.) Wind Ensemble (Eric Wilson, conductor) - 13 February 2020 (2020 TMEA Conference, San Antonio) *Premiere Performance*
- Baylor University (Waco, Tx.) Wind Ensemble (Eric Wilson, conductor) – 7 February 2020
Works for Winds by this Composer
- Abracadabra (2005)
- Acadiana (2016)
- Amazing Grace (1994)
- Amen! (2009)
- An American Elegy (2000)
- Angels in the Architecture (2009)
- Ave Maria (as arranger) (1825/2004)
- Blue Shades (1996)
- Boundless River (2020)
- Cajun Folk Songs, Part One (1990)
- Cajun Folk Songs, Part Two (1997)
- Concertino for Trombone (1987/2007)
- Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble (2014)
- Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble (2010)
- Dancing on Water (2015)
- December Snow (2015)
- Earth Song for Band (2012)
- First Light (2013)
- Fortress (1988)
- Gaian Visions (1990)
- Ghost Tale (2020)
- Joy (2005)
- Joy Revisited (2005)
- Korean Folksongs from Jeju Island (2013)
- Loch Lomond
- Lux Perpetua (2020)
- Midnight (2019)
- Midnight in Nairobi (2019)
- Music for Winds and Percussion (withdrawn)
- Nitro (2006)
- Pacific Fanfare
- Portrait of a Clown
- Postcard (1991)
- Rest (2011)
- San Antonio Dances (2010)
- Sanctuary (2006)
- Serenade for Kristin (2018)
- Shaker Gift Song, A (2004)
- Shenandoah (1999)
- Silver Lining (2017)
- Simple Gifts: Four Shaker Songs (2002)
- Songs of Love and Life (2012)
- Sun Dance (1997)
- Symphony No. 1 (tr. Green)
- Symphony No. 2 (2004)
- The Tyger (2008)
- Under the Big Top (2019)
- Vesuvius (1997)
- Wild Nights! (2007)
Resources
- Frank Ticheli, personal correspondence, January 2020
